Conversation: How to Connect with Anyone & Make Every Interaction Count

by Vanessa Van Edwards

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.

Audible Audio

Expected publication October 6, 2026

About the author

Vanessa 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.