What do owners, freelancers, managers, and employees have in common? They all communicate! Here are 10 titles for 2025 to improve writing and speaking in any medium or circumstance — storytelling, marketing, persuasion, networking, negotiating, and more.
Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection
Supercommunicators
by Charles Duhigg
In this award-winning new bestseller, Duhigg explores how conversations work, examining how our experiences, values, and emotions affect how we speak and listen. He combines stories from contexts as diverse as the jury box and couples counseling with research findings and advice to teach the skills and tools to make us heard, hear others clearly, and connect with anyone.
Make It Punchy: How to Write Simple Tech Messaging That Wins Hearts, Minds & Markets
Make it Punchy
by Emma Stratton
Stratton, a messaging consultant for B2B tech firms, explains how to ditch boring jargon about your product’s features and create compelling messages that convey how it will solve problems and benefit customers. Stratton offers teaching exercises and techniques based on real-world examples for conveying your product’s value and positioning your company as a market leader.
Very Good Copy: 207 Micro-Lessons on Thinking and Writing Like a Copywriter
Very Good Copy
by Eddie Shleyner
Shleyner shares the insights on storytelling, persuasion, and creativity that have made him “the copywriter’s copywriter,” his newsletter “the gold standard” in the industry, and gained the admiration of marketing writers such as Ann Handley, Brian Clark, and Cameron Day. The book’s micro-lessons cover mindset: “Thinking Like a Copywriter” and execution: “Writing Like a Copywriter,” showing readers how to connect with people whether writing social media content, landing pages, ad campaigns, or a dating profile.
Make a Scene: Storytelling, Stage Presence, and the Art of Being Unforgettable in Every Spotlight
Make a Scene
by Mike Ganino
This book, which mixes theatrical experience and business strategy, upends conventional public speaking advice. Ganino, a high-end speaking coach, author, director, and former TEDx producer, shares his “Mike Drop Method” framework for engaging audiences and thriving in the spotlight, whether delivering a presentation, leading a meeting, or giving a keynote speech.
Fearless Authenticity: Lead Better, Sell More, and Speak Sensationally
Fearless Authenticity
by Jeanne Sparrow
Sparrow, an Emmy-award-winning TV, radio, and podcast host, sums up communication with catchphrases “Live It, Tell It, Sell It” and “Be Brave, Be Free, Be You.” Her book offers down-to-earth advice, inspiring stories, and practical tips to help readers build connections with their network, improve their leadership, and impact their community.
Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
Building a Storybrand 2.0
by Donald Miller
Miller’s million-selling branding bible earned lavish praise from readers, including Seth Godin and the governor of Tennessee. This revised and updated edition delves further into using the author’s seven universal story elements to clarify a message, cut through the competitive noise, and express unique value, no matter the audience — voters, fans, consumers, or anyone.
How to Deliver Bad News and Get Away with It: A Manager’s Guide
How to Deliver Bad News
by Mahesh Guruswamy
Guruswamy, a product development executive and current chief technical officer of Kickstarter, offers a practical guide to difficult but necessary conversations. Whether it’s notifying a client of a product delay or explaining performance improvement to an employee, this book offers practical guidance and example scripts that enable managers to give bad news effectively and empathetically.
Negotiation: The Game Has Changed
Negotiation
by Max H. Bazerman
Known as “the father of evidence-based bargaining,” Harvard Business School Professor Bazerman combines a refresher on essential, time-tested negotiating techniques with a practical guide on adapting them to today’s situations.
Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes
Defy
by Dr. Sunita Shah
Coming next month, this book applies scientific principles to help readers make decisions aligned with their values. The author is a physician and organizational psychologist who researches trust, conflicts of interest, disclosure, and compliance. An instructor at prestigious U.S. and U.K. universities, she explores why people “go along to get along” and how they can speak up and do what’s right instead of what others expect.
The Next Conversation: Argue Less, Talk More
The Next Conversation
by Jefferson Fisher
This book already ranks high in multiple Amazon categories, even though it won’t be available till March. The author is a lawyer, writer, and speaker whose videos, newsletter, and podcast have garnered huge followings. He offers practical advice, actionable strategies, and useful phrases for turning difficult conversations into meaningful dialogues in business and life.