We look forward to seeing you on your next visit to the library. Find a location near you.

We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Published:
HarperCollins 2017
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description

"WE NEED TO TALK."

In this urgent and insightful book, public radio journalist Celeste Headlee shows us how to bridge what divides us—by having real conversations

BASED ON THE TED TALK WITH OVER 10 MILLION VIEWS
NPR's Best Books of 2017

Winner of the 2017 Silver Nautilus Award in Relationships & Communication

"We Need to Talk is an important read for a conversationally-challenged, disconnected age. Headlee is a talented, honest storyteller, and her advice has helped me become a better spouse, friend, and mother." (Jessica Lahey, author of New York Times bestseller The Gift of Failure)

Today most of us communicate from behind electronic screens, and studies show that Americans feel less connected and more divided than ever before. The blame for some of this disconnect can be attributed to our political landscape, but the erosion of our conversational skills as a society lies with us as individuals.

And the only way forward, says Headlee, is to start talking to each other. In We Need to Talk, she outlines the strategies that have made her a better conversationalist—and offers simple tools that can improve anyone's communication. For example:

  • BE THERE OR GO ELSEWHERE. Human beings are incapable of multitasking, and this is especially true of tasks that involve language. Think you can type up a few emails while on a business call, or hold a conversation with your child while texting your spouse? Think again.
  • CHECK YOUR BIAS. The belief that your intelligence protects you from erroneous assumptions can end up making you more vulnerable to them. We all have blind spots that affect the way we view others. Check your bias before you judge someone else.
  • HIDE YOUR PHONE. Don't just put down your phone, put it away. New research suggests that the mere presence of a cell phone can negatively impact the quality of a conversation.
  • Whether you're struggling to communicate with your kid's teacher at school, an employee at work, or the people you love the most—Headlee offers smart strategies that can help us all have conversations that matter.

    Also in This Series
    Formats
    Adobe EPUB eBook
    Works on all eReaders (except Kindles), desktop computers and mobile devices with reading apps installed.
    Kindle Book
    Works on Kindles and devices with a Kindle app installed.
    OverDrive Read
    Need Help?
    If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
    More Like This
    Other Editions and Formats
    More Copies In LINK+
    Loading LINK+ Copies...
    More Details
    Format:
    Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
    Street Date:
    09/19/2017
    Language:
    English
    ISBN:
    9780062669025
    ASIN:
    B01NAID961
    Reviews from GoodReads
    Loading GoodReads Reviews.
    Citations
    APA Citation (style guide)

    Celeste Headlee. (2017). We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter. HarperCollins.

    Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

    Celeste Headlee. 2017. We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter. HarperCollins.

    Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

    Celeste Headlee, We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter. HarperCollins, 2017.

    MLA Citation (style guide)

    Celeste Headlee. We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter. HarperCollins, 2017.

    Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
    Copy Details
    LibraryOwnedAvailable
    Shared Digital Collection11

    There is 1 hold on this title.

    Staff View
    Grouped Work ID:
    4a61248e-c8de-ca26-02ac-2ed0fa4e2071
    Go To Grouped Work
    Needs Update?:
    No
    Date Added:
    Jun 12, 2018 17:13:07
    Date Updated:
    Nov 22, 2022 09:37:03
    Last Metadata Check:
    Mar 24, 2024 08:36:37
    Last Metadata Change:
    Mar 07, 2024 14:36:03
    Last Availability Check:
    Mar 24, 2024 08:36:40
    Last Availability Change:
    Mar 23, 2024 22:06:34
    Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
    Mar 28, 2024 21:04:52

