Kids Edition out now, ages 6 to 12  ·  Get it on Amazon ↗
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Cover of Speak Easy: The Communication Playbook for Kids

Kids Edition

The Communication Playbook for Kids

For the child who knows exactly what to say at home and goes silent the moment there is a group. This is the book that gives them the first move, in a story they will actually finish.

Ages 6 to 12 65 pages Illustrated 12 core skills

Kindle & Paperback

For the grown-up buying it

Why this one gets finished.

It teaches through a character

Peanut the elephant goes through the same things your child does. Nobody is lectured. The lesson arrives inside a story, which is the only reliable way a seven-year-old takes one in.

Short chapters

Sixty-five pages, illustrated, with chapters built to be finished in one sitting. Long enough to matter, short enough to survive a school night.

Every chapter ends in practice

Star missions turn each skill into something to actually try, at school or at the dinner table. Reading about a skill changes nothing. Doing it once changes a lot.

It grows with them

The same twelve skills carry through the Teen and Adults editions. What they learn at eight is the same foundation they will use at thirty, in different words.

What is inside

Twelve skills. Same twelve in every edition.

The language and the stories change between the Kids, Teen and Adults books. The skills do not.

Skill 0
Say Your Name
Skill 1
The First Move
Skill 2
Listen Like You Mean It
Skill 3
Compliments That Land
Skill 4
Reading the Vibe
Skill 5
Mastering Silence
Skill 6
Text Like You Mean It
Skill 7
Read the Room
Skill 8
End a Conversation Well
Skill 9
Boundaries
Skill 10
Precision Language
Skill 11
The Follow-Up Move

Read before you buy

Chapter 0: Say Your Name Like You Mean It

This is how Chapter 0 opens, exactly as your child would read it.

It was Peanut's first day at a new school. Her tummy felt like it was full of jumpy frogs. She squeezed her lucky peanut extra hard.

The teacher smiled and said, "Let's all say our names!" Peanut's heart went BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. She wanted to turn into a very small, very quiet rock. When it was finally her turn, she looked at her desk and said her name so quietly it came out like a tiny mouse hiccup. "...peanut." "Sorry, who?" said the teacher. Peanut said it again. Even quieter.

Then a fox two seats over popped up, tall and easy. "I'm Rae! I can wiggle my ears one at a time, and I love spicy noodles." A couple of kids laughed. Rae wiggled one ear to prove it, then sat back down like it was no big deal at all.

Here's the secret, and it's a good one. Rae wasn't braver than Peanut. Rae just knew one move: say your name so people can hear it, then add ONE true thing about you.

"I'm Peanut" is a name. "I'm Peanut, and I'm way stronger than I look" is a person you want to know. See the difference? The second one hands people a door.

How to do it: Stand tall. Say it clear. Add one true thing. Something you like. Something you're into. Something that's just you.

Twelve skills, one book, sixty-three pages.

Available now on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.

Other editions

Same system, different age.

Teen Edition

Ages 13 to 17, 151 pages. The same twelve skills for school, group chats and friendships, with a five-tier XP system.

See the Teen Edition →

Adults Edition

Ages 18 and up, 129 pages. Fifteen chapters and nine appendices for adults who were never taught this.

See the Adults Edition →

Free guides

Thirty full how-to guides from inside the books. No signup, no cost.

Read the guides →

Free weekly tool

One communication tool. Every week. Free.

One move from inside the books, short enough to read in a minute and try with your child the same evening.

FAQ

Questions worth answering.

What age is the Kids edition for?

Ages 6 to 12. The Teen edition covers 13 to 17 and the Adults edition covers 18 and up. All three teach the same twelve skills in different language.

Can a child read it alone or does it need an adult?

Both work. The chapters are short and illustrated, so a confident reader of seven or eight can go through it alone. Younger children get more out of it read together, because the practice missions are easier with someone to try them on.

Is this the same book as the Teen edition?

No. Same twelve core skills, rewritten completely. The Kids edition teaches through Peanut the elephant and illustrated exercises rather than direct instruction.

Is it useful in a classroom?

The chapters are short enough for a single lesson and each one ends with a practice mission, so it fits a single lesson. Read Chapter Zero above and you will know in five minutes whether it fits your group.

Who wrote it?

The author writes anonymously, on purpose. The focus stays on the skills rather than on a personality.

New books. Zero reviews yet. Every book with a thousand reviews started there. There is a free sample on Amazon, and returns are Amazon's call: Kindle generally within 7 days and before you've read much, paperbacks within 30. The only cost is one evening.