“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
- 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
- Dealing with People You Can’t Stand: How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst
, by Rick Kirschner
- Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently
, by John C. Maxwell
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
, by Chip Heath
- Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex
, by John Gray
- 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
- Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion
, by George J. Thompson
- 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
- 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