Book Review: Verbal Judo

I heard about this topic a while ago when one of my workplaces did a safety workshop for the staff members. The presenter brought it up sort of in passing, and taught us one phrase from the book.

Premise: as Judo is the art of redirecting your opponents physical attacks to your advantage, verbal Judo is the art of redirecting/deflecting your opponents verbal attacks to your advantage. Basically, it's how to talk to difficult people and get them to cooperate.

The author is very likeable as he sort of narrates his points. He holds a PhD in English and has taught at the high school and university level. He was also a cop for several years. In case you couldn't guess, he's also in to all sorts of martial arts.

My thoughts . . .
Nothing in the book was too "new" to me. Some helpful phrasings and stuff to remember when difficult people are present, or when you feel as though you are going to say something you will regret because you are feeling strong emotions. Definitely some helpful advice though. Lots of interesting stories from his personal experience. Plus, the author doesn't come off like one of those perfect people who are telling you to do what they do because they are so perfect.

However, it got quite repetetive with the concepts. Plus, after the hundredth story, it got old for me. I also found the way the material was presented was too scattered for my tastes. I like things to be a bit more ordered and organized personally.

As far as self-help books go, I'd give it 7/10. Interesting stories compensated for the minimal new concepts.