    OverDrive Product Record

    images
      • cover:
          • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/0293-1/{7022EBC7-7EED-4DAF-825E-D1F859C13A45}Img100.jpg
          • type: image/jpeg
      • thumbnail:
          • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/0293-1/{7022EBC7-7EED-4DAF-825E-D1F859C13A45}Img200.jpg
          • type: image/jpeg
      • cover150Wide:
          • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/0293-1/702/2EB/C7/{7022EBC7-7EED-4DAF-825E-D1F859C13A45}Img150.jpg
          • type: image/jpeg
      • cover300Wide:
          • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/0293-1/702/2EB/C7/{7022EBC7-7EED-4DAF-825E-D1F859C13A45}Img400.jpg
          • type: image/jpeg
    formats
        • identifiers:
              • type: ISBN
              • value: 9780062669025
        • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
        • id: ebook-epub-adobe
        • identifiers:
              • type: ASIN
              • value: B01NAID961
        • name: Kindle Book
        • id: ebook-kindle
        • identifiers:
              • type: ISBN
              • value: 9780062669025
        • name: OverDrive Read
        • id: ebook-overdrive
    mediaType
    eBook
    primaryCreator
      • role: Author
      • name: Celeste Headlee
    title
    We Need to Talk
    dateAdded
    2017-11-03T19:35:48.29Z
    contentDetails
        • href: https://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=141&titleID=3064629
        • type: text/html
        • account:
            • name: Sacramento Public Library (CA)
            • id: 1151
    sortTitle
    We Need to Talk How to Have Conversations That Matter
    crossRefId
    3064629
    subtitle
    How to Have Conversations That Matter
    id
    7022EBC7-7EED-4DAF-825E-D1F859C13A45
    starRating
    3.6

    OverDrive MetaData

    isPublicDomain
    False
    formats
        • fileName: WeNeedtoTalk_9780062669025_3064629
        • partCount: 0
        • fileSize: 347205
        • identifiers:
              • type: ISBN
              • value: 9780062669025
        • rights:
              • type: Copying
              • value: 0
              • type: Printing
              • value: 0
              • type: Lending
              • value: 0
              • type: ReadAloud
              • value: 1
              • type: ExpirationRights
              • value: 0
        • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
        • isReadAlong: False
        • id: ebook-epub-adobe
        • onSaleDate: 9/19/2017
        • samples:
              • source: From the book
              • formatType: ebook-overdrive
              • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=7022ebc7-7eed-4daf-825e-d1f859c13a45&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
        • fileName: WeNeedtoTalk_3064629
        • partCount: 0
        • fileSize: 0
        • identifiers:
              • type: ASIN
              • value: B01NAID961
        • name: Kindle Book
        • isReadAlong: False
        • id: ebook-kindle
        • onSaleDate: 9/19/2017
        • samples:
              • source: From the book
              • formatType: ebook-overdrive
              • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=7022ebc7-7eed-4daf-825e-d1f859c13a45&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
        • fileName: WeNeedtoTalk_9780062669025_3064629
        • partCount: 0
        • fileSize: 397984
        • identifiers:
              • type: ISBN
              • value: 9780062669025
        • name: OverDrive Read
        • isReadAlong: False
        • id: ebook-overdrive
        • onSaleDate: 9/19/2017
        • samples:
              • source: From the book
              • formatType: ebook-overdrive
              • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=7022ebc7-7eed-4daf-825e-d1f859c13a45&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
    creators
        • role: Author
        • fileAs: Headlee, Celeste
        • bioText:

          CELESTE HEADLEE is an award-winning journalist, professional speaker and the author of We Need To Talk: How To Have Conversations That Matter, and Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving. An expert in conversation, human nature, reclaiming our common humanity and finding well-being, Celeste frequently provides insight on what is good for all humans and what is bad for us, focusing on the best research in neuro and social science to increase understanding of how we relate with one another and can work together in beneficial ways in our workplaces, neighborhoods, communities and homes. She is a regular guest host on NPR and American Public Media and a highly sought consultant, advising companies around the world on conversations about race, diversity and inclusion. Her TEDx Talk sharing 10 ways to have a better conversation has over 23 million total views, and she serves as an advisory board member for ProCon.org and The Listen First Project. Celeste is the recipient of the 2019 Media Changemaker Award. She is the proud granddaughter of composer William Grant Still, the Dean of African American Composers.

        • name: Celeste Headlee
    imprint
    Harper Audio
    publishDate
    2017-09-19T00:00:00-04:00
    isOwnedByCollections
    True
    title
    We Need to Talk
    fullDescription

    "WE NEED TO TALK."

