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Communication & Clear Thinking Saying what you mean and hearing what was meant: leading with the conclusion, real listening, difficult conversations, feedback, disagreeing well, negotiation, and the clear thinking that has to come first.
45 cards · space to flip · 1–4 to grade · d to go deeper
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Reading list The works this deck draws on, in the order worth reading them. Cards point to a specific chapter or paper where one fits.
01 Book Difficult Conversations · Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen The best single starting point: the three-conversations frame, intent versus impact, and contribution over blame, with worked dialogues. Everything else in the deck gets easier once this is in place. 02 Book The Pyramid Principle · Barbara Minto The standard work on leading with the answer and structuring an argument so a skimming reader still gets it. Part 1, Logic in Writing, is the part to read. 03 Book Thanks for the Feedback · Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen On receiving feedback, which is harder and rarer than giving it: the three kinds, the three triggers, and the second score. 04 Book Getting to Yes · Roger Fisher and William Ury Short and still the foundation of principled negotiation: interests over positions, people separate from the problem, and the BATNA. 05 Book Never Split the Difference · Chris Voss with Tahl Raz The practical counterweight to Getting to Yes: tactical empathy, labelling, mirroring, and calibrated questions, from a hostage negotiator who assumes nobody is rational. 06 Book Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life · Marshall Rosenberg Observation, feeling, need, request. The four-part form is simple; the chapters on observation without evaluation and on requests versus demands repay close reading. 07 Essay How to Disagree · Paul Graham, 2008 Ten minutes on the seven levels of disagreement, from name-calling to refuting the central point. The best tool for checking your own replies before you send them. 08 Book On Writing Well · William Zinsser The plain-English classic on clutter, simplicity, and writing for a reader. Read the first four chapters and then reread your last email. 