Top Communication books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Communication books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Communication

Understanding the concepts of Communication starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently

Everyone Communicates, Few Connect helps you succeed by revealing Maxwell's Five Principles and Five Practices to develop this crucial skill of connecting, including: finding common ground, keeping your communication simple, capturing people's interest, inspiring people, and staying authentic in all your relationships.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Talking to Strangers

Talking to Strangers (2019) is a powerful exploration of how little we know about the people we don't know. It explores how we misjudge and misunderstand strangers, sometimes with terrible consequences, making a powerful case for more tolerance and patience in our dealings with others.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

People Skills: How to Assert Yourself, Listen to Others, and Resolve Conflicts

People Skills is a communication skills handbook that can help you eliminate these and other communication problems. Author Robert Bolton describes the twelve most common communication barriers, showing how these “roadblocks” damage relationships by increasing defensiveness, aggressiveness, or dependency.

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Talk Like TED

Talk Like TED by Carmine Gallo provides insights from the world's top TED speakers, highlighting the qualities that make a great talk memorable and engaging. This book provides practical tips to help anyone deliver a compelling talk that captivates and inspires their audience.

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Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear

Communications expert Luntz offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the tactical use of words and phrases affects what we buy, who we vote for, and even what we believe in.

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Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication

Communication is hard. Here's a proven method that makes it not only considerably easier, but also much more effective for people on both sides of the conversation. Oren Sofer's method for effective communication is a unique combination of mindfulness with the modality called nonviolent communication (NVC), a method popular since the 1960s that is based on the belief that all human beings have…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Additional Communication Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Communication, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Good Arguments: How Debate Teaches Us to Listen and Be Heard

Bo Seo's Good Arguments translates the wisdom of competitive debate so you can learn to disagree more productively. You'll discover some of the core principles of debate – as well as which exercises professional debaters use to improve the way they think and speak.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Negotiation Genius: How to Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Brilliant Results at the Bargaining Table and Beyond

This book gets “down and dirty.” It gives you detailed strategies—including talking points—that work in the real world even when the other side is hostile, unethical, or more powerful. When you finish it, you will already have an action plan for your next negotiation. You will know what to do and why.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Simply Said: Communicating Better at Work and Beyond

Simply Said is the essential handbook for business communication. Do you ever feel as though your message hasn't gotten across? Do details get lost along the way? Have tense situations ever escalated unnecessarily? Do people buy into your ideas? It all comes down to communication. We all communicate, but few of us do it well. From tough presentations to everyday transactions, there is no scena…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Changing the Conversation: The 17 Principles of Conflict Resolution

From Joost Elffers, the packaging genius behind the huge New York Times bestsellers The 48 Laws of Power, The 33 Strategies of War, and The Art of Seduction, comes this invaluable manual that teaches seventeen fundamentals for turning any conflict into an opportunity for growth. Beautifully packaged in a graphic, two-color format, Changing the Conversation is written by conflict expert Dana Ca…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Surrounded by Idiots

"Surrounded by Idiots" by Thomas Erikson is a guide to understanding the four major personality types and learning how to communicate effectively with them. It provides practical insights and real-life examples to help improve relationships and reduce misunderstandings.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The Definitive Book of Body Language

An expanded version of Allen Pease's Body Language (1981), The Definitive Book of Body Language outlines the basics of body language, including expressions, gestures, and physical movements, and offers supporting scientific data to explain what body language telegraphs in everyday exchanges.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

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