McGraw-Hill recently published Geoffrey Tumlin’s ‘94 book of counterintuitive insights for business and personal success in the digital age, Stop Talking, Start Communicating. The book draws on Tumlin’s work as an organizational consultant and offers practical solutions for improving communication at work and at home in an age of smart phones, message overload, and constant contact.
Tumlin’s book warns that meaningful communication—the lifeblood of civilization and the backbone of successful relationships—is at risk, threatened by the avalanche of quick, cheap, and easy communication made possible by the digital revolution. Our increasing reliance on, and preference for, communication that is expedient and convenient, like email, text messaging, or social media posting, is dangerously eroding more difficult and time-intensive higher-order communication abilities, such as arguing sensibly, resolving conflict, persuading others, bargaining, and providing emotional support. The steady deterioration of our higher-order communication abilities results in more error-prone interactions and chronic misunderstandings that multiply our communication problems, degrade our productivity, and diminish our quality of life. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Stop Talking, Start Communicating balances research, experience, and humor to draw attention to the increasingly problematic disconnect between our higher-order communication needs and our lower-order communication practices, while pointing a straightforward and compelling path to more productive and meaningful conversations. Stop Talking, Start Communicating combines scientific knowledge with proven practices to deliver counterintuitive—but highly effective and immediately usable—communication strategies.