You Said What?-- Review

Just finished reading a very short, little book titled You Said What? by Zoller and Preston. It's a quick guide to improving communication, and extremely easy to read! Written by two communications professionals, Zoller and Preston remind us how easily our credibility can be destroyed a by simple communicaton faux pas.

What I like about this book is how simple it is... Zoller and Preston incorporate a series of short vignettes with experiences shared by real people. They share bulleted lists of do's and don'ts in successful business communications. Many of them are obvious, such as don't text while also talking to someone, and listen more than you speak. They also include the brief points to cover in your "elevator speech," the need for a firm handshake, and using correct grammar.

I'm undecided about whether this is THE book for my undergrads, who desperately need help in learning professional communications! This book is more about communication reminders than communication "how-to's"-- so I'm going to continue to explore trade books on good communication skills for the new senior seminar undergrad course I'm developing this summer. I'd like to find a very simple guide to successful communication skills for undergraduates about to enter the job market, and so I'm not looking for a theoretical communications text.

Stay tuned... my Nook is loaded and I have more books to read and review!