How To Become A Conversational Superstar

Each year, I select my pick for the best new leadership book released that year.

As published earlier on my blog, my pick for 2023, was When Everyone Leads.

Some years, among the many books about leadership that I read, there is another book that is so good, it becomes my runner up for the best new leadership book of the year.

That runner-up book for 2023 is, The Communication Code, by Jeremie Kubicek and Steven Cockram.

“Effective communication is the lifeblood of every healthy relationship,” explain Kubicek and Cockram, whether that relationship is at work or at home. And effective communication is essential for successful leadership.

Fortunately, the authors' book provides a proven series of easy-to-implement skills, techniques and powerful strategies via what they call the Communication Code that anyone can use to make their communication, relationships deeper and more productive.

“Using five simple code words, you can verbally reach people with what they are expecting from you,” explain the authors.

Those five code words are:

Care – being concerned for someone and desiring to do something for their good.
Celebration – to acknowledge (a significant or happy day or event) with a social gathering or enjoyable activity.
Clarification – to make (a statement or situation) less confusing and more clearly understandable.
Collaboration – to work jointly on an activity, mainly to produce or create something.
Critique – a careful judgment in which someone gives an opinion.

The more self-aware you are and the more you practice the Communication Code, the more natural it will be for you to understand the person with whom you are communicating. The Communication Code book helps you set up conversations and communication in a way that creates a win-win scenario for everyone involved.

More specifically explain the authors, you will learn how to explicitly prompt someone to respond in a productive and meaningful way, fostering successful and fruitful interactions. The Communication Code delineates how to set the parameters of a conversation from the outset, preventing misunderstandings and miscommunication, and highlights recognizing the power dynamics of interactions to help.

Finally, I selected this book as the runner up for best new leadership book of 2023, because there is no better time than now to improve one’s communication skills.

The book will help you:

Connect and communicate effectively with your team, your family, and your friends.
Define the parameters of a conversation from the outset to avoid any misunderstandings.
Understand the power dynamics of an interaction to eliminate the fear of honest conversation.
Offer constructive criticism without offending or disappointing the person on the other side.
Maximize your situational awareness and collaborate like a pro.

Today, the authors share this additional insight with us:

Question: Why is your book more timely now than in say a decade ago?

Kubicek & Cockram: We believe the deepest need of all human beings is, and always has been, to feel truly heard, valued and appreciated in the relationships they care most about.

However, the digital revolution has been rapidly changing the nature of how we communicate with each other, and this was only accelerated still further with the restrictions imposed during the Covid pandemic.

In a world that has never been as connected, we would argue that human beings have never been more disconnected, and the loneliness statistics are frightening. Learning to communicate effectively in the digital world requires a higher level of relational intelligence because attention spans have diminished, and most people are addicted to their smart phones.

Without increasing self-awareness and the use of tools like the Communication Code, relationships will continue to break down and the social, psychological and economic costs will be enormous.

Sadly, we have concluded that long term healthy relationships in the digital world are now the exception not the norm, so we wrote The Communication Code and developed the GiANT tools to play our part in helping to reverse this trend.

Whether you're a business professional looking to enhance your leadership skills, a parent striving to strengthen your family bonds, or simply someone who wants to navigate the complex world of human relationships more effectively, this book is for you.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me a copy of the book.

Comments

The Benefits Of When Everyone Leads

It’s only January and the new book, When Everyone Leads , could likely be my pick for the best new leadership book of 2023. It’s that good. There’s still nearly a whole year ahead of us so we’ll see what other books debut. In the meantime, add this book to your must-read list. You’ll learn that: Leadership is an activity, not a position. Leadership is mobilizing others to make progress on the most important challenges. Leadership is interactive, risky and experimental. Leadership comes in moments. Leadership is always about change. When Everyone Leads , by Ed O’Malley and Julia Fabris McBride , presents a revolutionary approach to leadership; not based on position or authority, but an activity that anybody can undertake by learning to spot opportunities for improvement and taking the initiative to engage others. “It can be unfamiliar and uncomfortable, but in a culture where everyone leads, organizations start to make progress on their most difficult problems,” explain t

Effective Listening: Do's And Don'ts

Here are some great tips from Michelle Tillis Lederman's book, The 11 Laws of Likability . They are all about: what to do and what not to do to be a leader who's an effective listener : Do : Maintain eye contact Limit your talking Focus on the speaker Ask questions Manage your emotions Listen with your eyes and ears Listen for ideas and opportunities Remain open to the conversation Confirm understanding, paraphrase Give nonverbal messages that you are listening (nod, smile) Ignore distractions Don't : Interrupt Show signs of impatience Judge or argue mentally Multitask during a conversation Project your ideas Think about what to say next Have expectations or preconceived ideas Become defensive or assume you are being attacked Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

Five Must-Read Business Books To Read This Summer

Stumped for what business books to add to your summer reading list? Here are five must-read books for leaders well worth adding to your list: Lead With A Story -- A Guide To Crafting Business Narratives That Captivate, Convince, and Inspire . Author Paul Smith explains why storytelling has emerged as a vital skill for every leader and manager. In the book, you'll find over 100 ready-made stories you can use as templates to tell your stories. Stories are so powerful because they are simple, timeless, demographic-proof, contagious, easy to remember and inspiring. Most important, they put the listener in a mental learning mode. What's The Future Of Business? (WTF?) -- Changing The Way Businesses Create Experiences . This book, by Brain Solis, details the incredible transformation happening in business today, driven by new social and mobile technologies. And, he explains how experience design helps your business and how you can harness its power for business growth. This book

