SKU: 590

A Companion to the Classic Bestseller HOW TO READ A BOOK. In 1983, forty years after the publication of HOW TO READ A BOOK, Mortimer J. Adler wrote this instant bestseller as a companion. Drawing on decades of experience as educator and philosopher, Adler gives the reader a short course in efffective comunication filled with the Adler wisdom and wit. "The two generally untaught skills, speaking and listening," he says, "are much more difficult to acquire and more difficult to teach than the parallel skills of writing and reading." The major reason: The arts of grammar, rehtoric, and logic--formal courses in educational institutions through the eighteenth century that developed intelligent speaking and listening--are no longer a part of our basic school curriculum. Mr. Adler rectifies this glaring gap with How to Speak/How to Listen. Drawing on his decades of experience, he gives the reader a short but effective course in these disciplines, applying them to speaking, listening, and conversations. Among his topics: The "Sales Talk" and Other Forms of Persuasive Speech; Lectures and Other Forms of Instructive Speech; Listening with the Mind's Ear; Question and Answer Sessions; How to Make Conversation Profitable and Pleasurable; and Teaching and Learning by Discussion. The result is an incisive, thoughtful, and highly practical book that will help anyone become a more effective and successful communicator. Both instructive and practical, How to Speak/How to Listen will be invaluable to everyone: salespeople and executives involved in conferences and negotiations, politicians, lecturers, and teachers, as well as families seeking to improve communication among themselves. The Chicago Tribune says, "He [Adler]offers us both a fascinating theoretical analysis of oral communication and practical tips derived from his long years of experience. This book will be appreciated by anyone who ever has to get up before an audience and speak."

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