Conversations about controversial topics can be difficult, painful, and emotionally charged. This user-friendly guide will help you engage in effective, compassionate discussions with family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers about race, immigration, gender, marriage equality, sexism, marginalization, and more. We talk every day—and we often do it without thinking. But, as you well know, there are some things that are harder to talk about—especially issues pertaining to politics, culture, lifestyle, and diversity. If you’ve ever struggled in a conversation about a “controversial” topic with a loved one, work colleague, or even a stranger, you know exactly how uncomfortable and heated the discussion can become. And even if you are one of the lucky few that expresses themselves eloquently, how do you move beyond mere “lip service” and turn words into actionable change? This groundbreaking book will show you how to get to that important next level in difficult conversations, to talk in an authentic and straightforward way about culture and diversity, and to speak from the heart with tools from the head. Using a simple eight-step approach, you’ll learn communication strategies that are supported by research and have been practiced in classrooms, work meetings, therapy sessions, and more. We constantly hear about friends and colleagues whose family members are not speaking to each other because of different political opinions, who’ve exchanged words that have mutually offended one another. If silence is one end of the continuum and verbal conflict anchors the other, how do we reach a middle ground? How do we take part in the “in between” spaces where both parties can speak and listen? With this book as your guide, you’ll learn to navigate these difficult conversations, and take what you’ve learned beyond the conversation and out into the world—whether it’s through politics, social justice movements, or simply expanding the minds of those around you.

When it comes to language acquisition, all parents have questions…and?this invaluable resource?has all the answers. When should I expect my baby’s first word? Is my toddler on his way to talking soon? Is my child speaking as clearly as her peers? All parents end up thinking questions like these during their children’s formative years, but too few act on them, assuming the answers are too unpredictable to be certain. Time to Talk answers these questions for the curious parent. Written by an experienced speech-language pathologist and mom, this practical and proactive guide will help parents: Understand the building blocks of speech and language Monitor progress against expected milestones Enhance their child’s communication skills Spot signs of potential problems with hearing, speech, or language development Address common concerns, such as articulation, late talking, stuttering, dyslexia, etc. Foster literacy Raise bilingual children successfully Your child’s language acquisition no longer must be a guessing game for you. From baby’s first babbling to reading readiness, Time to Talk provides everything a parent needs so this vital fundamental skill doesn’t have to be left to chance.

School can be a frustrating and confusing experience for children who have not developed their communication skills. not only will access to the curriculum be difficult, so will developing co-operative skills and friendships. This book has been developed to teach and develop oral language and social interaction skills to children aged 4-6. Containing 40 sessions, designed to take place two to three times a week, the book aims to help teachers to develop the rules of interaction with the help of the character Ginger the Bear, who features in all the activities.

Time to Talk provides a powerful and accessible resource for practitioners to help develop their own skills, as well as supporting a whole-school or setting approach to speaking and listening. Written by the government’s former Communication Champion for children, it showcases and celebrates effective approaches in schools and settings across the country. Jean Gross helpfully summarises research on what helps children and young people develop good language and communication skills, and highlights the importance of key factors: a place to talk, a reason to talk and support for talk. This practical and engaging book also provides: whole-class approaches to developing all children and young people’s speaking and listening skills; ‘catch-up’ strategies for those with limited language ways in which settings and schools can develop an effective partnership with specialists, such as speech and language therapists, to help children with more severe needs; examples of good practice in supporting parents/carers to develop their children’s language skills; answers to practitioners’ most frequently asked questions about speech and language. This book is for all school leaders, teachers and Early Years practitioners concerned about the growing number of children and young people with limited language and communication skills.

“Ambitious, fast-paced, fact-filled, and accessible.” —Science “A compelling case for why achieving the right balance of time with our families...is vital to the economic success and prosperity of our nation... A must read.” —Maria Shriver From backyard barbecues to the blogosphere, working men and women across the country are raising the same worried question: How can I get ahead at my job while making sure my family doesn’t suffer? A visionary economist who has looked at the numbers behind the personal stories, Heather Boushey argues that resolving the work–life conflict is as vital for us personally as it is essential economically. Finding Time offers ingenious ways to help us carve out the time we need, while showing businesses that more flexible policies can actually make them more productive. “Supply and demand curves are suddenly ‘sexy’ when Boushey uses them to prove that paid sick days, paid family leave, flexible work schedules, and affordable child care aren’t just cutesy women’s issues for families to figure out ‘on their own time and dime,’ but economic issues affecting the country at large.” —Vogue “Boushey argues that better family-leave policies should not only improve the lives of struggling families but also boost workers’ productivity and reduce firms’ costs.” —The Economist

Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of prac­ticing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct com­plex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By complet­ing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the meth­ods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard key­board, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the sim­ple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Fig­ure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcompo­nents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accu­rate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chain­saws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.

Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Revisionist History and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Outliers, offers a powerful examination of our interactions with strangers and why they often go wrong—now with a new afterword by the author. A Best Book of the Year: The Financial Times, Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, and Detroit Free Press How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to one another that isn’t true? Talking to Strangers is a classically Gladwellian intellectual adventure, a challenging and controversial excursion through history, psychology, and scandals taken straight from the news. He revisits the deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, the suicide of Sylvia Plath, the Jerry Sandusky pedophilia scandal at Penn State University, and the death of Sandra Bland—throwing our understanding of these and other stories into doubt. Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don’t know. And because we don’t know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world. In his first book since his #1 bestseller David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell has written a gripping guidebook for troubled times.

Time for The Talk will help fathers walk their sons through one of the most important conversations of their lives. The Talk is much broader than just a talk about sexuality; it¿s a conversation about manhood, about right decisions, about Christ. With Time for The Talk you will give your son what he needs to steer through the moral and spiritual confusion of this world and make wise, godly, character-forming decisions. You will be equipping him to enter true manhood ¿ a passage that many young men today simply never make. This book provides a complete framework for discussing the key areas of manhood that every boy should learn from his father. Through the talk you will open a channel of communication based on truth and love that will endure for life. Your son will never have to say, ¿I just didn¿t know,¿ or ¿I didn¿t have anyone to turn to for advice.¿

You've tried managing your time. You've tried prioritizing your time. Now discover how to multiply it. Do you feel like you're busier than ever - yet never caught up? You're not alone. Many of us are tired, frustrated, and stressed from being overworked at the office and at home, with no concrete plan for getting it all under control without compromising our well-being. In Procrastinate on Purpose, self-discipline strategist Rory Vaden presents a different approach for how to identify and focus on what's important. Instead of one more calendar, checklist, or gadget, he points out that what we really need is an understanding of the emotional reasons we fail to maximize our time - and he then reveals the five 'permissions' we can grant ourselves in order to get better results while creating more margin in our daily lives. In this paradigm-shifting book, you will discover how to- Identify your most significant priorities, in business and in life Create more time to do the things you love without sacrificing results Say no to the things that don't matter, and yes to the things that do Implement systems that give you more time tomorrow than you have today Gain control and inner peace by adopting the 'multiplier mindset' Informed by Southwestern Consulting's work with thousands of busy clients, and interspersed with Vaden's case studies that reveal the 'multiplier mindset' at work, this insightful, practical book will turn everything you thought you knew about time upside-down-and it will change the way you work and live. From the New York Timesbestselling author of Take the Stairs- A bold new way to get things done. 'Managing your time is a lot like managing your money. It's not about the numbers; it's about your behavior. The best time-management tricks in the world won't do you much good if they don't actually make your life better. In Procrastinate on Purpose, Rory builds on what we've all heard about time management and adds the two things that have always been missing- emotion and significance.' Dave Ramsey, New York Timesbestselling author and nationally syndicated radio show host 'If you've ever thought, 'I wish I had more time,' read the great principles of this book. And then I dare you to do what Rory does- live them.' Jon Acuff, New York Timesbestselling author of Start andQuitter 'Procrastinate on Purposewill alter the way the professional world thinks about time - I've never read anything like it. Useful, unique, and relevant . . . this is an absolute must-read for every leader.' Sue Schick, CEO of UnitedHealthcare of Pennsylvania and Delaware 'This book is a game-changer.' Jon Gordon, bestselling author of The Energy Busand The Carpenter 'Every once in a while a book comes along that completely shifts the way an entire generation thinks about a specific topic. When it comes to time management and productivity, Procrastinate on Purposemay be the one!' Andy Andrews, New York Timesbestselling author of The Traveler's Giftand The Noticer