Book Report – Touch Talks by Jim Laudell

The Book:

Touch Talks is written by Jim Laudell. This book is about communication during marriage. While it’s not entirely “Bible-based” it definitely approaches things from a Christian perspective. This book was a great read and a good break from the trial strategy books I had been reading recently.

The first three chapters of Touch Talks are dedicated to helping the reader understand what the book is about. A “touch talk” is an empathetic conversation where one spouse tries to approach the conversation through the eyes of the other spouse. It is only through these types of talks that true understanding and communication can exist. Touch talks also help work through arguments, because when you’re focused on seeing a situation from the other side, it’s tough to be angry about your own position.

The rest of the book walks through seven different topics that each married couple should have a touch talk about to make sure they are on the same page and headed in the same direction. These topics are memories, needs, priorities, touch, values, selfless living, and God. Each of the chapters has an explanation to help walk the couple through the touch talk and then blanks at the end of the chapter to record the conversation.

Application:

Even though this book was written about communication in marriage and not about being a lawyer or running a business, there are actually two ways that this book is going to improve my legal practice. First, any time that my personal life gets put into better balance and a healthier position, it helps me be a better lawyer. Too many times trial lawyers get caught up in the rush of things and let their family life and marriages fall apart. This creates distracting drama and stress that impedes the lawyer from being the best they can be. Being able to use the tips contained in this book to communicate more effectively with Moriah will help prevent this from happening to me.

Secondly, the storytelling that the author used in this book is directly applicable to the way we communicate with juries. He would explain everything and then put in a short and lighthearted anecdote to really make sure the point sunk in. The same thing can be done at trial. We must always be sure to not treat the situation in a joking or un-serious manner, but providing a short story that emphasizes our point could be very helpful. Stories are how we communicate and how people remember things. Being able to shorten them to the level of this example to insert at opportune times could be very helpful with a jury.

Conclusion:

I read Touch Talks mostly while on my own on the road, so I wasn’t able to actually do the touch talks with Moriah while reading it, but I definitely plan to incorporate these ideas into my marriage almost immediately. This book is a great way to improve the personal life of any married person and improving life outside of the business will improve productivity and contentment within the business.

NOTE: Oliver Law Firm has a reading program and an office library full of many great books. Our mission is to inspire, train, and mentor our work family to improve ourselves and client services.

Oliver Law Firm is located just west of I-49 off Pleasant Grove Road at 3606 W. Southern Hills Blvd., Suite 200, Rogers, AR 72758