How To Make The Leap To Becoming A Leader

Here’s another must-read book to add to your list as you transition from manager to leader. It’s The Leap to Leader , by Adam Bryant . As the creator of the iconic “Corner Office” column in the New York Times , Bryant has spoken with more than a thousand leaders over the years about the challenges and nuances of leadership. Many of his discussions are included in his interview series on LinkedIn. “The goal of this book is to provide an intensely practical guide to making that transition by sharing insights, stories, and approaches from hundreds of leaders to build the skills you will need to make the leap to leader,” explains Bryant. He adds that the book is useful to everyone who is interested in leadership, regardless of where they are in their career. The book covers: The central paradox of leaders: selfless vs. self-centered. How to perfect the do-to-say ratio. Ways to navigate office politics. Tactics to making better decisions. The crucial art of compartmentalizati

Seven Tough Questions To Ask Your Team

High-functioning teams can disagree and still produce excellent products and results. Team members can also disagree and still care about each other. And, they can challenge each other to think differently. Best-selling leadership book authors Scott J. Allen and Mitchell Kusy recommend that leaders ask seven tough questions of their teams to help maximize their results. Here are those questions to ask each team member: What are some obstacles affecting this team? What are opportunities we could take advantage of that we have been largely ignoring? Where can you take greater ownership on this team? Where have you let this team down ? Compared to other teams with which you are familiar, how are we doing ? When was the last time you complimented the team or one of its members? How open are you to giving direct feedback to team members?

How To Listen Effectively

Here are some great tips from Michelle Tillis Lederman 's book, The 11 Laws of Likability . They are all about: what to do and what not to do to be a leader who's an effective listener : Do : Maintain eye contact Limit your talking Focus on the speaker Ask questions Manage your emotions Listen with your eyes and ears Listen for ideas and opportunities Remain open to the conversation Confirm understanding, paraphrase Give nonverbal messages that you are listening (nod, smile) Ignore distractions Don't : Interrupt Show signs of impatience Judge or argue mentally Multitask during a conversation Project your ideas Think about what to say next Have expectations or preconceived ideas Become defensive or assume you are being attacked Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

How Leaders Can Move Teams From Isolated To All In

Here is a book that provides workplace leaders an urgently needed methodology for helping companies to reduce worker loneliness, and it delivers a blueprint for building strong, high-performing workplace teams. The book is, Connectable: How Leaders Can Move Teams From Isolated To All In , by Ryan Jenkins and Steven Van Cohen . “72% of workers suffer from loneliness. And, what was once a simmering problem shifted to a crisis when COVID-19 and the sudden transition to remove work isolated workers from each other as never before,” report the authors. “Loneliness is the absence of connection,” explain the authors. “Loneliness is not defined by the lack of people, because someone can be lonely even while surrounded by others. We require more than the presence of others. We require the presence of others to dream, strategize, and work toward commons goals.” Furthermore, “workplace loneliness is defined by the distress caused by the perceived inadequacy of quality connection to team

The Benefits Of When Everyone Leads

Today's FLASHBACK to earlier in the year: It’s only January and the new book, When Everyone Leads , could likely be my pick for the best new leadership book of 2023. It’s that good. There’s still nearly a whole year ahead of us so we’ll see what other books debut. In the meantime, add this book to your must-read list. You’ll learn that: Leadership is an activity, not a position. Leadership is mobilizing others to make progress on the most important challenges. Leadership is interactive, risky and experimental. Leadership comes in moments. Leadership is always about change. When Everyone Leads , by Ed O’Malley and Julia Fabris McBride , presents a revolutionary approach to leadership; not based on position or authority, but an activity that anybody can undertake by learning to spot opportunities for improvement and taking the initiative to engage others. “It can be unfamiliar and uncomfortable, but in a culture where everyone leads, organizations start to make progress on

A Playbook For How Women Advance Within Business

Describing the new book, In Her Own Voice , by Jennifer McCollum , Anne Chow (former CEO of AT&T Business) says that “for women, the book does a beautiful job of explaining not just what to do to advance in your career, but also what to expect. For leaders, it helps you recognize the gap between what you think women seeking advancement want and what they really need.” Chow adds, “the book is based on the experiences of tens of thousands of women, with guidance that is applicable to every one of us, no matter where we are on our own unique journey.” McCollum divides her book into three parts: Understanding the hurdles to women’s advancement Overcoming the hurdles Eliminating the hurdles She professes that women have unique gifts and abilities. “Businesses need talented women, now more than ever. We need to do everything possible to engage, develop, and inspire them—and to advance them into leadership roles, all the way to the C-suite and board positions, if they so c

How To Be An Inclusive Leader

“No matter your title, or how advanced you already consider yourself to be as an inclusive leader, I believe this book will help you evolve and motivate you to take action,” says Jennifer Brown about her book, How To be An Inclusive Leader: Your Role In Creating Cultures Of Belonging Where Everyone Can Thrive . The book is the second edition of the bestselling title from 2021. This newest installment includes a new introduction and addresses challenges posed by the pandemic—including remote work, flexibility, and mental health. “It also gives increased attention to embedding equity, empathy, and anti-racism in the inclusive leader framework,” shares Brown. “I’m proud that this second edition will help leaders and organizations respond to the changes unfolding around us in relevant, culturally competent ways and take action to address systemic inequities that persist in the workplace.” In her book, Brown explores how power and authority are changing fundamentally. She explains tha

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog