Alison Wood Brooks

It's funny. I often get invited to come and visit military training. So the Army War College and different military groups are very interested in this topic. I think they know how much communication matters and are realizing like, oh, there's people out there teaching it in a different way. The course that I teach at Harvard is called How to Talk Gooder in Business and Life.

It's funny. I often get invited to come and visit military training. So the Army War College and different military groups are very interested in this topic. I think they know how much communication matters and are realizing like, oh, there's people out there teaching it in a different way. The course that I teach at Harvard is called How to Talk Gooder in Business and Life.

It's funny. I often get invited to come and visit military training. So the Army War College and different military groups are very interested in this topic. I think they know how much communication matters and are realizing like, oh, there's people out there teaching it in a different way. The course that I teach at Harvard is called How to Talk Gooder in Business and Life.

Just as you said, it's lovingly referred to by the students as TALK, which is the acronym that we walk through in the book. But the How to Talk Gooder in Business and Life title feels like a great victory that I was able to both convince Harvard to let me use a title that seems silly alongside very serious courses like Capitalism in America and things like this. So that felt like a win.

Just as you said, it's lovingly referred to by the students as TALK, which is the acronym that we walk through in the book. But the How to Talk Gooder in Business and Life title feels like a great victory that I was able to both convince Harvard to let me use a title that seems silly alongside very serious courses like Capitalism in America and things like this. So that felt like a win.

Just as you said, it's lovingly referred to by the students as TALK, which is the acronym that we walk through in the book. But the How to Talk Gooder in Business and Life title feels like a great victory that I was able to both convince Harvard to let me use a title that seems silly alongside very serious courses like Capitalism in America and things like this. So that felt like a win.

The Ellen talk is levity. And so it's not a coincidence that the course title would have a sort of silly seeming name. But it also is a double entendre, right? The word gooder also refers to the K in talk, which is kindness. How can we be good? How do we strive to be the best and most good that we can be through our conversations?

The Ellen talk is levity. And so it's not a coincidence that the course title would have a sort of silly seeming name. But it also is a double entendre, right? The word gooder also refers to the K in talk, which is kindness. How can we be good? How do we strive to be the best and most good that we can be through our conversations?

The Ellen talk is levity. And so it's not a coincidence that the course title would have a sort of silly seeming name. But it also is a double entendre, right? The word gooder also refers to the K in talk, which is kindness. How can we be good? How do we strive to be the best and most good that we can be through our conversations?

And so there is, there's a sort of a double meaning in there and I feel very proud of it.

And so there is, there's a sort of a double meaning in there and I feel very proud of it.

And so there is, there's a sort of a double meaning in there and I feel very proud of it.

Fabulous question. Well, when we think as a scientist and as a teacher, when you think about trying to teach people to have more effective conversations, it raises this question of what does success even mean in conversation?

Fabulous question. Well, when we think as a scientist and as a teacher, when you think about trying to teach people to have more effective conversations, it raises this question of what does success even mean in conversation?

Fabulous question. Well, when we think as a scientist and as a teacher, when you think about trying to teach people to have more effective conversations, it raises this question of what does success even mean in conversation?

And what you quickly realize is that success is a very complicated question in any domain, but particularly in conversation, and it has to be determined by the people involved. I don't march in and tell them what they should care about. But rather, let's think very deeply about what we are aiming to achieve, what we're aiming to do with our words in our interactions with other people.

And what you quickly realize is that success is a very complicated question in any domain, but particularly in conversation, and it has to be determined by the people involved. I don't march in and tell them what they should care about. But rather, let's think very deeply about what we are aiming to achieve, what we're aiming to do with our words in our interactions with other people.

And what you quickly realize is that success is a very complicated question in any domain, but particularly in conversation, and it has to be determined by the people involved. I don't march in and tell them what they should care about. But rather, let's think very deeply about what we are aiming to achieve, what we're aiming to do with our words in our interactions with other people.

What are our intentions? If we can think a little bit more about that before the conversation happens, and then afterwards, you have much more clarity to assess, well, did we achieve those things? And so in the book, we outline a framework to help people think about what their goals are in conversation. Every conversation, you have at least one goal.

What are our intentions? If we can think a little bit more about that before the conversation happens, and then afterwards, you have much more clarity to assess, well, did we achieve those things? And so in the book, we outline a framework to help people think about what their goals are in conversation. Every conversation, you have at least one goal.