Why another book on communication? Because while we may do different things in our professional and personal lives, sooner or later we all have to communicate with each other, and perhaps this book, in a modest way, can help that process along.

In education, the workplace, the media and the wider community, the buzz is now about 'soft skills', 'interpersonal skills', 'people skills', 'transferable skills', 'graduate skills', 'employability skills' and 'generic skills'. Such abilities are now universally regarded as the means by which we understand others and ourselves, and as vitally important in helping us advance and grow in our careers and lives. They have a very long shelf life, too, being virtually the only type of learning that will not be obsolete five, ten or even twenty years after we acquire them.

'. . . must have good communication skills' is almost a cliché in job advertisements and job descriptions these days. But where can we acquire such skills? And how can we prove we have them? Courses in communication, supported by books like this one, can help. Of course, the skills are not enough in themselves: we need theory to give a foundation to the skills, just as we need skills to demonstrate that the theories work. Yet too many of the communication techniques and theories sold in the marketplace are superficial, self-serving or biased in presentation. Too often professional communication is presented either, at one extreme, as a grab-bag of slick training formulas shot through with psychobabble or, at the other, as an opaque research area with limited connection to the real world.

One paradox of the communication field is that while its importance is increasingly recognised, the time allocated to it in learning institutions, where it exists at all, has either declined or increased only slightly in recent years. The belief persists that 'all this soft skills stuff' can just be picked up along the way, presumably by some mysterious process of osmosis or by 'embedding' the content in the mainstream curriculum.

It is common to hear academics and trainers argue, for example, that team/group skills can be acquired simply by setting team assignments. Nothing could be further from the truth. Students do learn about group interaction this way, but often only its negative features: they may learn, for instance, about free riders (work-shy team members who rely on the conscientious efforts of others), and about aspects of conflict and miscommuni-cation. Assuredly, they will not study group processes in a way that will allow them to understand and deal with such negative potential and to ensure that the 'team effort' is the best it can be. Communication skills cannot simply be assimilated along with the 'real' content of other courses: they are content in themselves, and deserve to be taught in a systematic, theory-based and professional way.

In this book, you will find a wealth of ideas you can use on negotiation and conflict, communicating between cultures, leadership communication, argument and persuasion, non-verbal communication, assertiveness, emotional intelligence, self-talk, feedback, listening and questioning skills, reframing, organisational communication, grapevines and rumour mills, knowledge management, communication with customers and stakeholders, public communication, employment communication, research skills, preparing reports and proposals, document design and graphic communication, online writing and communication theory.

A further eight chapters are available online or on a custom publishing basis. These additional resources focus primarily on writing skills, with five chapters on grammar; spelling, punctuation and usage; how to write; style; and plain English. Another three chapters examine scientific and technical writing, gender and communication, and media communication.

Wherever possible, I have tried to present these ideas visually and in a reader-friendly way, but that is not to suggest they are offered up 'uncritically'. You will, for example, find contrarian views on:

• why team building is sometimes not a solution but a problem
• why intercultural communication will not necessarily lead to greater harmony and less conflict
• why sometimes it is better to have more conflict rather than less
• why some interpersonal communication approaches are enriching and enlightening, while others are dangerous psychobabble
• why the customer is often wrong, and what to do about it.\

Whether you read this text in the context of a formal course or out of personal interest, when next you are asked to demonstrate 'good communication skills', I believe you will be able to do so confidently and knowledgeably.

Baden Eunson
September 2004