The Art of Communicating

A million ways to say the same thing in a very small book. If you need to have something beat into your head over and over before you get the concept, this is the book for you. Basically, just be mindful.- of others, their energy, yourself and your energy. Be aware of toxic communication both ways.

This book is an outstanding zen guide to communicating. I read it 3 times, hilighting key points to return to often. I have given it as innumerable gifts. Thick Nhat Hanh is a guru and his work a treasure.

Not a bad read, pretty basic info on communication, much of which I'm already doing. For me there was too much focus on the spiritual/ Buddhist philosophy, but this side of the book will appeal to many other people. If you'd like to learn more about how Buddhist teaching and philosophy integrates with communication, you'll find this book helpful.

So it all makes sense. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because I'm noticing that in the Buddhist culture, it seems as if suffering is their way to enlightenment which is something I'm not so sure of. Getting over that hump, it is truly a great read sans all the need for having to suffer.

This is a great book. I like all of Thich Nhat Hahn's books. This one talks about the delicate balance of communication between not only you and others but you with yourself. You learn how to communicate effectively while using awareness. It helps rid you of some bad communication habits using nurturing and helps reinforce areas that need it. I have a feeling once you buy one of the Author's books, you'll eventually buy more.

I love reading the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh. His simple language, heartfelt honesty and spiritual clarity are resoundingly logical and enlightening. I have had the opportunity to reflect often on his writings over 12 years and I am thankful for his compassionate guidance.

Good stuff!

Very clear writing and concise wisdom which was very helpful in guiding me toward more healthy communication patterns in all of my relationships. Author applies traditional Buddhist teachings in examining effective communications, however one does not need to fully embrace this spirituality to understand and benefit from the book. Highly recommended.

A rare gem of a book focusing on right speech, the ability to communicate positively with other people.
It is empowering and practical, providing clear guidance that can be applied in many contexts in life, including the commonly challenging situations of work and home life.

Some creative life metaphors throughout, if you like that sort of thing I guess (e.g., "The path home begins with your breath"), but I wouldn't say it was a book of moving, life-altering revelations I wanted to go out and practice. Compassionate communication, while it sounds good, left me feeling like I'd always be the sucker in the conversation (with family and even at work) which includes drinking tea, apologizing, writing peace notes, peace treaties, silent hugging meditation (even with a tree), and watering the plant (the flawed person).

Not for me as the writing is too simplistic, choppy, and reads as though it's for low-level readers. At the same time, happy reading to those who need simple language to understand feel-good communication practices without the heavy academic undertow of some self help books and such.

Thick Nhat Hanh in this book provides one of the best guides I've read to healing and truth through communication with ourselves, others and society. It is both comforting and evocative, and it is clear that once you've read the book, it's up to you to use the insights to make the world a better place.

I have read much of Thich Nhat Hanh's work, and this one has the qualities of all his other works. At the center of the "Art of Communicating" is being at peace with self, and that comes from being mindful. In an age when the superficial seems to rule and playing games with other's thoughts and feelings seems to be standard practice, The Art of Communicating offers a straightforward, practical way to practice so that your words are authentic; you are authentic. At the heart of being an effective communicator is that authenticity, and Thich Nhat Hanh offers a practical way to bring that authenticity to your life through Buddhist mindfulness practice. It really matters not whether one is Buddhist or not. These practices in making your speech authentic can be done by anyone of any religious persuasion. Once read, your communication with everyone will never be the same.

I highly recommend this book. It's not only compassionate message but also a set of truly working practises which help me improve my relationships. If you really want to be closer to your loved ones and manage difficult situations - read it.

very intriguing and enlightening. Some areas are not aspects I am whole heartedly supportive of and I might have rolled my eyes a few times. Other wise, great book, we can all work a bit harder to understand each other and get along better. I purchased this to learn to communicate with others in a positive and calmer way. Lately seems the world is so on edge that communication is present be ineffective (applicable from business to personal). I have tried some techniques and they do work wonderfully so keep an open mind and buy it.

