Improve Your Social Skills Paperback – September 12, 2014

This book taught me so much! I learned so much and improved so much of my relationships from the knowledge that the author teaches when I applied it in real life!

I'd say the book is not bad overall and I don't regret buying it. It has some really strong points ("friends expect you to just be there with them when they need help, not to act as a counselor and find solutions") and some weak points ("you should ask someone before kissing").Keep in mind that this book won't catapult you from zero to hero, but it will take you from zero to relatively ok on the social scale. Also, considering the wide range of subjects covered there, the author won't get into great detail in any of them (otherwise this book would have thousands of pages), instead it gives a good summary for you to practice right off the bat. For you to truly excel in social endeavours, I highly recommend that you read books that get into the details of the chapters in "Improve Your Social Skills" (body language, conversation, storytelling, eye contact etc.), as does the author.

This book by Daniel Wendler could just as well be entitled: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Improving Your Social Skills. I say that because of the methodical, thoughtful and flowing way the author guides us through the complex maze of social interactions in which we find ourselves.I found the conversational process of using questions, which the author calls “invitations,” and the telling of something from our own experience that opens the conversation up for our partner to comment on or question, which the author calls “inspirations,” to be very helpful when breaking down the dynamic of a conversation.Being frequently in situations that require entering into a group conversation, such as at dinner parties or professional meetings, the section on helpful ways to enter into those group conversations, and also on the importance of including others in group conversations that we have already entered into, was very useful.One part of the book speaks to gauging the “energy level” of the person or group that you are entering into a conversation with. This is something I hadn’t thought of before, but is going to become an important part of my own process of entering into conversations and relationships.Finally, the chapters on meeting new friends and how to decide if those friendships are going to be healthy, along with how to maintain and nurture those relationships was the most satisfying to me personally. I have found that as you age, the process of identifying who might be a good friend and then figuring out how to maintain that friendship along with all the other priorities of life can be very difficult. I plan on utilizing the helpful information in those chapters to gain a new friendship and to nurture it once started.Bravo on a great book Daniel!

Hi, I'm a college kiddo who has a severe social anxiety disorder. If you want a book that will absolutely change your life, I would recommend this one! This book is also incredibly friendly for dyslexic folks, the fonts are great, it's not hard to read, and wrote in a way that I can understand it! I have two friends who already want to borrow my book, I went from having no friends a semester, to talking to 5 people so far in my current one! Can't say we are friendship level yet, but with this book, I can't even believe I was able to talk to so many as I have, I never thought I'd see the day. My social anxiety still holds me back, but this book has helped me indefinitely.

Not bad. It felt repetitive to most I've just heard in public speaking classes. But hey, still a good red.

I was looking for a book to give to my daughter to help her with her social skills. She is 14 and does not have a diagnosis, but had shared with me that she struggles with certain social skills ( such as being aware that the feelings of others might be different than her own, or how to support a friend who is going through a difficult time). A lot of the books out there about improving your social skills are either too clinical, aimed at younger kids, or are meant for professionals looking to network better. I read this through before giving it to my daughter. I like the author's overall approach and the constant emphasis on sincerity and kindness in relationships. He presents social skills in terms of fairly easy to remember principles, rather than a lot of theory, abstract ideas, or case studies (there are some personal examples though). Although the target audience seems to be young adults, I found that it was very appropriate for my daughter. I was a little nervous about the chapter on relationships, but was relieved that the author's values align fairly well with my own and I felt comfortable with my daughter reading it. My daughter hasn't shared with me her thoughts about it ( but that's par for the course with her) but she was happy about the idea of having a book to refer to. It was actually a revelation to her that social skills are something that she can learn more about and get better at. I work in the special education field, and I will be recommending this book to students and parents.

Probably okay for neurotypicals, but not for neurodivergents. "Be yourself" is poison for at least some (if not most) of us. I got some good info, but had to filter out the bad. If you don't already know what the bad is, this book's advice can make your social interactions worse.

makes learning social skills looks quite easier than the monster it initially appeared to be. Best to implement as you read along.