The ONLY 5 Communication Books You MUST Read

About this video

Clark Kegley counts down five communication books he says he has read and reread, ranked from his fifth to his top recommendation. At five is The Definitive Book of Body Language, subtitled in his telling ‘What Everybody Is Saying,’ about nonverbals — he says 80% of communication is how we carry ourselves, tonality, mannerisms and body language, and notes the book even covers positioning furniture and five chair positions to make people open up. At four is Talk Like TED by Carmen Gallo, which he describes as distilling nine public-speaking secrets from the best TED Talks, including how framing and stories create value: he recounts the Significant Objects project, where $128 of thrift-store junk sold for $3,612 because talented writers gave items stories, with a banana selling for $76. At three is How to Talk to Anyone, with 92 little tricks, including the ’encore, encore’ tip of prompting someone to retell a story that makes them look good, and picturing a string at a doorway to lift your posture. At two is Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, which he calls a must-read and top-10 book of all time, noting Warren Buffett credited Carnegie’s course as one of his best investments. At one is Crucial Conversations, which he says has sold over 1 million copies and teaches tools for talking when stakes are high, opinions vary and emotions run strong, staying in dialogue instead of drifting into silence (flight) or violence (fight).

Key takeaways

• Most communication is nonverbal — body language, tonality, mannerisms and posture signal engagement and confidence before words do.
• Stories and framing determine perceived value, as in the Significant Objects example where storied junk sold for far more than its purchase price.
• Small social tricks help: prompting someone to retell a flattering story (’encore’) makes them feel good and like you more.
• How to Win Friends and Influence People remains, in Kegley’s view, essential reading despite some outdated, cheesy examples.
• In crucial conversations, avoid drifting into silence or violence and use tools to return to the shared pool of dialogue.

Episode details: published December 2, 2016 · 11:56 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Clark Kegley’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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