A review by mamalemma
If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating by Alan Alda

4.0

Alan Alda, one of my favorite actors, is also a terrific writer. Not only has he written television, plays and movies, he's written two memoirs as well (both of which I have enjoyed thoroughly). You can imagine my delight when I saw he had a new book, this one about a topic near and dear to my heart: effective communication. It is not widely known, but Alda started the Alda Center for Communicating Science, which built on his on his realization that scientists are generally poor communicators with a lot of great information to share. He learned this during the 11 years of hosting PBS's Scientific American Frontiers. The book talks about research and studies that have been done to validate methods of teaching communication. Not surprisingly (to some of us, anyway), the key is empathy. To paraphrase an old joke, how do you get to empathy? Practice, practice, practice! One of the most promising techniques uses improvisation as its base. The book walks you through the research, the techniques, and tells terrific stories about its application. Alda, as a writer, is utterly charming (but I could be biased by the celebrity crush I've always had on him -- or okay, Hawkeye Pierce!) and it is a quick, satisfying and thoughtful read. Thoroughly enjoyable!