4.2.11.3. Required Readings
The readings selected for this section deepen your understanding of communication and influence as strategic leadership tools — not as personality traits or speaking techniques. Each resource provides a perspective on how leaders shape interpretation, create alignment, and communicate in ways that inspire clarity, commitment, and confidence. You are not reading to collect information — you are reading to examine how your communication is interpreted, remembered, and acted upon by others.
Begin with Crucial Conversations — Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler (Chapters 3 and 6 — “Start With Heart” and “Master My Stories”). These chapters examine how emotion, identity, and internal narratives influence communication — especially in high-stakes or emotionally charged interactions. Rather than focusing on persuasion, the authors show how leaders maintain safety and clarity so dialogue remains productive rather than reactive. As you read, observe where emotional patterns shape how you speak — tone, pacing, volume, or word choice — even when your message is logically sound.
The second reading — Nonviolent Communication — Marshall Rosenberg (Chapters 3 and 6 — “Observing Without Evaluating” and “Requesting That Which Would Enrich Life”) — shifts communication from assumption and judgment toward clarity and actionable framing. Rosenberg demonstrates how language either invites collaboration or triggers defensiveness — often unintentionally. Focus on how requests, framing, and emotional neutrality create more influence than intensity or authority. Notice how describing observable behavior (rather than interpreting it) improves clarity and reduces resistance.
The third reading — Talk Like TED — Carmine Gallo (Chapter 2 — “Master the Art of Storytelling”) — expands your understanding of communication as meaning-making rather than information transfer. Storytelling strengthens emotional connection, enhances retention, and reinforces identity. Entrepreneurs who communicate only facts create understanding — but leaders who communicate through narrative create movement. As you read, reflect on how your current communication lands: primarily informational, or genuinely transformational.
Approach these readings not as writing techniques or speaking frameworks, but as leadership tools. As you progress, begin observing yourself in conversation, messaging, instruction, and feedback: Where does communication create clarity? Where does tone override intention? Where does meaning get lost between what you meant and what others heard? This awareness marks the shift from communicating by habit to communicating by design — the foundation of influence-driven leadership communication.