Meet Alison Wood Brooks.
Founder of TALK Studios, Harvard Business School Professor, Behavioral Scientist, and Author of TALK: The science of conversation and the art of being ourselves
A behavioral scientist on a mission to preserve and strengthen the core human skill that connects us all: conversation. Alison helps teachers, teams, families, and communities turn everyday interactions into deeper connections, better collaboration, and more joy.
Alison's StoryDr. Alison Wood Brooks has spent more than two decades studying how conversations shape our lives. As a behavioral scientist at Harvard Business School, she discovered that conversation is one of the most important—and most undertaught—human skills.
She's also a twin, mom of three, musician, and someone who genuinely loves people. The more she studied conversation, the more convinced she became that it isn't a talent you're born with—it's a skill that can be learned and practiced.
Today, through TALK Studios, Alison translates conversation science into practical tools that help students, families, teams, and communities connect and thrive.
Research and Recognition Highlights.
Alison Wood Brooks is a leading voice in the science of conversation, with popular teaching and rigorous research that has helped define the field.
Explore some of her contributions or check out her full list of publications.
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15+ Years Alison has studied conversation at Harvard as a pioneer in the field.
1M+ Conversations studied
20+ Research papers written by Alison
250+ Academic papers underpinning the TALK framework
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MasterClass
The Mel Robbins Podcast
Diary of a CEO
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
WSJ, NYT, TIME, HBR, Financial Times
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Research depicted in Pixar’s Inside Out 2
Poets & Quants Best 40-under-40 Professors 2021
2026 Canandaigua Academy Graduate of Distinction
2023 Wyss Award for Excellence in Mentoring Doctoral Students
Harvard Business School 2021 Best 40-under-40 Professors
2018 Robert F. Greenhill Award. Awarded annually for significant contributions to the Harvard Business School community
2016 Hellman Faculty Fellowship. Awarded to one junior female faculty member to recognize outstanding research contributions at Harvard Business School
The talk book.
TALK teaches us how to better understand, learn from, and delight one another through our everyday interactions. Filled with relatable stories and surprising insights, this practical, research-backed framework will change how you approach every conversation.
“Reading TALK is like having a conversation with the world's best conversationalist. Alison Wood Brooks brings to life the science of conversation, in which she is a world expert, with the utmost warmth, empathy, and joy… This book has raised my game as a conversationalist. I'm recommending it to everyone I know.”
—Angela Duckworth, #1 NYT Best-selling author of Grit
“Good conversation can make us feel alive. It can stave off loneliness, one of today’s greatest threats. It can satisfy us in ways that few other things do. And blessedly, it’s not a limited resource. Quite the opposite. The more people who communicate well, the better off we will all be.”
work with alison.
See the TALK framework in action and leave with practical conversational tools your students and teams can use right away.
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Interactive resources designed for skill building — better questions, better listening, better repair, and more shared understanding inside and outside of the classroom.
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Research-backed, warm, high-energy keynotes that change how people understand conversation and provides practical moves they can start using immediately.
Learn More
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High energy and engaging interviews and commentary on the science of conversation, social anxiety, connection, and communication at work, in schools, and at home.
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