The leading Harvard professor shows how we can all become better at conversation – and why this will help us all thrive

Conversation is at the heart of our relationships and our decision-making. From meeting a colleague to saying goodnight to our loved ones, our days are filled with verbal communication -- but the science of everyday conversation is little known. We may spend time thinking about difficult exchanges, but research shows that there’s room to improve seemingly easy interactions too.

In Talk, Harvard professor Alison Wood Brooks shows how simple changes in how we communicate can enhance our relationships, our performance at work and our lives; who we talk to affects our happiness; and how to talk across differences. Her original research, based on thousands of conversations from sales calls to speed dating, provides fascinating insights - for instance, the way that certain questions affect dating success, and the role of jokes in reaching leadership positions.

Learning to converse even a little more effectively can make a big difference. Through her original TALK framework – Topics, Asking, Levity and Kindness – Wood Brooks will give you the tools that her MBA students say transforms their lives. Bringing together psychology, linguistics, sociology and neuroscience, Talk will show how we can use science to help us enrich our lives, one conversation at a time.

In recent years there has been an increase in research into childhood depression, and it is now recognised that depression can severely impair young people in many aspects of their life, school, peer and social relationships, and frequently persists into adulthood. Depression: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with Children and Young People provides an accessible guide to recognising and treating depression in young people. Based on a successful manual developed for research trials, this book presents an overview of a cognitive behavioural model for working with this age group, as well as practical ideas about how to start therapy. Topics covered include: engaging young people setting goals for therapy cognitive behaviour assessment and formulation solutions for problems practitioners may face encouraging parents and agencies to support therapy. Depression includes case examples and practical tips to prepare the practitioner for working with young people. Information is presented in a readable and practical style making this book ideal for professionals working in child and adolescent mental health services, as well as those in training. It will also be a useful guide for people working in community services for young people. Online resources: The appendices of this book contain worksheets that can be downloaded free of charge to purchasers of the print version. Please visit the website to find out more about this facility

In recent years there has been an increase in research into childhood depression, and it is now recognised that depression can severely impair young people in many aspects of their life, school, peer and social relationships, and frequently persists into adulthood.

Depression: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with Children and Young People provides an accessible guide to recognising and treating depression in young people. Based on a successful manual developed for research trials, this book presents an overview of a cognitive behavioural model for working with this age group, as well as practical ideas about how to start therapy. Topics covered include:

• engaging young people
• setting goals for therapy
• cognitive behaviour assessment and formulation
• solutions for problems practitioners may face
• encouraging parents and agencies to support therapy.

Depression includes case examples and practical tips to prepare the practitioner for working with young people. Information is presented in a readable and practical style making this book ideal for professionals working in child and adolescent mental health services, as well as those in training. It will also be a useful guide for people working in community services for young people.

Online resources:

The appendices of this book contain worksheets that can be downloaded free of charge to purchasers of the print version. Please visit the website to find out more about this facility