Actor Alan Alda tells the fascinating story of his
quest to learn how to communicate better, and to teach others to do the same.
With his trademark humor and candor, he explores how to develop empathy as the
key factor.
Alan Alda has been on a
decades-long journey to discover new ways to help people communicate and relate
to one another more effectively. If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on
My Face? is the warm, witty, and informative chronicle of how Alda found
inspiration in everything from cutting-edge science to classic acting methods.
His search began when he was host of PBS’s Scientific American Frontiers, where
he interviewed thousands of scientists and developed a knack for helping them
communicate complex ideas in ways a wide audience could understand—and Alda
wondered if those techniques held a clue to better communication for the rest
of us.
In his wry and wise voice, Alda
reflects on moments of miscommunication in his own life, when an absence of
understanding resulted in problems both big and small. He guides us through his
discoveries, showing how communication can be improved through learning to
relate to the other person: listening with our eyes, looking for clues in
another’s face, using the power of a compelling story, avoiding jargon, and
reading another person so well that you become “in sync” with them, and know
what they are thinking and feeling—especially when you’re talking about the
hard stuff.
Drawing on improvisation
training, theater, and storytelling techniques from a life of acting, and with
insights from recent scientific studies, Alda describes ways we can build
empathy, nurture our innate mind-reading abilities, and improve the way we
relate and talk with others. Exploring empathy-boosting games and exercises, If
I Understood You is a funny, thought-provoking guide that can be used by all of
us, in every aspect of our lives—with our friends, lovers, and families, with
our doctors, in business settings, and beyond.
“Alda uses his trademark humor and a well-honed
ability to get to the point, to help us all learn how to leverage the better
communicator inside each of us.”—Forbes
“Communicating is at the heart of connectedness.
Alda, with his laudable curiosity, has learned something you and I can use
right now.”—Charlie Rose
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