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singuyen's review against another edition
5.0
Alan Alda did a fantastic job at applying his own lessons that he is trying to deliver to readers, while writing the book, especially when explaining concepts to his audience who may not have a ton of prior knowledge about the subject of communication.
I have learned more about the importance of paying attention and tuning into the person(s) in front of you; and talking while also caring about how well you are delivering your knowledge and how well your audience is getting what you say.
There is more than that in the book, which makes it a great source for scientists - whom Alan Alda addressed many times in this book - to be aware of their audience, because while science is important, just as important is how science is delivered and the people at all walks of life can actually understand what scientists have found.
Some of my favorite quotes from the book:
- "Communication doesn’t take place because you tell somebody something. It takes place when you observe them closely and track their ability to follow you. Like making a sculpture out of space, communication is a group experience."
- "You picture an audience and think, What are they already aware of? Where should I start? How deep should I go? What are they actually eager to know? If I start too far in, will I be using concepts they don’t really understand?"
- "There’s something about having knowledge that makes it difficult to take the beginner’s view, to be able to think the way you did before you had that knowledge. And unless you’re aware that you actually know something the other person doesn’t know, you can be at a disadvantage. When you forget you know more than they do, there’re a tendency to undervalue your position."
- "I hope they’ll pay attention not so much to the mechanical things, like a sudden change of pace in a talk or a sudden change in volume of their voice. I hope they’ll pay attention, instead, to the fundamental source of that pacing and volume, which is the connection with the other person. That connection makes us respond like a leaf in the breeze to whatever is happening in the faces of those in front of us."
I have learned more about the importance of paying attention and tuning into the person(s) in front of you; and talking while also caring about how well you are delivering your knowledge and how well your audience is getting what you say.
There is more than that in the book, which makes it a great source for scientists - whom Alan Alda addressed many times in this book - to be aware of their audience, because while science is important, just as important is how science is delivered and the people at all walks of life can actually understand what scientists have found.
Some of my favorite quotes from the book:
- "Communication doesn’t take place because you tell somebody something. It takes place when you observe them closely and track their ability to follow you. Like making a sculpture out of space, communication is a group experience."
- "You picture an audience and think, What are they already aware of? Where should I start? How deep should I go? What are they actually eager to know? If I start too far in, will I be using concepts they don’t really understand?"
- "There’s something about having knowledge that makes it difficult to take the beginner’s view, to be able to think the way you did before you had that knowledge. And unless you’re aware that you actually know something the other person doesn’t know, you can be at a disadvantage. When you forget you know more than they do, there’re a tendency to undervalue your position."
- "I hope they’ll pay attention not so much to the mechanical things, like a sudden change of pace in a talk or a sudden change in volume of their voice. I hope they’ll pay attention, instead, to the fundamental source of that pacing and volume, which is the connection with the other person. That connection makes us respond like a leaf in the breeze to whatever is happening in the faces of those in front of us."
blairconrad's review against another edition
Describes an interesting way to increase one's empathy, but the concept was not developed. I ditched it a little over halfway through when it turned out the book was repeating itself. It's my own fault, really. I should've stopped reading as soon as he'd gone through it once and then given a tip about how in a presentation he likes to have very few ideas. Ideally one. Presented 3 different ways.
deelightfull's review against another edition
3.0
meh... I abandoned this one 3/4 of the way through. I undertand his point, and I think it's a good, valuble point, I just think it went on way too long. If the phrase "active and empethetic" means anything to you this is a major emphasis on the "empethetic" and it's importance.
bookslucyking's review against another edition
5.0
I love Alan Alda´s books and this one was so interesting. I knew he was into science but I had no idea that he is so much involved with it. All the communication tests, the results, some blew my mind. Normally, I am not really into science, but he wrote everything in such an accesible and fun way. I would have never thought that communicating can be such a science and how we can miserably fail in it :D I know sometimes is not easy but come on, we need to learn a lot.
Thank you Alan Alda for another amazing read! I reccomend this to everyone, like really, everyone. This is great read and even it does not look like it, it is an easy and entertaining read. Go! Pick it up and read it! You will learn so many cool things about people.
Thank you Alan Alda for another amazing read! I reccomend this to everyone, like really, everyone. This is great read and even it does not look like it, it is an easy and entertaining read. Go! Pick it up and read it! You will learn so many cool things about people.
sara_va's review against another edition
3.0
This is NOT a biography of Alan Alda.
This is a good book about relating, communicating, the benefits of improv and how that applies to things far beyond just acting.
I only got through part of it because I wrongly assumed that it was a biography. So, if you're looking for that, you'll be disappointed. If you want to read about acting, improv and communication, then enjoy!
This is a good book about relating, communicating, the benefits of improv and how that applies to things far beyond just acting.
I only got through part of it because I wrongly assumed that it was a biography. So, if you're looking for that, you'll be disappointed. If you want to read about acting, improv and communication, then enjoy!
kellylover86's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
This book is Alan’s musings and learnings from his work training scientists to communicate their science to the public. Alan is always insightful and funny, a great read.
bootman's review against another edition
5.0
I'm a non-fiction author and YouTuber who tries to take complex topics and explain them simply for people to understand and realize why they're important. When this book was recommended by Anne Janzer in her amazing book Writing to be Understood, I knew I had to check this book out from Alan Alda. Even if you're not a writer, this book can benefit just about anyone. Whether you're a parent who needs to explain things to your children, or you're doing a presentation at work, this book has a ton of wisdom about how you can do so effectively.
A lot of this book had to do with improv training and how it helped scientists and students become better presenters, but you're not going to need to practice improv to benefit from this book. The basis of this book is about having a healthy amount of empathy and knowing how to communicate with other people while also putting yourself in their shoes. As someone who has also done a lot of public speaking, I can say that a lot of the information in this book works in a variety of scenarios whether it's in person or in written word.
A lot of this book had to do with improv training and how it helped scientists and students become better presenters, but you're not going to need to practice improv to benefit from this book. The basis of this book is about having a healthy amount of empathy and knowing how to communicate with other people while also putting yourself in their shoes. As someone who has also done a lot of public speaking, I can say that a lot of the information in this book works in a variety of scenarios whether it's in person or in written word.