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Conversation: How to Connect with Anyone & Make Every Interaction Count
You're one conversation away from the relationship, the deal, or the room you've been waiting for.
The powerful, proven blueprint for confident conversations and meaningful connections. In Conversation, behavior researcher and bestselling author Vanessa Van Edwards delivers a practical, science-backed playbook for transforming how you show up in any situation. Grounded in two decades of research, the book gives you a clear framework for mastering small talk, building instant rapport, and becoming the most genuinely memorable person in any room. Published by Portfolio/Penguin Random House, October 2026.
What you'll learn
• The 9 power questions that level up any relationship — at work, at home, and in love.
• How to break the ice — no awkward openers, no cringe.
• How to stop overthinking about what to say next, and finally stay present in the moment.
• How to decode people's personality patterns so you're never guessing how to respond.
• How to be authentically assertive — credible and engaging at once, without sacrificing what makes you, you.
• How to keep any conversation alive — and the graceful exit for the ones that aren't worth keeping going.
• The confidence scripts for the moments that matter most: asking for a raise, setting a boundary, speaking up in a meeting, introducing yourself with clarity.
The powerful, proven blueprint for confident conversations and meaningful connections. In Conversation, behavior researcher and bestselling author Vanessa Van Edwards delivers a practical, science-backed playbook for transforming how you show up in any situation. Grounded in two decades of research, the book gives you a clear framework for mastering small talk, building instant rapport, and becoming the most genuinely memorable person in any room. Published by Portfolio/Penguin Random House, October 2026.
What you'll learn
• The 9 power questions that level up any relationship — at work, at home, and in love.
• How to break the ice — no awkward openers, no cringe.
• How to stop overthinking about what to say next, and finally stay present in the moment.
• How to decode people's personality patterns so you're never guessing how to respond.
• How to be authentically assertive — credible and engaging at once, without sacrificing what makes you, you.
• How to keep any conversation alive — and the graceful exit for the ones that aren't worth keeping going.
• The confidence scripts for the moments that matter most: asking for a raise, setting a boundary, speaking up in a meeting, introducing yourself with clarity.
Audible Audio
Published October 6, 2026
About the author
Vanessa Van Edwards
12 books1,218 followersVanessa Van Edwards is a behavioral researcher, bestselling author, and Harvard University instructor who has spent two decades sharing evidence-based people skills with the world.
As founder of Science of People, a behavior research lab, she has turned the hidden dynamics of human interaction into practical, learnable frameworks. Her bestselling books Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People and Cues: Master the Secret Language of Charismatic Communication have been translated into 18 languages, and her research has reached over 300 million people worldwide last year.
Vanessa works with the world's most ambitious organizations to sharpen the skill that drives everything else — communication. Her clients include Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Comcast, and she has spoken at MIT, Stanford, and SXSW. Her work has been featured on CNN, BBC, CBS Mornings, Fast Company, Inc., Entrepreneur, USA Today, and The Today Show.
Her recent MasterClass, People Intelligence, became one of the top ten most watched classes of the year. Hundreds of thousands of students have taken her courses, and thousands have graduated from her advanced program, People School.
In a world that's automating everything, Vanessa teaches the one skill that can't be replaced — how to connect as humans.
As founder of Science of People, a behavior research lab, she has turned the hidden dynamics of human interaction into practical, learnable frameworks. Her bestselling books Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People and Cues: Master the Secret Language of Charismatic Communication have been translated into 18 languages, and her research has reached over 300 million people worldwide last year.
Vanessa works with the world's most ambitious organizations to sharpen the skill that drives everything else — communication. Her clients include Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Comcast, and she has spoken at MIT, Stanford, and SXSW. Her work has been featured on CNN, BBC, CBS Mornings, Fast Company, Inc., Entrepreneur, USA Today, and The Today Show.
Her recent MasterClass, People Intelligence, became one of the top ten most watched classes of the year. Hundreds of thousands of students have taken her courses, and thousands have graduated from her advanced program, People School.
In a world that's automating everything, Vanessa teaches the one skill that can't be replaced — how to connect as humans.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 9, 2026
I few years ago I read Vanessa's books Cues and Captivate and found soooo many golden nuggets that I use daily... as well as changing my sons life completely. I was sooo excited to get her new book Conversation! I'm not finished reading it fully but I'm also finding so many golden nuggets I can start intertwining into my life. One of the biggest takeaways I'm getting is that meaningful connections don't have to happen on accident only... that you can design and have power in these. Sooo far it's an excellent read and I'm sure it will become a favorite of mine. I liked it so much I decided to also buy the Audible version. I can't wait to finish it!
