ENDORSEMENTS

More Praise for Straight Talk for Rick Brandon

“Rick Brandon’s relevant, practical, and engaging approach focuses on the exact skills needed for productive influence while recognizing that in the real world, conversations can be tough, emotional, and don’t always go according to plan. Straight Talk truly gets it!”
—Kevin DeNoia, Global Head of Leadership and Executive Development, Credit Suisse

“Straight Talk is the most unique and practical book I have read on influence management and interpersonal effectiveness. I feel like I just attended Rick Brandon’s highly rated workshop in book form in the comfort of my own home . . . What an achievement!
There are tips, tools, checklists, or models on practically every page. As a bonus, Straight Talk is just flat-out fun to read. Dr. Brandon has set the new gold standard.”
—Ed Betof, Worldwide Vice President, Talent Management & CLO, Becton, Dickinson and Company (Retired)

“Straight Talk is a fun read with a conversational tone—packed with real-world examples, relevant quotes, practical tips, and exercises. It’s so engaging and action-oriented that you’ll feel like you’re attending an interpersonal skills workshop while reading this
book. Dr. Brandon also addresses the complexities of our virtual and hybrid world, giving us an influence savvy how-to manual for our time!”
—Janice Winstead, Director, Leadership Development, Anthem, Inc.

“Straight Talk is a spot-on, practical, and critical book for maximizing your interpersonal effectiveness, influence, and work results during this time of COVID. Just like his workshops at Autodesk were for years, Brandon’s down-to-earth teaching is fun
and easy to absorb . . . Brilliant!”
—Jan Becker, Chief Human Resources Officer, Autodesk (Retired)

“Straight Talk is a great, helpful, and practical handbook for understanding and building critical soft skills. Understanding communication dynamics in a mega-corporation in today’s work world isn’t easy . . . I’ve witnessed Rick Brandon’s “go-to” consulting
to develop my Fortune 50 company’s key talent, and now his Straight Talk is the go-to book for developing professional teams and early career executives in the ‘real world.’”
—Martin Robatti, Global Human Resources Leader, Fortune 50 company

“Straight Talk is a communication skills handbook—a skills-building workshop in book form . . . Brandon packs each chapter with practical tips, simple how-to instruction, relevant quotes, real-world examples, metaphors, humor, and skill drills.”
—Nicole Glasrud Haydon, Vice President Learning & Development, Fortune 500 Company

“I’m excited about this book! Straight Talk is an invaluable field guide for communication and influence skills in today’s demanding, ever-changing, and increasingly virtual work environment. It takes special talent for an author to translate a wildly successful
interpersonal skills workshop into book format in such a dynamic, fun, and practical way, and Dr. Brandon is at the top of his game.”
—Lisa Goude-Vera, Senior Manager Talent Development, Lockheed Martin Space

“In a world where we’re looking at our phones more than talking to one another, those who can pick up their heads and have meaningful conversations have an advantage. Straight Talk is a practical guidebook with clear, direct, actionable advice for anyone
looking to build their communication skills into a superpower both at work and at home. Dr. Brandon’s latest book builds readers’ interpersonal savvy through engaging, humor-laced teaching; fun and practical drills; and insights about each skill’s application
in our modern world of remote work.
—Beth Loeb, Director of Learning & Development, TESLA (retired)

“Dr. Brandon has taught interpersonal influence savvy for decades and now he’s made his workshop available in a fun, flowing, reader-friendly book form! Rick’s dynamic delivery style in his workshops comes through loud and clear, complete with ‘Humor Hits,’ ‘Demonstration’ scripts, and ‘Coaching Huddles’ to help the readers grapple with their discomfort in learning skills. It’s truly a comprehensive and inspiring read!”
—Meribeth Germino, Senior Leadership and Team Performance, Genentech

“Reading only the first few pages turns out to be addictive, like a Netflix series! In today’s remote, hybrid, high-pressured, and depersonalized work world, everyone needs skills for re-connecting, achieving results, and excelling. Rick Brandon throws
every worker a life preserver for navigating the influence waters with savvy, impact, empathy, and win-win outcomes.”
—Doris Bisaro, Group Diversity and Inclusion Lead, Generali Global

“Rick Brandon first grounds readers in the fundamental interpersonal skills of assertive speaking and active listening for accuracy and empathy—skills that are critical to workplace effectiveness and productivity. Then he transitions the learners into step-by-
step formats for optimizing essential conversations in gaining agreements, advising others, coaching, challenging ideas, and constructively confronting others to hold them accountable. These competencies help individuals master interpersonal communication
with confidence.”
—Lisa Welker-Finney, Vice President Human Resources, Boston Scientific Group

“Just in time! In today’s stressful and emotion-laden business environment, where employees are blunt (saying whatever’s on their mind) or fearful (saying nothing at all), Dr. Brandon’s book is filled with practical how-tos for successfully handling any
communication challenge that may arise. Thank you!”
—Deborrah Himsel, VP of Organizational Effectiveness, Avon Products (former) and University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management’s faculty

