Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion
George ThompsonHow often do you flnd yourself on the losing end of an argument? What percentage of your success in life depends on your success in conversation? Believe it or not, if you are like most people, your answer would be 98 percent or more.
Do you have a plan ready when you find yourself confronting an adversary at work? At home? On a dark street at night? Or do you just react from habit or emotion? As George Thompson says, “When you react, the event controls you. When you respond, you’re in control.”
Verbal Judo is a philosophy that can show you how to be better prepared in every verbal encounter: How to listen and speak more effectively; how to engage people through empathy (the most powerful word in the English language); how to avoid the most common conversational disasters; how, instead, to have a proven, easily remembered strategy that will allow you to successfully communicate your point of view and take the upper hand in most disputes.
| status | Copy #1 (1056): in |
|---|---|
| genre | Social Science » Communication |
| publisher | Harper |
| publish date | March 2, 2004 |
| popularity | checked out 8 time(s) |
Good read, but question the author.
This book has some great tips for disarming arguments and potentially intense situations. It’s written by a cop (and martial arts instructor) for cops. It was originally published in the 70s, I think, and I found myself wanting to challenge the author; several times throughout, he makes questionable generalizations about several different races based on experiences he’s had with individuals, and at times I think seems to use those examples to boost his credibility in some way.