How is it that we find it easy to talk to some people and struggle to do so with others? Why does the effectiveness of a message rely so strongly on who the messenger is? And what is the secret of having a successful difficult conversation?

Charles Duhigg has the answer to all these questions and many more, and in Everything is a Conversation he shares the arts and science of successful communication. He explains the neuroscience of listening. He interviews expert persuaders and reveals their secrets. And he reveals the techniques we can all master to achieve a sense of true connectedness with others, however tricky the circumstances. Along the way he shows how a board game fanatic used his conversational skills to become a champion, how a potentially fatal outbreak of botulism was prevented not by medical diagnosis but by talking, and what Plato has to teach us about empathy.

Packed with fascinating stories and drawing on cutting-edge research, this is a wonderfully readable and rewarding book on an essential human skill.