If you are looking for ways to improve your communication skills, learn from Thich Nhat Hanh how to listen! While its commonly taught how to read and write, most of us are deficient in quieting our voice and mind to truly heart others. I was blown away by the simplicity and beauty of this book. Like the Extraordinary Zen Masters,Rengetsu: Life and Poetry of Lotus Moon included, this book has taught me ways to be more mindful in my communications and how this will bring me closer to my authentic self and those that I love.

Although I probably won't read this book in its entirety again, I did find value in it. The first few chapters drilled home the idea that I need to communicate ( write, speak, listen) to others out of complete compassion and understanding. It also taught that when I communicate the ultimate goal is to cause the receiver of my communication to experience less suffering, which to me, is a brilliant way of filtering all my communication with others from here on out.

I particularly liked these statements and ideas from the book as well:

You absorb the thoughts, speech, and actions you produce and those contained in the communications of those around you. That is a form of consumption.

In a relationship, we are nourishment for each other. So we have to select the kind of food we offer the other person, the kind of food that can help our relationship thrive. Everything - including love, hate, and suffering - needs food to continue. If suffering continues, it's because we keep feeding our suffering. Every time we speak without mindful awareness, we are feeding our suffering. With mindful awareness, we can look into the nature of our suffering and find out what kind of food we have been supplying to keep it alive. When we find the source of nourishment for our suffering, we can cut off that supply, and our suffering will fade.

Many of us spend a lot of time in meetings or e-mailing with others, and not a lot of time communicating with ourselves. The result is that we don't know what is going on within us. It may be a mess inside. How, then, can we communicate with another person?

We don't tell our fear to go away; we recognize it. We don't tell our anger to go away; we acknowledge it. These feelings are like a small child tugging at our sleeves. Pick them up and hold them tenderly. Acknowledging our feelings without judging them or pushing them away, embracing them with mindfulness, is an act of homecoming.

When you've understood your suffering, you suffer less, and you are capable of understanding another person's suffering much more easily. When you can recognize the suffering of another person and see how that suffering came about, compassion arises. You no longer have the desire to punish or blame the other person. You can listen deeply, and when you speak there is compassion and understanding in your speech.

Usually when anger manifests, we want to confront the person we think is the source of our anger. We're more interested in setting that person straight than in taking care of the more urgent matter, which is our own anger. We are like the person whose house is on fore who goes chasing after the arsonist instead of going home to put out the fire. Meanwhile, the house continues to burn.

All in all, I found some really good points sprinkled here and there. Wasn't quite what I was expecting but still worth the read.

Tony Rogers Jr
Author of Visionary: Making a difference in a world that needs YOU

Thich Nhat Hanh has written an excellent guide to understanding and practicing what he has dubbed The Art of Communicating. We all benefit from his effort, and I am grateful for the chance to give this a read.

The book begins by discussing the concept of absorbing thoughts, speech, and actions we produce ourselves in addition to karmic actions contained in the communications of those around us. Hanh moves on to address ways to effectively and honestly communicating with ourselves and others. His explanation of how the suffering of our parents and ancestors can be found within our own suffering helped me understand my own suffering as well as that of those who have come before me.

There is a concept discussed at length that essentially boils down to loving oneself in order to manifest compassion and happiness for others. It is nearly impossible to have true compassion for another when one does not truly love oneself. That is something that I have been working on for the past few decades and will continue to work on in the coming decades as well.

Hanh reminds us that when we greet another human being, it is helpful to remind ourselves that there is a Buddha inside them. As he says, "'The Buddha' is just a name for the most understanding and compassionate person it's possible to be. You may call it something else if you wish, like wisdom or God. We can breathe, smile, and walk in such a way that this person in us has a chance to manifest." I really enjoyed the wider passage that I plucked this quotation from—it reminds me that there are positive qualities inside of each and every one of us.

