Books on Conversation Conversation

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This list focuses specifically on books where conversation, dialogue, and collective sense-making sit at the centre. These works explore how people think together, listen, inquire, and engage across difference, all of which are foundational to Conversational Leadership as a lived practice.

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Books on Conversation


    01 January, 2020
    Authentic Conversations: Moving From Manipulation to Truth and Commitment by James Showkeir



    Changing Conversations in Organizations: A Complexity Approach to Change by Patricia Shaw (2002)
    The book "Changing Conversations in Organizations" by Patricia Shaw explores a complexity-informed approach to organizational change that focuses on the self-organizing and emergent properties of conversation. Shaw suggests that real change happens through the ongoing, everyday conversations and interactions between people in organizations rather than through structured change programs or ... Continue reading



    Content-area Conversations: How to Plan Discussion-based Lessons for Diverse Language Learners by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Carol Rothenberg



    31 October, 2022
    ★  Recommended Conversation: A History of a Declining Art Stephen Miller (2007)
    In the book Conversation: A History of a Declining Art,  Stephen Miller pursues a lifelong interest in conversation by taking a historical and philosophical view of the subject. He chronicles the art of conversation in Western civilization from its beginnings in ancient Greece to its apex in eighteenth-century Britain to its current endangered state in America. As Harry G. Frankfurt ... Continue reading



    ★  Recommended Conversation: How Talk Can Change Our Lives by Theodore Zeldin (2000)
    In this book, Conversation: How talk can change our lives, Theodore Zeldin explains what kind of talk charmed and excited people in the past, and why we talk differently today. It explores the art and the history of conversation and how it can be the key to a happier, more interesting future. It shows how women have changed the ways lovers speak, how families avoid silence or boredom, how ... Continue reading



    Conversational Learning: an Experiential Approach to Knowledge Creation by Ann C. Baker, Patricia J. Jensen, David A. Kolb (2002)



    Conversational Wisdom: Strengthening Human Connection Through the Power of Conversation Emily Cosgrove and Sara Hope (2023)
    Conversation: the heartbeat of our organisations. Right now, we’re at risk of losing the art of doing it well. We need to radically change how we talk to each other, to create workplaces where people feel they belong and can thrive. This book will help you understand how to grow your conversational wisdom to create more inclusive and collaborative environments and to make work more ... Continue reading



    Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler (2011)



    01 May, 2018
    ★  Recommended Dialogic Organization Development: the Theory and Practice of Transformational Change by Gervase R. Bushe, Robert J. Marshak (2015)
    First Int'l Conference on Dialogic Organization Development | Gervase Bushe & Robert Marshak ... Continue reading



    Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together: A Pioneering Approach to Communicating in Business and in Life by William Isaacs



    Dialogue: Rediscover the Transforming Power of Conversation by Linda Ellinor, Glenna Gerard



    Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton , Sheila Heen (1999)



    Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work & in Life, One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott (2002)



    From Debate to Dialogue: Using the Understanding Process to Transform Our Conversations by Deborah L. Flick (1998)



    Good Talk: How to Design Conversations That Matter by Daniel Stillman (2020)
    Leadership is the art of designing transformative conversations. Real change is needed now, more than ever. This change can’t happen through force, edict, or persuasion. The future will be built through conversation - and Good Talk will show you how. Good Talk is a step-by-step framework to effect change in your personal and professional conversations. With dozens of tools and interactive ... Continue reading



    14 July, 2020
    ★  Recommended How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide by Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay (2019)
    In our current political climate, it seems impossible to have a civil conversation with someone who has a different opinion. Dialogue is shut down when perspectives clash. Heated debates on Facebook and Twitter often lead to shaming, hindering any possibility of productive discourse. In this book, How to Have Impossible Conversations, Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay describe the process of ... Continue reading



    Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone by Mark Goulston (2015)



    Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach: the Power of Dialogue in Educating Adults by Jane Kathryn Vella



    Learning Together and Alone: Cooperative, Competitive, and Individualistic Learning by David W. Johnson, Roger T. Johnson
    In this book, Learning Together and Alone, the authors integrate cooperative learning with competitive and individualistic learning by providing guidelines for managing critical issues such as teaching social skills, assessing competencies and involvement, and resolving conflict among group members. Each type of learning is clearly defined; the advantages and disadvantages of each are covered, ... Continue reading



    21 August, 2023
    Let’s Talk: How to Have Better Conversations By Nihal Arthanayake
    In the book Let's Talk: How to Have Better Conversations by Nihal Arthanayake, he explores why meaningful conversation has become increasingly difficult and what we can do to improve it. Drawing on his experience as a broadcaster and interviewer, Arthanayake reflects on conversations with a wide range of individuals and identifies the habits that help create openness, trust, and genuine ... Continue reading



    Life-changing Conversations: 7 Strategies for Talking About What Matters Most by Sarah Rozenthuler



    Listening to the Volcano: Conversations That Open Our Minds to New Possibilities by David Hutchens (2005)



    Listening: the Forgotten Skill by Madelyn Burley-All



    26 August, 2020
    Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg



    ★  Recommended On Dialogue by David Bohm (2004)
    Never before has there been a greater need for deeper listening and more open communication to cope with the complex problems facing our organizations, businesses, and societies. In this book, On Dialogue, scientist David Bohm believed there was a better way for humanity to discover meaning and achieve harmony. He identified creative dialogue, a sharing of assumptions and understanding, as ... Continue reading



