Everyone is talking about conversations but are we really having them? Are 90% of conversations incorporated in 140 characters or thinking of the latest sound bite to get our message across? In Russ Unger’s new book Designing the Conversation: Techniques for Successful Facilitation (Voices That Matter) he discusses the ability to communicate and the practice of setting up the conversation to make it productive. Stephen Anderson sums up the book:
A book on facilitation? I wouldn’t have thought this was needed, but after reading Designing the Conversation, I’m reminded of all the valuable skills we learn—with some difficulty, mind you—on our own. Fortunately, all that stuff is covered here, from preparing for a session to handling the difficult personalities. And it’s all delivered in a way that’s short, to the point, and packed with plenty of pop culture references, making this a fun, lively read! You’ll grin at uncomfortably familiar situations and nod in agreement as bits of invaluable advice are served in style through every chapter.
I enjoyed the book as much Stephen did and almost as much as Russ’s first book, A Project Guide to UX Design: For user experience designers in the field or in the making (2nd Edition) (Voices That Matter).
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Russ Unger is a user experience consultant and is on the Advisory Board for the Department of Web Design and Development at Harrington College of Design. His workshops have been attended by a variety of companies, from lean startups to large corporations. Since 1993 he has helped many companies incorporate user experience strategies and tactics into their designs. You can find Russ at http://userglue.com.