Deep listening and loving speech are also two concepts that I really enjoyed reading about, and hope to put into practice more and more as time goes on. Giving someone our full undivided attention while they are speaking is very powerful—when we listen with true compassion, we have the power to help the person suffer less. This book helped me see that I don't always practice this, and I would like to do it more often because my intention is to always help others and to never intentionally hurt others. Hanh lists and fully explains four elements of loving speech:

Tell the truth. Don't lie or turn the truth upside down.
Don't exaggerate.
Be consistent. This means no double-talk: speaking about something in one way to one person and in an opposite way to another for selfish or manipulative reasons.
Use peaceful language. Don't use insulting or violent words, cruel speech, verbal abuse, or condemnation.
In my opinion, those are very helpful reminders for us to continue to develop our practice of using loving speech when communicating with ourselves and others.

I think my favorite part of the book was the part that centered on the six mantras of loving speech. Without going into detail on what they are in this review, I will simply say that they seem extremely helpful in communicating with others about suffering that we all go experience from time to time. I have already started putting some of these mantras into practice, and have found them to be useful and helpful in my communication with others.

The book also covers the issues of communicating at work and in communities. One piece I took away from those sections was that it is beneficial to find time to be fully present and mindful with myself before getting into the car to drive to work, and certainly before walking into the door at my office!

I have greatly enjoyed reading Hanh's books over the past several years. He has so many that it is unlikely that I will read his entire body of work, but I have benefitted greatly from his contributions and have a few more picked out that I plan to read. If you have any suggestions of exceptional Thich Nhat Hanh books for me to read, please let me know!

In general, I do like the book. The concepts have been expressed simply and, one might even say, simplistically.

However, they are indeed hard to follow.

The one thing that I would recommend to anyone, is that they read 'The Art of Mindfulness" first, and live that, before they approach this book. The danger in these books, in my opinion, is that if they are practised superficially then, you end up suppressing a lot of anger and other negative emotion.

So, do practise the principles, but not in isolation.

This book lays the foundation on how to communicate effectively with family, friends, co-workers, etc. The author discusses how harmful words can be. He also tells how important it is to be open and say the right words at the right time. He also explains how to breathe correctly for calmness, as well as how to handle your emotions,like anger and use them correctly. This might be considered a "self help" book, however, this reading was so appropriate in the different way he explains the correct and incorrect way to use words to avoid hurting others. As well as teaching breathing exercises to calm yourself before speaking to someone else to defuse the conversation. I highly recommend this book as I am going to purchase it and 're read it...everyone needs support in this arena and it will not only benefit yourself but others as well.

This book is incredible! It gives so many practical solutions to help smooth out communication. (And a few more generalized overviews) Mostly being present and breathing, but he says it SO much better than that!

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a heartfelt way to communicate more effectively or looking for a way to look at the whole process in a different light. It's not just about the communication but more a way of approaching life.

Reading the book gave me a real feeling of peace and hope. I'm sure this will be one I will want to reread over and over again!

I loved everything about Thay's teaching on mindful communication. It has allowed me to find ways to transform my anger and misconceptions and set my suffering free. This book is relevant to everyone, especially, in developing work culture. I appreciate learning about how to use Loving Speech and how to practice Right Speech. Thank you for helping me.

I found the teaching a very logical way of thinking and acting. Most people probably know this way but have allowed themselves to be tempted away by emersing their minds and thinking in material gain instead of conscious discipline towards mindfulness & love. At first, while reading, my thought was, "I already know this stuff" but in reality the teachings are simple and profound! I highly recommend this simple little book.

This book is great for getting to the core of human beings and how we work! It really amazes me on how smart Thich Nhat Hanh is and how well he communicates his ideas across in lay-people terms!!! I really thought this book gave good advice on how to really center and focus yourself and what all you would like to communicate and then teaches you how to begin the process with another human being!!!

This book has helped me in many relationships including romantic, familial, and platonic friendships. Working on myself and my ability to communicate has helped my loved ones (and some neutral people) to communicate better with me. He is very good with words and puts mindfulness practices to work in a way that is easy to understand. A quick read and one that you can go back to whenever you need/want to.