Jefferson Fisher, a trial lawyer turned viral communication coach and New York Times bestselling author, shares powerful insights into effective communication. He discusses the erosion of real dialogue in a social media age and offers simple fixes, such as using open questions and cutting verbal fluff to enhance authority. Fisher reveals techniques like the ‘conversational breath’ to manage anxiety, the importance of silence for thoughtful responses, and reframing difficult conversations. Emma’s candid reflections complement these valuable tools, ensuring your next conversation resonates.
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Mastering First Impressions
Smile and ask open questions beginning with what, how, when, or where to make a warm first impression.
Avoid yes/no questions like "Did you have a good time?" as they don't encourage dialogue.
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Build Confidence by Doing
Build confidence by speaking assertively; confidence follows action, not precedes it.
Eliminate over-apologies, undercutting phrases, and filler words like "just" or "so" to boost your authority.
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Use Accountability to Improve
Practice improved communication by focusing on changing one habit at a time and using accountability partners or AI tools.
Use reminders from friends or apps to eliminate verbal fluff and improve assertiveness.
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From communication expert Jefferson Fisher, this book provides immediately actionable strategies and phrases to transform your life and relationships by improving your communication. Fisher, a trial lawyer and leading voice on real-world communication, offers a tried-and-true three-part communication system (Say it with control, Say it with confidence, Say it to connect) that can be applied to any situation. The book teaches how to assert yourself, set boundaries, frame conversations, and overcome conflict with connection, ensuring that your every word has a positive impact on your relationships.
The Giving Tree
Shel Silverstein
The Giving Tree is a children's picture book that follows the relationship between an apple tree and a boy from childhood to old age. The tree selflessly provides for the boy's needs at each stage of his life, from apples and branches to a trunk for a boat. Despite the boy's increasing demands and eventual neglect, the tree continues to give, highlighting themes of unconditional love, selflessness, and the consequences of human actions on nature. The book is a powerful metaphor for life, love, and the importance of appreciating and respecting the gifts of nature and relationships.
Emma Grede sits down with trial-lawyer-turned–viral communication coach Jefferson Fisher—author of the New York Times bestseller The Next Conversation—to unpack the single skill that drives every success: how you speak. Together they explore why social-media overload is eroding real dialogue, then trade real-world fixes that work from the boardroom to the dinner table. Jefferson explains how a smile and an open question transform first impressions, why cutting “sorry,” “just,” and other verbal fluff instantly boosts authority, and how flipping your “no” (lead with it, end with gratitude) sets healthy boundaries without guilt. Emma probes the toughest moments—family conflicts, workplace clashes, digital misreads—and Jefferson delivers tools such as framing conversations around a shared goal, letting your breath be the first “word,” and wielding strategic silence so people hear their own tone. Brimming with memorable metaphors (be a “well,” not a waterfall, in email) and Emma’s candid reflections on her own communication wins and misses, this episode hands you the script—and the mindset—to make your very next conversation resonate.
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