Books for Dealing With People

I’ve written before about how dealing with people does not necessarily come naturally to people. Just like any other skill we must learn and practise to improve.

In that spirit, here are three more books for dealing with people. Hopefully these books will help to give you a framework for beginning better relations with other people, and possibly a better understanding of yourself.

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk

A useful book for many parents, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk goes to the heart of the issue when it comes to people: communication. The lessons described in this book apply not just to children, but also to adults.

The most important lesson I learned from this book is that above all else, people want to feel listened to. By letting people know we hear what they are saying – even if we don’t agree – we can communicate with them much better.

Siblings Without Rivalry

Siblings Without Rivalry is something of a sequel to “How to Talk So Kids Will Listen“. Look beyond the kid-print text and this is another book with useful lessons for dealing with people.

The book ostensibly deals with issues surrounding children, but in fact it goes so much further than that. It covers dealing with such topics as new people entering a group, the destructive power of pidgeon-holing people, and the benefits of positive reinforcement.

Getting to Yes

Getting to Yes is about negotiation. As With the other books suggested here, the key message is communication. By trying to understand the interests of the other party you can much better negotiate a ‘wise settlement’ which best benefits both parties.

Getting to Yes encourages you to try to think creatively about possible solutions that can satisfy both your interests and those of your negotiating adversary. By being empathetic to the concerns of the other party, without giving up your interests, you can often come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.