A Failure to Communicate, S. Andrea Allen's debut collection of short fiction, focuses on how communication, or the lack thereof, impacts Black women's lives. The stories range from the humorous to the heartbreaking: one woman wins a bake-off because her co-worker misunderstands the contest; an overweight woman finally learns to love herself, even though it means leaving her girlfriend; a university administrator worries that racial tensions will force her to choose between her identity and her lover; a woman realizes that her partner has been hiding a gambling addiction, and has to decide whether to help her or save herself. The women in these stories are often silenced, but Allen imbues them with a voice that demands to be heard.

Your stomach's churning; you're hyperventilating -- you're in a badly deteriorating conversation at work. Such exchanges, which run the gamut from firing subordinates to parrying verbal attacks from colleagues, are so loaded with anger, confusion, and fear that most people handle them poorly: they avoid them, clamp down, or give in. But dodging issues, appeasing difficult people, and mishandling tough encounters all carry a high price for managers and companies -- in the form of damaged relationships, ruined careers, and intensified problems. In Failure to Communicate, Holly Weeks shows how to master the combat mentality, emotional maelstrom, and confusion that poison difficult conversations. Drawing on her many years as a consultant and coach to leaders and executives, the author explains: · Why we turn to ineffective tactics when the heat is on · How to avoid the worst pitfalls of difficult conversations, and how to pull yourself out if you fall in · Ways to regain your balance and inject respect into stressful conversations, even when you've been confronted, infuriated, or wronged · Strategies for mitigating aggression and defensiveness, and for clearing the fog of misconceptions · How to get through the hardest conversations with your reputation and relationships intact Using proven techniques paired with detailed real-life examples, Weeks equips you with the strategies and practices you need to transform even the toughest conversations.

Xandri Corelel, autistic woman and leader of starship Carpathia's first contact team, must navigate diplomacy and sabotage to ensure the survival of a species who have developed a new, deadly weapon.

The recipe for a Failure to Communicate? Place the following ingredients in the Kalahari Park just before the rainy season: some British politicians; two Canadian snipers; two Russian snipers; a Buddhist monk; a reporter; and some ISIS and Boko Haram fighters. Add one old lion for seasoning. Stir.

"Drawing on her years as a consultant and coach, the author explains why we turn to ineffective tactics when the heat is on, how to avoid the worst pitfalls of difficult conversations, and how to pull yourself out if you fall in, ways to regain your balance and inject respect into stressful conversations, and more."--Global Books in Print

This book offers practical guidance on possible solutions to communication problems, featuring a number of examples related to the construction industry.

Communication plays a vital and unique role in society-often blamed for problems when it breaks down and at the same time heralded as a panacea for human relations. A sweeping history of communication, Speaking Into the Air illuminates our expectations of communication as both historically specific and a fundamental knot in Western thought. "This is a most interesting and thought-provoking book. . . . Peters maintains that communication is ultimately unthinkable apart from the task of establishing a kingdom in which people can live together peacefully. Given our condition as mortals, communication remains not primarily a problem of technology, but of power, ethics and art." —Antony Anderson, New Scientist "Guaranteed to alter your thinking about communication. . . . Original, erudite, and beautifully written, this book is a gem." —Kirkus Reviews "Peters writes to reclaim the notion of authenticity in a media-saturated world. It's this ultimate concern that renders his book a brave, colorful exploration of the hydra-headed problems presented by a rapid-fire popular culture." —Publishers Weekly What we have here is a failure-to-communicate book. Funny thing is, it communicates beautifully. . . . Speaking Into the Air delivers what superb serious books always do-hours of intellectual challenge as one absorbs the gradually unfolding vision of an erudite, creative author." —Carlin Romano, Philadelphia Inquirer