Book Connection – TALK: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves

How do we move beyond transactional conversations and build meaningful professional relationships with our colleagues across departments and institutions in higher education?

Professionals in the institutional research space are skilled at collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting data. They ensure that stakeholders have the data needed to inform important decisions. It’s important work that, at times, can feel overly transactional. But it’s not!

That’s why I found Alison Wood Brooks’ new book, TALK: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves, so thought-provoking. It prompted me to reflect on the many conversations I’ve witnessed and experienced throughout my career in both K-12 and higher education.

Dr. Brooks introduces the acronym TALK as four maxims for better conversations:
T – Topics: Choose them thoughtfully and manage them well.
A – Asking: Ask more, and better, questions.
L – Levity: Bring warmth and humor to keep conversations engaging.
K – Kindness: Prioritize others’ conversational needs.

These developed skills are powerful for the work of institutional researchers and data analysts. We spend so much of our professional lives in conversation with colleagues; the quality of those interactions matters as much as the outcomes we produce.

As I read, I couldn’t help but think of the many institutional research professionals I’ve learned from by either working together at a university or by witnessing their conversations at association-related events (e.g., AIR, NEAIR, AAU, and APLU-CIMA). These people embody these principles in action. It’s such an amazing professional community, and I’m fortunate to have been in their presence.

I’ll be continuing to study Dr. Brooks’ work while looking for ways to apply TALK in practice at conferences, in mentoring sessions, and in my teaching.