How to Speak so People Listen

Chapter Seven

Focus on conversations

Conversations are the most intimate use of speech. We are engaged in them continually from our earliest days to our final hours. You use them for idle chatter or with a clear purpose. You converse in person and on the phone. Your conversations are easy or complicated, conveying everything from shopping lists to love, and from good news to breakdowns.

Because of their familiarity, we think we understand them. So why is it that, so often, people don’t hear what you say – or they hear it in a way that really surprises you? Let’s find out.

The art of conversation

Conversations are intimate. So, to make them as effective as possible, focus on the ‘you’ in communication. When you put the word ‘you’ into ...