The Best Books on Communication Skills

“The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives.” — Tony Robbins

This is a list of my favorite and noteworthy  books on communication skills, speaking skills, and presentation skills.

I put the bulk of the list in categories so you can explore the communication skills books in a relevant way, and easily compare with your library of books on communication skills, presentation skills, and speaking skills.

The Top 10 Books on Communication Skills

1. Crucial Confrontations: Tools for talking about broken promises, violated expectations, and bad behavior , by Kerry Patterson
2. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High , by Kerry Patterson
3. Dealing with People You Can’t Stand: How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst , by Rick Kirschner
4. Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently , by John C. Maxwell
5. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die , by Chip Heath
6. Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex , by John Gray
7. Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story , by Jerry Weissman
8. Say It Like Obama: The Power of Speaking with Purpose and Vision , by Shelly Leanne
9. Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion , by George J. Thompson
10. Write to the Top: Writing for Corporate Success , by Deborah Dumaine

The Best Books on Communication Skills by Category

Conflict and Tough Conversations

• Crucial Confrontations: Tools for talking about broken promises, violated expectations, and bad behavior , by Kerry Patterson
• Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High , by Kerry Patterson
• Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most , by Douglas Stone
• Failure to Communicate: How Conversations Go Wrong and What You Can Do to Right Them , by Holly Weeks
• Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time , by Susan Scott
• In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions…When It Counts , by Jerry Weissman
• Perfect Phrases for Dealing with Difficult People: Hundreds of Ready-to-Use Phrases for Handling Conflict, Confrontations and Challenging Personalities , by Susan Benjamin
• Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion , by Jay Heinrichs
• Thinking on Your Feet: How to Communicate Under Pressure , by Marian K. Woodall

Effective Communication, Conversations

• Authentic Conversations: Moving from Manipulation to Truth and Commitment , by Jamie Showkeir
• Harvard Business Review on Effective Communication (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series) , by Harvard Business School Press
• How to Communicate: The Ultimate Guide to Improving Your Personal and Professional Relationships , by Martha Davis
• How to Say It For Women: Communicating with Confidence and Power Using the Language of Success , by Phyllis Mindell
• Messages: The Communication Skills Book , by Matthew McKay
• Talk Like a Winner: 21 Simple Rules for Achieving Everyday Communication Success , by Steve Nakamoto
• The Art and Science of Communication: Tools for Effective Communication in the Workplace , by P. S. Perkins
• The Art of Talking to Anyone: Essential People Skills for Success in Any Situation , by Rosalie Maggio

Email

• SEND: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better (Vintage) , by David Shipley

Executive Communication

• How to Say it for Executives: The Complete Guide to Communication for Leaders , by Phyllis Mindell
• Perfect Phrases for Executive Presentations: Hundreds of Ready-to-Use Phrases to Use to Communicate Your Strategy and Vision When the Stakes Are High (Perfect Phrases Series) , by Alan M. Perlman

Influence, Persuasion

• Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication , by Lane Jones
• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die , by Chip Heath
• Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion , by George J. Thompson

Interpersonal Skills

• Couple Skills: Making Your Relationship Work , by Kim Paleg
• Dealing with People You Can’t Stand: How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst , by Rick Kirschner
• How Can I Get Through to You? Closing the Intimacy Gap Between Men and Women , by Terrence Real
• How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk , by Adele Faber
• How To Win Friends and Influence People , by Dale Carnegie
• Interplay: The Process of Interpersonal Communication , by Neil Towne
• Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex , by John Gray
• People Skills: How to Assert Yourself, Listen to Others, and Resolve Conflicts , by Robert Bolton
• Speaking Up: What to Say to Your Boss and Everyone Else Who Gets on Your Case , by Mark Ruskin

Leadership Communication Skills

• Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders , by John Baldoni
• The Communicators: Leadership in the Age of Crisis , by Richard Levick
• The Leader as Communicator: Strategies and Tactics to Build Loyalty, Focus Effort, and Spark Creativity , by Robert P. Mai

Listening

• Why Don’t People Listen? Solving the Communication Problem , by Hugh Mackay

Meetings, Board Rooms

• Own the Room: Business Presentations that Persuade, Engage, and Get Results , by David Booth
• War in the Boardroom: Why Left-Brain Management and Right-Brain Marketing Don’t See Eye-to-Eye–and What to Do About It , by Al Ries

Networking, Connection, Rapport

• Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently , by John C. Maxwell
• Making the Connections , by Bill Quirke
• Networking Is a Contact Sport: How Staying Connected and Serving Others Will Help You Grow Your Business, Expand Your Influence — or Even Land Your Next Job , by Joe Sweeney

Pitching, Selling

• How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds or Less , by Milo O. Frank
• How to Wow: Proven Strategies for Selling Your [Brilliant] Self in Any Situation , by Frances Cole Jones

Presenting, Speaking

• Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Winning Presentations , by Jerry Weissman
• Effective Presentation Skills : A Practical Guide for Better Speaking , by Steve Mandel
• Guide to Presentations (3rd Edition) (Alternative eText Formats) , by Mary Munter
• I Have To Give A Presentation, Now What?!: Overcome Your Fears/Using Powerpoint/Pacing Your Presentation , by Jude Westerfield
• Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery , by Garr Reynolds
• Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story , by Jerry Weissman
• Say It Like Obama: The Power of Speaking with Purpose and Vision , by Shelly Leanne
• The Exceptional Presenter: A Proven Formula to Open Up and Own the Room , by Timothy J. Koegel
• The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience , by Carmine Gallo

Questions

• The 7 Powers of Questions: Secrets to Successful Communication in Life and at Work , by Dorothy Leeds

Self-Talk

• Self Talk, Soul Talk: What to Say When You Talk to Yourself , by Jennifer Rothschild
• What to Say When you Talk To Yourself, by Shad Helmstetter

Social Media

• Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Social Media, but were afraid to ask…: Building Your Business Using Consumer Generated Media , by Hilary JM Topper
• Social Media for the CEO , by Eve Mayer Orsburn

Visualization

• The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition , by Edward R. Tufte

Writing

• Looking Good in Print , by Roger C. Parker
• Words that Sell, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Thesaurus to Help You Promote Your Products, Services, and Ideas , by Richard Bayan
• WORDS THAT WORK: IT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT’S WHAT PEOPLE HEAR , by Frank I. Luntz
• Write to the Top: Writing for Corporate Success , by Deborah Dumaine
• Writing Winning Business Proposals: Your Guide to Landing the Client, Making the Sale and Persuading the Boss , by Richard C. Freed

You Might Also Like

Book Recommendations