Power Talk

by Sarah Myers McGinty

We are what we say. Now Sarah Myers McGinty, Ph.D., takes up where Deborah Tannen left off to delve into the ways our speech creates our identity. In this breakthrough book, McGinty shows how a little attention to our verbal patterns helps us alter the balance of power and always come out ahead. You're a model employee who always does quality work, yet you are forced to watch helplessly as others get the credit and the rewards. Why? Studies show that people who project expertise and authority, people who sound like they're in charge, often win the acclaim. On the other hand, people who try to take over every situation or come on too strongly can silence their colleagues and miss critical information. In Power Talk, author Sarah Myers McGinty identifies two basic modes of communication: Language from the Center and Language from the Edge. While Language from the Center projects authority, Language from the Edge is collaborative, responsive, and often equally effective. Here McGinty argu