About
She holds the only professorship at Harvard dedicated entirely to the science of conversation, and her research has reshaped how organizations train their people to communicate.
Signature moves
Listening is spoken
Repeat back, affirm, check — prove you heard with words.
30 seconds of prep
A few topics in your pocket kills awkward silence.
Topic-switch on purpose
Great conversationalists steer, they don't drift.
Videos
Listening Is Spoken
Alison Wood Brooks
Main idea
Real listening isn't just eye contact and nodding — it's using your words to prove you heard. Repeating back what someone said, affirming their feelings, and explicitly checking your understanding makes people feel genuinely heard in a way no body language can replicate.
Prepare What You'll Talk About
Alison Wood Brooks
Main idea
Most people spend zero time thinking about what they'll actually say before a conversation. Even 30 seconds of topic prep makes conversations more enjoyable, more fluent, and removes the panic of awkward silences — because you always have something in your back pocket.
