Recommendations: Communication and People Skills

Last modified on May 11, 2008   About this page

Communication and People Skills

Communication Gaps and How to Close Them by Naomi Karten
Communication Gaps and How to Close ThemIf you work with or live with other people you should read this book. It is filled with information on understanding how communication gaps happen, and practical advice for resolving commuunications issues with other people. Most of the advice seems obvious, yet it if often the obvious that one needs to be reminded of. Among the extremely practical bits of information in the book is are dicussions of communication models (so that you can understand why communication might break down), and a chapter on how to write Service Level Agreements.

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Becoming a Technical Leader : An Organic Problem-Solving Approach by Gerald Weinberg.
Becoming a Technical Leader : An Organic Problem-Solving  ApproachThis book has lots of good information for technical people at all levels. This book even has some good work-style and problem solving ideas for non-technical people.

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The Secrets of Consulting by Gerald Weinberg.
The Secrets of ConsultingEveryone consults, according to Weinberg, and you'll find lots of useful stuff here, whether you are a full time employee, contract employee, or someone who is considering consulting.

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More Secrets of Consulting: The Consultants Toolkit by Gerald Weinberg.
More Secrets of Consulting: The Consultants ToolkitThis book talks about how you can keep yourself focused on doing the right things. The text and examples are geared to consultants, but most everyone will find these "tools" useful.

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Journey of the Software Professional: A Sociology of Software Development by Luke Hohmann
Journey of the Software Professional: A Sociology of Software  DevelopmentThis book really made me think about my work, both day to day and career-wise. Covers practical approaches to improving culture, communication, and work environment. My favorite chapters were Avoiding Bad Working Environments and Working In a Poor Environment .


Difficult Conversations : How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen.
Difficult Conversations : How to Discuss What Matters  MostAn excellent resource on how to approach issues at work and at home. Should be required reading for everyone who is part of a team or a relationship.

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Getting to Yes : Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher and William Ury.
Getting to Yes : Negotiating Agreement Without Giving InThis is one of the "classic" books on negotiation, and still worth a read. This book is worth reading if you need to negotiate anything (requirements, assignments, schedules) as part of your job. It also has some insights that will help in personal relationships.

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Getting Past No : Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation by William Ury.
Getting Past No : Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to	 CooperationThis book builds on Getting to Yes . If you find yourself in having trouble making headway in negitiation situations, it is worth a read. But read Getting to Yes first.

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Are Your Lights On? by Gerald M. Weinberg.
Are Your Lights On?An easy to read, entertaining book that illustrates quite clearly what some people never really learn: you need to know what the problem is before looking for a solution.