Recommended by our friend Kent Ladewig.
I am currently studying this book, Ann has already read it.
Judo is a martial art, but it is the martial art that is based on deflecting aggression with the least pain and injury to both parties. The book is a really good exercise in avoiding “the greatest speech you’ll ever live to regret.” But more so than that, it provides very easy methods of both speech and thought to bridge difficult interpersonal situations, to help people down from emotionally stressful situations, to talk your own way out of tough situations. In short, it provides the tools you need to be a really effective communicator. As my mentor Raymond Aaron says, your ability to earn is based on your ability to communicate.
From the Amazon description:
Verbal Judo is the martial art of the mind and mouth that can show you how to be better prepared in every verbal encounter. Listen and speak more effectively, engage people through empathy (the most powerful word in the English language), avoid the most common conversational disasters, and use proven strategies that allow you to successfully communicate your point of view and take the upper hand in most disputes.
Verbal Judo offers a creative look at conflict that will help you defuse confrontations and generate cooperation from your spouse, your boss, and even your teenager. As the author says, “when you react, the event controls you. When you respond, you’re in control.”