Let's Talk: How to Have Better Conversations

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The most valuable conversations themselves are spaces where the participants give over a part of themselves to each other to explore, illuminate and connect" Nihal makes communication natual and accessible to all. I like that he uses the final chapter to summarise the majority of the key points from his interviewees. Part how-to and part manifesto, Let’s Talk is Nihal’s accessible, anecdotal and invigorating toolkit to having better conversations with anyone, any time.

The book has signposted me to some really interesting new media to check out though with some great examples of interesting conversationalists, so it’s worth a read on that aspect! According to Johann Hari which is literally quoted in this book saying that such a thing as tweeting keeps you distracted for about 25 minutes every time. That being said it was an easy read and some of the stories were fun to go through, but if you are looking for ways to have better conversations this isn’t the book. I enjoyed the fact that the author narrated the audiobook himself and it featured snippets of his interviews with some of the interesting people he talks to at work. Now he wants to understand how he developed his skills, what it exactly means to have a 'great conversation' and, most importantly, how he can teach us to have better interactions in our everyday lives.Was it challenging, did you learn something – information or insight – and did it create a connection? From tracing the evolution of dialogue to discovering what lights up in the brain when we're enjoying a good discussion, Nihal speaks to conversational authorities including Lorraine Kelly, former president of Ireland Mary McAleese, Professor Tanya Byron, internationally bestselling author Johann Hari, Matthew Syed, and many more, to find out why good conversation has eroded over time and how we can fix it. First, the knowledge of who we are – the change in roles in a conversation based on the situation -, then understanding who we are talking to, and the confidence and comfort to challenge as well as defend your perspective with information. Host of Today in Focus the Guardian's flagship daily news podcast and one of the top ten most listened to podcasts in the UK.

The only thing lacking for me was actual transcripts of the conversations, in raw form, before they are converted into the prose of the book.Arthanayake stated at the outset that this would be a book written based on his own experience so I was a little wary about how much depth he'd go for. The Balance Collective is a social enterprise focused on improving the lives of parents, by working together to build inner confidence and promote a healthy work/life balance. And while effective dialogue is supposed to lead to greater fulfilment in our personal and professional lives, all the scientific evidence points towards us sharing fewer interactions than previous generations. I just couldn't bring myself to press that one star button even though I think this is one of the few books that I think might deserve it.