Crystal Clear Communication: How to Explain Anything Clearly in Speech or Writing

I bought this book because I’ve come to understand that my career basically resolves around explaining things to people. So, I’m trying to develop that talent, and this book seemed like something short that I could read on a flight home.

The only thing I took away from the first half is this: never try to make more than three points with someone, because they’ll get confused and overwhelmed. I’ve heard this from other people too, so it resonated.

But the book is not well-written. The author is something of a “book mill” – he apparently churns out a lot of titles which he sells on Amazon. The book was poorly written in some places, veered off into the weeds in others, and the author kept injecting himself into the content.

Then, in the middle, he tells an anecdote about how someone in the service industry made him angry, so he refused to shop at their business. And then made the point of going back to this business to remind them he wasn’t going to shop there.

That – along with the general tone – just made him seem like a narcissistic ass. I couldn’t take him seriously after that, so I bailed out.