How to Speak, How to Listen?

Mortimer J. Adler argues that most conversations fail not because people speak poorly, but because they listen without intention. In *How to Speak, How to Listen*, he resurrects rhetoric as a living discipline, treating persuasion not as manipulation but as the art of building mutual understanding. Adler moves from the mechanics of structured speech to the harder skill of critical listening, showing how active participation transforms passive audiences into genuine interlocutors.

You'll learn:

- Why rhetoric is understanding's foundation, not its enemy

- The difference between hearing words and grasping ideas

- How critical listening exposes weak arguments instantly