“Dr. Rick Brandon has knocked it out of the park again! His new book, Straight Talk, is an easy, entertaining, and potentially life-changing read. It cleverly transports readers into a workshop he’s teaching, exposing them to tools and practices that can be
immediately used. This “workshop in a book” is a must-read for anyone who wants to kick it up a notch to dramatically transform both their personal and business interactions and relationships.”
—Delta Emerson, President, Global Shared Services, Ryan, LLC (former)

“Straight Talk is exactly what the title suggests—Dr. Brandon shares practical, common sense skills, delivered in a funny, easy-to-read format that sounds like he’s talking right to you! He gives it to you straight and shares his own vulnerable moments while
he encourages us to get better. I love this book—Brandon’s examples, stories, and activities come to life in your mind, as if you were attending a live workshop with him!”
—Jen Crabb, Talent Development, Fortune 500 financial services company

“Having been fortunate enough to learn from Rick within his Institute for Management Studies workshops for many years, I was thrilled to learn that he finally decided to share all his insights, best practices, and proven techniques in book form, complete
with insightful and clear explanations, dramatic scripted demonstrations, and rigorous practice exercises. This wonderful book is packed with actionable insights and tools to take your communication skills to the next level.”
—Charles Good, President, Institute for Management Studies

“Straight Talk provides a “workshop” in a quick and easy-to-read format that teaches direct, assertive, empathic, and positive communication skills in a world that requires even more refined communications due to the global and cultural lines we need to
reach across . . . Straight Talk is an easy-to-use guide that can be used to build and refresh skills . . . enhancing their ability to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals!”
—Stephen Shaffer, Vice President Human Resources, SNP Transformations, Inc.

“We have been bombarded lately with warnings that the ‘soft’ skills are critical for success today. The author has written a book about some of the most important ones, and he does a superb job of not only defining ‘Straight Talk,’ but also giving us a guidebook
so that we can practice it immediately! And if the practice makes perfect saying is indeed true . . . this book can be a crucial aid. Take it to heart, apply the suggestions immediately, or share with your own team so that the real effect of this is multiplied.”
—Beverly Kaye, coauthor of Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go, Love ’Em or Lose ’Em, Up Is Not the Only Way, & Love It Don’t Leave It

“Straight Talk delivers dozens of practical skills, strategies, and tips for anyone whose job demands stellar communication skills. For me, the biggest impact will be in preventing and resolving conflicts, vital keys to collaboration, productive work relationships,
and results-driven company cultures.”
—Marty Seldman, coauthor of Survival of the Savvy and Leading in the Global Matrix

“As the author of Every Job Is a Sales Job, I’d hoped that Straight Talk would increase readers’ persuasiveness—in any job as well as official selling roles. Brandon’s book delivers the goods. He’s spot-on calling the book ‘edu-tainment.’ Like his workshops,
he delivers practical, relevant, and robust teaching points and, many times, comedy!”
—Cindy McGovern, author of WSJ bestseller, Every Job Is a Sales Job

“Communicating well with those around us is so essential, personally and professionally, and can seem so challenging. Reading Rick Brandon’s Straight Talk is like having a good friend who cares about you and wants you to be a great communicator—and
who has the experience and insight to help you get there. Supportive, funny, and practical throughout, Brandon makes effective communication seem refreshingly doable.”
—Erika Andersen, bestselling author of Change from the Inside Out and Founding Partner of Proteus International

“With humor and ease, Rick Brandon brings practical, easy-to-remember skills and approaches to the toughest part of our work—the hundreds of in-person and remote interactions that make up our daily work experience. When one bad conversation can
ruin your day, your relationship with your colleagues or your boss, or your ability to get work done, this proven collection of tools can save the day!”
—Lori Mazan, Cofounder and President, Sounding Board, Inc.

“In this engaging workshop-in-a-book, Rick Brandon expertly makes the case for the primary importance of impactful communication skills for success and gives us a no-nonsense action plan for stepping up to the next level of interpersonal power. You can have all the subject matter expertise in the world, but without effectively communicating your ideas, your expertise is useless. That’s an oversight in training and education that Rick Brandon masterfully corrects in his new book.”
—Gregory A. Ketchum, PhD, Principal, TalentPlanet, My Coach-on-Demand Podcasts™ and author of Trapped in the Big Easy: A Hurricane, Leadership from the Heart, and the Quest for a Life of Purpose

“In his new book, Straight Talk, Dr. Rick Brandon has taken his many years of experience teaching communication and influencing skills to some of the world’s largest organizations and distilled them into a pragmatic ‘how to’ guide. It’s a fun approach that puts the reader into the middle of one of Dr. Brandon’s programs with a focus on application. Straight Talk is a wonderful resource for anyone, but it is critical for managers who need to influence others or have those difficult conversations.”
—Jon Peters, Founder, AthenaOnline