Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Good communication is vital to being happy. It’s important to think for yourself and evaluate what’s true.”

Communication has never been one of my strong points. I have gotten better over the years, but there is still plenty for me to work on! Thankfully, this book gave me that perfect stepping stone to becoming more confident, and I’ve learnt so many valuable lessons in communicating well. I’m very happy to be sharing my review for Mindful Communication for Happiness – if it’s something you think you could learn from, you can support the author by buying a copy yourself or by sharing my review!

About the book

This book is designed to help you communicate more effectively and attract happiness. The book is presented in a simple and concise manner for quick learning and application. Become more mindful of your own communication. Learn about conflict resolution, influencing, communicating in difficult situations, relationships and business. Explore different areas of communication including subtle, electronic, in-person, direct and indirect. Begin to have increased health, confidence and energy while reducing negative emotions.

Introduction

What I really liked about this book straight away was its honesty. The author tells us that the book isn’t written from a scientific perspective, but from experience. This instantly gave the book a more personal touch in my opinion, and I thought it would be interesting to hear the author’s take on the topic of communication for happiness. The introduction set the book up perfectly for what was to come, and I was really curious to see the layout of the information given and also exactly if I could benefit from the author’s words. The author also makes a point of noting that it’s okay if you have some of the bad habits described for communication, something which made me breathe out a sigh of relief. As someone who isn’t the best communicator, I needed that reassurance that I could turn things around! We’re all learning, and the process of doing so helps us to grow as better people, and ultimately, better communicators.

“People can’t always see their own bad habits, so changing them can be hard. People have to want to change and realize that it will take hard work, sacrifices and patience.”

I really appreciated the author’s list of considerations to take into account in order to kickstart your day the right way and to get into the right mindset. From getting enough sleep and drinking enough water, to spending time taking care of your body and mind, there were many things I’d never really matched with working on communication, but being in the right frame of mind is essential, which makes a whole lot of sense when you think about it! One particular sentence really hit home for me and made me think: Successful communicators will have access to opportunities unavailable to many people. I absolutely agree with this. I often wonder how my life would differ if I was an extrovert with loads of confidence and excellent communication skills. Would I be in a different job? Would I be richer? Would I really have access to so many more opportunities than I have now? Just thinking about all this had me very excited for the rest of the book – a very successful introductory section in my eyes!

The middle

There are six sections within this book, with each going into more detail about each specific topic:

• Communication
• Subtle Communication
• Valuing Yourself in the Context of Communication
• Listening and Giving Advice
• Conflict Resolution
• Communication and Relationships

Despite there being a need for more organised chapters (there are no subheadings, for example) I thought the information given was very informative, something you can think about on a much deeper level throughout reading. In most cases, the information is clear and feels as though the author is directing every word towards you and your own personal experience. However, there were times were I felt there could have been even more detail. For example, in the first section, the author states, ‘If you’re in a group situation and others try to engage communication with your group, try to be polite and see what they’re offering. If it’s uncalibrated or clearly not a fit, be direct enough about it in a nice way or let someone else do it.’ Reading this, I was thinking, “Well, how do I direct this in a nice way? How do I word something like this to be polite but direct?” For a book about communication, I felt I needed that little bit more guidance, and I hoped this would be covered in some way later on!

On a different note, the book does provide a ton of food for thought, and the amount covered was quite surprising! There was so much to this book, a lot of it I had never even considered, and at times, it felt refreshing to read something that I could learn from. There’s so much that makes up effective communication, and the author balances the good and the bad well, asking the reader questions to get them thinking about their own habits or what they’d do in a given situation. The book not only covers your own communication, but also the communication of others and how to deal with it and digest it. I liked this exploration and it really gives the reader a whole lot more to think about. Again, the structure of the information could be improved upon and it was unclear when a new area of a topic was being covered. The information would be much easier to take in and comprehend with a few little structural changes!

The author is clearly very knowledgeable in this topic area, and his experiences shine through in his words. In a few places I thought back to some different scenarios in the past where I’ve had either good or pretty bad communication, and thought about how things may have been different if I’d not said those words or acted in the way I did. I think my favourite part of the book had to be the section entitled Valuing Yourself in the Context of Communication. This has to be something I’ve struggled with the most, especially in my teenage years. The author makes some good points about asking for what you want, something I certainly wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing some years ago, and even how it can help you to understand yourself and what you want out of life. Listening and Giving Advice was also a chapter I took a lot away from. I loved how there was a big focus on the importance of listening to others and being patient when people try and communicate. Some great lessons to learn throughout each section, something I can definitely see myself revisiting!

Conclusion

This short book has to be one of your non-fiction essentials, especially if you’ve ever had trouble with communication, or even if you simply want some tips from someone with experience. I felt the detail in some parts could be expanded on (but that’s probably just me being picky) and the structure could do with working on a little to make the information easier to take on board, but overall, a very insightful read. The author makes you think about your own experiences, and how you can work on your communication skills to create positive encounters and to help you always feel your best. The book is written clearly and simply, and it really provides food for thought when you need it; it was like having a conversation with a professional!

A huge thanks to the author, Edward Turnbull, for the copy of this book for me to read and review! You can purchase your own copy of Mindful Communication for Happiness over on Amazon, available on Kindle or in paperback and hardback.

Looking for book reviews?

If you’re in need of reviews for your own book, do get in touch to get on my submissions list! All the information you need is on my book reviews page. If you enjoyed this review and would like to support my blog, you can buy me a coffee 😊