    In this urgent and insightful book, public radio journalist Celeste Headlee shows us how to bridge what divides us—by having real conversations

    BASED ON THE TED TALK WITH OVER 10 MILLION VIEWS
    NPR's Best Books of 2017

    Winner of the 2017 Silver Nautilus Award in Relationships & Communication

    "We Need to Talk is an important read for a conversationally-challenged, disconnected age. Headlee is a talented, honest storyteller, and her advice has helped me become a better spouse, friend, and mother." (Jessica Lahey, author of New York Times bestseller The Gift of Failure)

    Today most of us communicate from behind electronic screens, and studies show that Americans feel less connected and more divided than ever before. The blame for some of this disconnect can be attributed to our political landscape, but the erosion of our conversational skills as a society lies with us as individuals.

    And the only way forward, says Headlee, is to start talking to each other. In We Need to Talk, she outlines the strategies that have made her a better conversationalist—and offers simple tools that can improve anyone's communication. For example:

  • BE THERE OR GO ELSEWHERE. Human beings are incapable of multitasking, and this is especially true of tasks that involve language. Think you can type up a few emails while on a business call, or hold a conversation with your child while texting your spouse? Think again.
  • CHECK YOUR BIAS. The belief that your intelligence protects you from erroneous assumptions can end up making you more vulnerable to them. We all have blind spots that affect the way we view others. Check your bias before you judge someone else.
  • HIDE YOUR PHONE. Don't just put down your phone, put it away. New research suggests that the mere presence of a cell phone can negatively impact the quality of a conversation.
  • Whether you're struggling to communicate with your kid's teacher at school, an employee at work, or the people you love the most—Headlee offers smart strategies that can help us all have conversations that matter.

    reviews
        • premium: False
        • source: Ron Fournier, New York Times bestselling author of Love That Boy and Publisher of Crain’s Detroit
        • content:

          "Civil discourse is one of humanity's founding institutions and it faces an existential threat: We, the people, need to talk about how we talk to one another. Celeste Headlee shows us how." — Ron Fournier, New York Times bestselling author of Love That Boy and Publisher of Crain's Detroit

          "We Need To Talk is an important read for a conversationally-challenged, disconnected age. Headlee is a talented, honest storyteller, and her advice has helped me become a better spouse, friend, and mother." — Jessica Lahey, author of New York Times bestseller The Gift of Failure

          "This powerful debut offers 10 strategies for improving conversational skills. Tidbits from sociological studies and anecdotes from history, including from civil rights activist Xernona Clayton's groundbreaking conversations with KKK leader Calvin Craig, round out a book that takes its own advice and has much to communicate." — Publishers Weekly

          "In the course of her career, Headlee has interviewed thousands of people from all walks of life and learned that sparking a great conversation is really a matter of a few simple habits that anyone can learn." — Jessica Stillman, Inc.

          "This book is necessary...Headlee's treatise on creating space for valuable mutual reciprocity is one that should become a handbook in any school, business or even a doctor's office where the everyday person visits." — George Elerick, Buzzfeed

          "A well-researched and careful analysis of how and why we talk with one another—our strengths and (myriad) weaknesses...A thoughtful discussion and sometimes-passionate plea for civility and consideration in conversation." — Kirkus Reviews

          "Refreshingly honest....In the era of the lost art of conversation, Headlee helps us find our voice." — Henry Bass, Essence

          "The perfect pre-Thanksgiving read to head off family squabbles and turn the holiday meal into a feast of ideas instead of a political fracas." — Karin Gillespie, Augusta Karin Gillespie, Augusta Chronicle

        • premium: True
        • source: Publisher's Weekly
        • content:

          July 3, 2017
          Based on a popular TED talk, this unassuming but powerful debut offers 10 strategies for improving conversational skills. Headlee recounts her own missteps as a public-radio host as her launching point for an urgent plea: “It only takes one good conversation to change your understanding of someone else’s world, your world, and the world at large.” Never losing sight of this imperative, the book demonstrates the need for better communication in the workplace, in civic spaces, and at home. Headlee is careful to avoid lecturing (at times too much so—her unassuming approach can sometimes come across as a lack of confidence in her own expertise). Her point is to challenge readers, especially the best educated, to recognize their own shortcomings. A common theme in books on communication skills is the importance of listening and empathy—and this work is no different—but Headlee supplements her injunction to listen with directions on avoiding such tendencies as “woolgathering” (“indulging in random thoughts or daydreaming”) while in conversation, or “shift responses” (the often unconscious “desire to take over a conversation”). Tidbits from sociological studies and anecdotes from history, including from civil rights activist Xernona Clayton’s groundbreaking conversations with KKK leader Calvin Craig, round out a book that takes its own advice and has much to communicate. Agent: Heather Jackson, David Black Agency.