October 13, 2026
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Van Edwards explains how to use curiosity, storytelling, emotional awareness, and active listening to turn ordinary conversations into meaningful connections. She argues that successful communication requires understanding people, adapting to their needs, and being willing to reveal your own personality. The book offers practical social techniques, although some ideas may feel familiar to experienced readers.
I find a good few positives in that it does well in showing practical techniques that can be applied immediately, useful examples for social and professional interactions, and it encourages empathy, curiosity, and better listening, as well as helps people who struggle with small talk or social confidence.
What I don't like is that some advice may be obvious or repetitive, while some chapter-level claims are difficult to assess without the full text, given the short chapters.
My favourite takeaways from the book, even though I have read them time and time again, are the 'Ten Seconds to a Memorable First Impression', which means one must communicate warmth and confidence from the start, and the 'Make Sure You Don't Talk Too Much', whereby one must balance speaking with listening.
I will recommend this book to someone who wants to improve everyday conversations, networking, or relationship-building. Given your preference for evidence-rich books with genuinely new insights, I would treat this as a practical handbook rather than a particularly profound work of psychology.
Van Edwards explains how to use curiosity, storytelling, emotional awareness, and active listening to turn ordinary conversations into meaningful connections. She argues that successful communication requires understanding people, adapting to their needs, and being willing to reveal your own personality. The book offers practical social techniques, although some ideas may feel familiar to experienced readers.
I find a good few positives in that it does well in showing practical techniques that can be applied immediately, useful examples for social and professional interactions, and it encourages empathy, curiosity, and better listening, as well as helps people who struggle with small talk or social confidence.
What I don't like is that some advice may be obvious or repetitive, while some chapter-level claims are difficult to assess without the full text, given the short chapters.
My favourite takeaways from the book, even though I have read them time and time again, are the 'Ten Seconds to a Memorable First Impression', which means one must communicate warmth and confidence from the start, and the 'Make Sure You Don't Talk Too Much', whereby one must balance speaking with listening.
I will recommend this book to someone who wants to improve everyday conversations, networking, or relationship-building. Given your preference for evidence-rich books with genuinely new insights, I would treat this as a practical handbook rather than a particularly profound work of psychology.
October 7, 2026
I signed up for this giveaway and thought to myself, "Watch this be something I win. Of course I'd win something like this, I'm a hairstylist who is a textbook ambivert." And I did.
Conversation is a skill to hone and is vital to connection. Vanessa Van Edwards gives throughly researched tips and tricks on how to become better at connecting in any relationship, how to decide if it's time to go deeper with conversation or keep it light, even how to advocate for yourself. This book is a fantastic blueprint for anyone; Introvert, extrovert or ambivert, this book gives great insight on how to better yourself as a speaker and listener.
Conversation is a skill to hone and is vital to connection. Vanessa Van Edwards gives throughly researched tips and tricks on how to become better at connecting in any relationship, how to decide if it's time to go deeper with conversation or keep it light, even how to advocate for yourself. This book is a fantastic blueprint for anyone; Introvert, extrovert or ambivert, this book gives great insight on how to better yourself as a speaker and listener.
October 13, 2026
A straightforward guide online how to make small talk, medium talk, and big talk. Immediately applicable. I look forward to exploring her 9 power questions with my team at work.
October 12, 2026
Another five-star read from Vanessa Van Edwards! I’ve loved all of her books, and Conversation might be one of the most practical yet. I started with the audiobook, but there were so many gems I kept wanting to pause and write things down, so I ended up buying a hard copy to keep as a reference. Gem after gem on how to connect, ask better questions, communicate with confidence, and have more meaningful conversations. Practical, research-backed, and immediately useful in both work and life. This is also one of those books I’ll happily buy again and again as a gift.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Van Edwards shows how to strike up a conversation and turn banal chitchat into deeper connections. She presents her process with warmth, humor, and real-life examples so that even the most inveterate introvert can seamlessly ease into a discussion. This book helped me know what to say--and not to say--to keep the conversation real.
October 17, 2026
A must have book to learn our most important form of connection, conversation. I’ve learned to better understand people based of what perception they have of themselves and how well we can connect based on how curious I am to know more. Best reference I took was conversation is like a game of playing catch. Great book with loads of gems.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews