In some form or another, we spend a large chunk of every day communicating. We speak to our family members on the phone, write text messages to our friends, and give presentations to our colleagues at work.
But if we spend so much time expressing ourselves, why do we so often feel misunderstood? Well, it turns out that our speaking, writing, and presenting skills don’t improve without dedicated attention. And to kickstart that concentrated effort, we recommend checking out the nine eye-opening books below.
Breaking Through: Communicating to Open Minds, Move Hearts, and Change the World
By Sally Susman
Pfizer’s trailblazing communications leader reveals how we can break through the noise to get our message across and make positive change. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Sally Susman, in the Next Big Idea App
Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking
By Mehdi Hasan
Arguments are everywhere―and especially given the fierce debates we’re all embroiled in today, everyone wants to win. In this riveting guide to the art of argument and rhetoric, an MSNBC host shows you how. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Mehdi Hasan, in the Next Big Idea App
Listen Like You Mean It: Reclaiming the Lost Art of True Connection
By Ximena Vengoechea
An essential listening guide for our times, one that reveals tried-and-true strategies drawn from interviews with marriage counselors, podcast hosts, life coaches, journalists, filmmakers, and other listening experts. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Ximena Vengoechea, in the Next Big Idea App
The Art of Conscious Conversations: Transforming How We Talk, Listen, and Interact
By Chuck Wisner
Ditch the negative mental habits that derail conversations and destroy projects, and discover a framework for forging authentic, enduring, and productive connections. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Chuck Wisner, in the Next Big Idea App
How to Talk to Your Boss About Race: Speaking Up Without Getting Shut Down
By Y-Vonne Hutchinson
A diversity and inclusion strategist equips employees with a framework to think about race at work, prepares them to have frank and effective conversations with more powerful leaders, helps them center marginalized perspectives, and explains how to leverage power dynamics to get results while navigating backlash and gaslighting. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Y-Vonne Hutchinson, in the Next Big Idea App
Making Numbers Count: The Art and Science of Communicating Numbers
By Chip Heath and Karla Starr
Whether you’re interested in global problems like climate change, running a tech firm or a farm, or just explaining how many Cokes you’d have to drink if you burned calories like a hummingbird, this book will help math-lovers and math-haters alike translate the numbers that animate our world. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Karla Starr, in the Next Big Idea App
Speaking in Thumbs: A Psychiatrist Decodes Your Relationship Texts So You Don’t Have To
By Mimi Winsberg
From a Harvard- and Stanford-trained psychiatrist comes an essential look at the love language of texts, helping you decipher the personalities of online daters, the subtle signals from your romantic partner, and the red flags hiding in plain sight. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Mimi Winsberg, in the Next Big Idea App
Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less
By Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz
The co-founders of Axios teach readers how to say more with less in virtually any format, sharing lessons learned from their decades of experience in media, business, and communications. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Mike Allen, in the Next Big Idea App
Making Conversation: Seven Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication
By Fred Dust
A former Senior Partner at legendary design firm IDEO realized that communication itself could be designed better by using the four elements of successful exchanges: Commitment, Creative Listening, Clarity, and Context. By staying mindful of these factors, all of our conversations become both more creative and more productive. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Fred Dust, in the Next Big Idea App
The Key Ideas in 15 Minutes
“If you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books,” Roald Dahl once famously said. The only trouble is, reading even one book from cover to cover takes hours—and you may not have many hours to spare.
But imagine for a moment: What if you could read a groundbreaking new book every day? Or even better, what if you could invite a world-renowned thinker into your earbuds, where they personally describe the 5 key takeaways from their work in just 15 minutes?
With the Next Big Idea App, we’ve turned this fantasy into a reality. We partnered with hundreds of acclaimed authors to create “Book Bites,” short audio summaries of the latest nonfiction that are prepared and read aloud by the authors themselves. Discover cutting-edge leadership skills, productivity hacks, the science of happiness and well-being, and much more—all in the time it takes to drive to work or walk the dog.
Go Deeper with a Next Big Idea Club Membership
The Next Big Idea App is free for anyone to try—and if you love it, we invite you to become an official member of the Next Big Idea Club. Membership grants you unlimited access to Book Bites and unlocks early-release, ad-free episodes of our LinkedIn-partnered podcast. You also gain entry to our private online discussion group, where you can talk big ideas with fellow club members and join exclusive live Q&A sessions with featured authors.
For a more focused learning experience, we recommend a Hardcover or eBook Membership. Every few months, legendary authors and club curators Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink select two new nonfiction books as the must-reads of the season. We then send hardcover copies straight to your doorstep, or eBook versions to your favorite digital device. We also collaborate with the authors of selected books to produce original reading guides and premium video e-courses, 50-minute master classes that take you step by step through their most life-changing ideas. And yes, it’s all available through the Next Big Idea App.
Learn Faster, from the World’s Leading Thinkers
Whether you prefer to read, listen, or watch, the Next Big Idea is here to help you work smarter and live better. Wake up with an always-fresh Idea of the Day, the perfect shot of inspiration to go with your morning coffee. Then dive into one of our Challenges, hand-picked collections of Book Bites that form crash courses in subjects like communication, motivation, and career acceleration. Later, watch the playback of an interview with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Stanford psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt, or philosopher John Kaag. And be sure to check the “Events” tab in the app, so that you can join an upcoming live Q&A and personally chat with the next featured thought leader.
If you’re hoping to grow as a person or as a professional, we hope you’ll join us and tens of thousands of others who enjoy the Next Big Idea. Get started by downloading the app today!
