Communication is a superpower. And in 2024, we have more ways to communicate than ever before. We Zoom. We email. We like. We comment. We text. But are we connecting? The bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Charles Duhigg blends deep research and real-life stories in his latest book, Supercommunicators (out Feb. 20), to help us understand what makes our conversations work—and how to truly connect with others both in life and at work.

Using scientific research to explore why we do what we do, Duhigg offers insightful tips on how we can hack our habits to improve our lives. Using his trademark storytelling skills to draw you in, these memorable stories are his secret to helping readers understand complex research—and remember it.

More on Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection

🎧 Audiobook, read by the author

Come inside a jury room as one juror leads a starkly divided room to consensus. Join a young CIA officer as he recruits a reluctant foreign agent. And sit with an accomplished surgeon as he tries, and fails, to convince yet another cancer patient to opt for the less risky course of treatment. In Supercommunicators, Charles Duhigg shows how we can all learn to identify and leverage the hidden layers that lurk beneath every conversation.

Communication is a superpower and the best communicators understand that whenever we speak, we’re actually participating in one of three conversations: practical (What’s this really about?), emotional (How do we feel?) and social (Who are we?). If you don’t know what kind of conversation you’re having, you’re unlikely to connect.

Supercommunicators know the importance of recognizing - and then matching - each kind of conversation, and how to hear the complex emotions, subtle negotiations and deeply held beliefs that color so much of what we say and how we listen. Our experiences, our values, our emotional lives - and how we see ourselves, and others - shape every discussion, from who will pick up the kids to how we want to be treated at work. In this book, you will learn why some people are able to make themselves heard, and to hear others, so clearly.

With his storytelling that takes us from the writers’ room of The Big Bang Theory to the couches of leading marriage counselors, Duhigg shows readers how to recognize these three conversations - and teaches us the tips and skills we need to navigate them more successfully.

In the end, he delivers a simple but powerful lesson: With the right tools, we can connect with anyone.

📚 More tips from Charles: “Read. It’s fun—and makes you a better person at the same time.”

Read these next

Want more science-backed books about how to improve your life and work? Borrow these from your library on the Libby reading app.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, being more productive and achieving success is understanding how habits work. By harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities and our lives.

Smarter Better Faster by Charles Duhigg

A story-filled exploration of the science of productivity, this book can help us learn to succeed with less stress and struggle - and become smarter, faster and better at everything we do.

Think Again by Adam Grant

We don’t have to believe everything we think or internalize everything we feel. It’s an invitation to let go of views that are no longer serving us well and prize mental flexibility over foolish consistency. If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom.

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

The renowned psychologist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think.

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