    On Dialogue – an Essay in Free Thought by Robert Grudin (1996)



    21 August, 2025
    Oracy: the Transformative Power of Finding Your Voice by Neil Mercer
    In the book Oracy by Neil Mercer, spoken language is treated as a central medium for thinking, learning, and social participation, not as a secondary skill. The book argues that how people talk together shapes how they reason, make sense of experience, and develop understanding. Oracy is the ability to use spoken language effectively across contexts, including exploratory discussion, ... Continue reading



    Organizing Conversations: Preparing Groups to Take on Adaptive Challenges By Mike Burrows (2024)
    The models and processes in this book emerged from Mike Burrows' frustrating, all too common experience of being asked to help a group become more Agile or Lean, only to discover that many in the room had no idea why they were there. To them, he was there not to help but to impose. Trying to impose new ways of organizing on people with no say in what happens is rarely successful; here, it was ... Continue reading



    Overcoming Hate Through Dialogue: Confronting Prejudice, Racism, and Bigotry with Conversation―and Coffee By Özlem Cekic (2020)
    In the book Overcoming Hate Through Dialogue by Özlem Cekic, she explores the transformative power of dialogue in bridging divides and challenging deeply held biases. Cekic, a former Danish parliamentarian of Kurdish descent, shares her journey of engaging in difficult conversations with individuals with prejudiced views. Through these intimate encounters, she reveals how open dialogue, ... Continue reading



    Reclaiming Conversation: the Power of Talk in a Digital Age by Sherry Turkle (2015)



    08 August, 2020
    Speak Up: Say What Needs to Be Said and Hear What Needs to Be Heard by Megan Reitz and John Higgins (2019)
    Our day-to-day conversations define how we see ourselves and how we’re seen. The choices we make about what to say and who to say it to are decisive factors in whether we get promoted, or side-lined. Whether we steer clear of trouble or find ourselves in it up to our necks. With daily scandals hitting the headlines and the continuous need to innovate to survive, creating a more honest, open, ... Continue reading



    Talk: the Science of Conversation By Elizabeth Stokoe (2018)



    Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves by Alison Wood Brooks (2025)
    In this book, Talk, Alison Wood Brooks explores a paradox many of us live with: we often struggle with difficult conversations, but we’re not always great at the easy ones either. Though we speak with others every day, Brooks—Harvard professor and expert in the psychology of conversation—argues that talking is one of the most complex, demanding, and easily misunderstood of all human ... Continue reading



    28 April, 2023
    Talking Cure: an Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation by Paula Marantz Cohen (2023)
    In this book, Talking Cure by Paula Marantz Cohen reveals how conversation connects us in ways that social media never can and explains why simply talking to each other freely and without guile may be the cure to what ails our troubled society. Drawing on her lifelong immersion in literature and culture and her decades of experience as a teacher and critic, Cohen argues that we learn to ... Continue reading



    The Art of Listening by Erich Fromm (1998)



    27 December, 2023
    The Concept of Conversation: From Cicero’s Sermo to the Grand Siecle’s Conversation David Randall (2019)
    In The Concept of Conversation, David Randall argues that conversation, often overlooked in history, profoundly shaped early modern Europe. He reveals how it transformed from elite philosophical discourse to encompass friendship, salons, the press, and even women's voices. Challenging Habermas's view, Randall sees conversation, not just rational public debate, as central to intellectual ... Continue reading



    The Conversational Enlightenment: the Reconception of Rhetoric in Eighteenth-century Thought David Randall (2020)
    David Randall's "Conversational Enlightenment" explores the 18th century's "conversation boom" in literature, philosophy, art, and society. He shows how conversation expanded beyond elites, influencing politeness, public opinion, and even art. He argues it wasn't just chatter but a tool for shaping ideas & the Enlightenment itself. He challenges traditional views, highlighting salons ... Continue reading



    The Discussion Book: 50 Great Ways to Get People Talking by Stephen D. Brookfield and Stephen Preskill (2016)



    The Great Unheard at Work: Understanding Voice and Silence in Organisations Mark Cole and John Higgins (2023)
    The Great Unheard at Work by Mark Cole and John Higgins makes the case that silence always has something to say – it’s never neutral and speaks volumes if people are willing to hear. Our response to silence is often to dismiss or end it, to block it out with noise. Instead, silence needs to be taken seriously. This book explores the importance of understanding silence and shows how we can ... Continue reading



    The Magic of Dialogue: Transforming Conflict Into Cooperation by Daniel Yankelovich



    The Talking Revolution: How Creative Conversation Can Change the World by Peter Osborn, Eddy Canfor-Dumas (2018)



    Time to Think: Listening to Ignite the Human Mind by Nancy Kline



Image Credits: Gerhard Gellinger (CC0 1.0)

This page is part of a blook on Conversational Leadership. Parts of this book have restricted access. You can learn more about the book and how to obtain full access on the home page.

Conversational Leadership Workshop
In-person, 7–11 September 2026, Warbrook House, Hampshire, UK

We are living and working in conditions of uncertainty, complexity, and rapid change. Many leadership approaches still rely on control, expertise, and tools that no longer fit the realities people face.

This week-long immersive workshop brings people together to practise Conversational Leadership as a shared, lived experience. It is not a training course but a space to slow down, think together, and explore how leadership emerges through dialogue, responsibility, and real engagement.

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