Blah Blah Blah: What to Do When Words Don't Work

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More About This Book

Overview

Ever been to so many meetings that you couldn't get your work done? Ever fallen asleep during a bulletpoint presentation? Ever watched the news and ended up knowing less? Welcome to the land of Blah Blah Blah.

The Problem: We talk so much that we don't think very well. Powerful as words are, we fool ourselves when we think our words alone can detect, describe, and defuse the multifaceted problems of today. They can't-and that's bad, because words have become our default thinking tool.

The Solution: This book offers a way out of blah-blah-blah. It's called "Vivid Thinking."

In Dan Roam's first acclaimed book, The Back of the Napkin, he taught readers how to solve problems and sell ideas by drawing simple pictures. Now he proves that Vivid Thinking is even more powerful. This technique combines our verbal and visual minds so that we can think and learn more quickly, teach and inspire our colleagues, and enjoy and share ideas in a whole new way.

The Destination: No more blah-blah-blah. Through Vivid Thinking, we can make the most complicated subjects suddenly crystal clear. Whether trying to understand a Harvard Business School class, or what went down in the Conan versus Leno battle for late-night TV, or what Einstein thought about relativity, Vivid Thinking provides a way to clarify anything.

Through dozens of guided examples, Roam proves that anyone can apply this systematic approach, from leftbrain types who hate to draw to right-brainers who hate to write. This isn't just a book about improving communications, presentations, and ideation; it's about removing the blah-blah- blah from your life for good.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

If you have ever felt your eyes glazing over during an "important" meeting or perfected your doodling style during a PowerPoint presentation, this is the book for you. With its call to Vivid Thinking, Dan Roam's Blah Blah Blah follows up on the success of his The Back of the Napkin. In that entertaining primer, he showed readers how we can solve problems by drawing pictures. In this book, he demonstrates that simplifying problems or selling solutions can be achieved through simple word and/or picture devices. One of those rare business books that cuts through the muck.

Publishers Weekly
We all hate corporate-speak and impenetrable, needlessly complex language—but Roam’s (Back of the Napkin) ire is at an altogether different level. He rails against the iniquities of “blah-blah-blah”—the hopped-up pompous language that leads to complexity (which kills our ability to think), misunderstanding (which kills our ability to lead), and boredom (which kills our ability to care). The solution, he proposes, is learning with images rather than words, which we do as children—and are then dissuaded from ever doing again, with the exception of standouts such as the Periodic Table of the Elements, the world’s greatest organization chart. Through a series of charming line drawings starring a fox representing the linear, verbal mind and a hummingbird representing the synthesizing, visual mind, Roam presents his theories on how to present ideas and arguments such that they can be readily understood—which unfortunately, boils down to the rule to “use images instead of words” and not much else. It’s tough to miss the irony of a book decrying the unnecessary complication of language spinning out a single idea through dozens of unnecessary illustrative examples. (Nov.)

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781591844594
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 11/1/2011
  • Pages: 368
  • Sales rank: 94,636
  • Product dimensions: 8.10 (w) x 8.20 (h) x 1.30 (d)

Meet the Author

Dan Roam is the author of The Back of the Napkin, which was Fast Company's Best Business Book of the Year and BusinessWeek's Innovation and Design Book of the Year. His consulting clients have included Microsoft, Google, Wal-Mart, Boeing, Lucasfilm, The Gap, the U.S. Navy, and the White House Office of Communications. His health-care analysis was named BusinessWeek's Best Presentation of 2009. He lives in San Francisco.

Visit www.danroam.com

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 15 )

Rating Distribution

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(13)

4 Star

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2 Star

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1 Star

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Sort by: Showing all of 15 Customer Reviews

  • Posted February 24, 2012

    more from this reviewer

    No better book on the power of Visual Thinking

    We all know a picture is worth a 1000 words and accept it too. However, it is a totally different matter to go about conceptualizing and establishing a easily understandable and executable way of substituting words with pictures and images. It is a matter of being able to walk the talk. In this book, Dan Roam just excels himself with one of the most easily understandable methods of going about showing the power of images and pictures versus drab, dull words. And Dan goes about the book with a tongue in cheek sense of humor which only strengthens what he sets about teaching. His sketches and drawings are so well thought of and rendered that they do completely replace the words. In my line of work, I do use a lot of visual elements to teach concepts (financial analysis, incidentally) but Dan in his book tells you why you should do it and what it will do to the message you are trying to deliver. The thinking and conceptualization that emerges after applying his concepts are so rich and varied that this should be considered an expression for creativity and brainstorming. If you ever doubted that pictures deliver more meaning and learning than mere words, go buy this book. You will be a convert for sure.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 14, 2012

    Mimi

    Need a doc hurry

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 13, 2012

    To dylan

    A random floating budist ant hovers in. "DYLAN!!! YOU!!! ARE!!! WANTED!!! IN!!! SCARLET LETTER!!! thank you, thank you very much." Does an elvis dance and shuffles out.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 3, 2012

    Xerxes

    Britt dont worry silence jst mafe a pretend curse. XD cyrus has no curse.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 5, 2012

    Leah

    Hi stella

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 13, 2012

    Dylan

    Bi tc hh. I told you im on around 10pm. Srry for having life. Wait did i ever tell you that you are a BI TC HH yet. Well you are a fu ck in gg BBBBBBIIIIII TTTTTCCCCC HHHHHHHHHH. Thnxs for beimg such a big a ss to me

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 5, 2012

    Rocketburst

    See? THAT'S what I'm talking about. These mousebrains are so stupid they refuse to die, even when there's no way out. I'm absolutely sick of it.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 11, 2012

    H

    "Will you just stop being rude, for ONCE? I mean, seriously, I'm sure just about everyone here has had enough of it. And you CANNOT catch me or my Clan CrystalClan because we can ALL shape-shift. I need to see something, so hold on Angelclaw." *Goes behind a tree for a minute* "There, I'm all done." *A white bengal tiger comes out from behind the tree* "Yep, you guessed it, I'm the tiger. And I'm NOT afraid to pounce on you either."~Dovestar

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 2, 2012

    Smallsky

    Maybe from this post you will find out who 'S.s' was. I dont buy this act for a second. I acted like a b*tch to your cats and you cared. So why do you attack cats? Your being a b*tch to them. Your a hypocrite Angelclaw. I hope that you made yourself feel better by killing me. Because now... youll never be free of me. Killing an innocent med cat make you feel better? Oh did you forget that once she was your own medicine cat who saved Silvermoonstars life? Hm... you should have asked who i really was. Better luck next time loser. ~Smallsky the now StarClan cat, previously known as 'S.s'

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 2, 2012

    Gabe to angleclaw

    ANGLEMOLE!!! ANGLEMOLE!!!! Goodby.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 2, 2012

    To Angelclaw

    *a light brown she cat walks in* Why do you kill kits? It is wrong! Did you know that you used to be a kit? How would you feel if you were a kit that was getting killed just because you are from a different clan?! I have proven my point. *starts walking away but turns back* I just want to warn you that you better be good to Silvermoonstar's kits, or else...*changes into a wolf and runs away*

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 20, 2012

    Pebbletheslash

    I miss angleclaw!!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 5, 2012

    Deathfang

    Dovestar u r missing the point. Angelclaw and i r INDESTRUCTABLE.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 4, 2011

    Appropriately titled

    Vacillates between the obvious and the inane. I could not take this book seriously.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 13, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

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