        • premium: True
        • source: Kirkus
        • content:

          July 15, 2017
          In this era of social media and increasing political and cultural polarization, we need to think more about how and why we converse with one another.Headlee--who hosts the daily news show On Second Thought on Georgia Public Broadcasting and has been involved in radio broadcasting since the late 1990s--debuts with a book offering different moves and steps to the oft-heard music of the self-help genre. Serious readers will be glad to see the text is not chockablock with bullet points and other graphic favorites (and cliches) of the genre. Instead, the author delivers well-researched and careful analysis of how and why we talk with one another--our strengths and (myriad) weaknesses. Throughout, Headlee surveys psychological and neurological research, reminding us, among other things, that we are not good at multitasking, that areas of our brains light up when we talk about ourselves, and that we have the attention span of a goldfish. The first half of her text is roughly a theoretical foundation of the second, which offers her "specific strategies" for conversing. She suggests that we keep conversations short, eschew preaching, recognize and acknowledge the limits of our knowledge, and listen. Most significantly, she continually returns to her theme of empathy, a factor missing in so many conversations. We are so eager to tell our stories that we neglect to listen attentively to what the other person is saying. Occasionally, Headlee falls victim to platitudes: conversation is like a river; we need to be "fully present" in our conversations, etc. Still, she is appealingly self-deprecating, repeatedly discussing and dissecting her own conversational failures and disasters, and she alludes to a range of authorities on the topics. A thoughtful discussion and sometimes-passionate plea for civility and consideration in conversation.

          COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    popularity
    1004
    links
      • self:
          • href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1BWwAAAA2I/products/7022ebc7-7eed-4daf-825e-d1f859c13a45/metadata
          • type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
    id
    7022ebc7-7eed-4daf-825e-d1f859c13a45
    starRating
    3.6
    images
      • cover:
          • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/0293-1/{7022EBC7-7EED-4DAF-825E-D1F859C13A45}Img100.jpg
          • type: image/jpeg
      • thumbnail:
          • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/0293-1/{7022EBC7-7EED-4DAF-825E-D1F859C13A45}Img200.jpg
          • type: image/jpeg
      • cover150Wide:
          • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/0293-1/702/2EB/C7/{7022EBC7-7EED-4DAF-825E-D1F859C13A45}Img150.jpg
          • type: image/jpeg
      • cover300Wide:
          • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/0293-1/702/2EB/C7/{7022EBC7-7EED-4DAF-825E-D1F859C13A45}Img400.jpg
          • type: image/jpeg
    isPublicPerformanceAllowed
    False
    languages
        • code: en
        • name: English
    subjects
        • value: Family & Relationships
        • value: Language Arts
        • value: Nonfiction
        • value: Self Help
    publishDateText
    09/19/2017
    otherFormatIdentifiers
        • type: ISBN
        • value: 9780062669018
    mediaType
    eBook
    shortDescription

    "WE NEED TO TALK."

    In this urgent and insightful book, public radio journalist Celeste Headlee shows us how to bridge what divides us—by having real conversations

    BASED ON THE TED TALK WITH OVER 10 MILLION VIEWS
    NPR's Best Books of 2017

    Winner of the 2017 Silver Nautilus Award in Relationships & Communication

    "We Need to Talk is an important read for a conversationally-challenged, disconnected age. Headlee is a talented, honest storyteller, and her advice has helped me become a better spouse, friend, and mother." (Jessica Lahey, author of New York Times bestseller The Gift of Failure)

    Today most of us communicate from behind electronic screens, and studies show that Americans feel less connected and more divided than ever before. The blame for some of this disconnect can be attributed to our political landscape, but the erosion of our conversational skills as a society lies with us as individuals....

    sortTitle
    We Need to Talk How to Have Conversations That Matter
    crossRefId
    3064629
    subtitle
    How to Have Conversations That Matter
    publisher
    HarperCollins
    bisacCodes
        • code: FAM013000
        • description: Family & Relationships / Conflict Resolution
        • code: LAN004000
        • description: Language Arts & Disciplines / Communication Studies
        • code: SEL040000
        • description: Self-Help / Communication & Social Skills