Having read other similar books, I'd say this one was very helpful. This book would probably be of little value to experienced communicators, because it covers basics. Which is good for beginners, it is short. You really must practice what you learn from the book in order to improve, not just read it. To help you better understand what's in the book, here are some topics.

1) Eliminate negative commutation habits
2) Learn the art of listening
3) Discover how communication works
4) Win peoples attention
5) Develop the courage to say no
6) Establish respect when talking to kids
7) Create closeness with people you care about
8) Dissolve discord
9) Persuade people to cooperate with you

The most helpful chapter for me was on perusing people to cooperate with you. He rightly stated that most people resist change unless they can see its resulting benefit. So he provided five steps for achieving cooperation. (1)Attention, (2)Comprehension, (3)Belief, (4)Retention, (5)Action. I enjoyed reading his explanation and suggestions for each step. I believe they are right on target.

He tells us to set goals to our communication so that our speech won't be left to habit or impulse of the moment, he then proceeds to tell you how and why. Because he says that people pick up clues not only from voice, but from our actions, our facial expressions, and tone of voice.

Another really good and helpful chapter was on listening. If we don't know how to listen, our communications will suffer. And so here too he talks about five level of listening.

Bottom Line: If you are interested in improving your communication, this is a very good book to start with. I was not disappointed with this book, but its not all that great to receive 5 stars. One reason is because there are some good information missing in this book.