Paperback
This is a great introductory book on communication skills for developers, especially those early in their careers or developers whose career has hit a plateau and they’re not sure why. I’ve given away a copy to every developer on the teams I supported over the last year. Chris is a former colleague from our Bank of America days on the Quartz team, and I can attest to Chris being a great communicator.
As Chris explains in his book, only a relatively small fraction of a developer’s impact (say 30% as a rule of thumb) is down to their technical capabilities - a much larger fraction is down to how well they communicate with others. I say “introductory” because the book covers a lot of ground and aims for breadth rather than depth. In many ways the book is a field guide to all the non-technical aspects of what software developer does. Although it introduces a host of theories and mental models, this is a very practical book with a host of actionable tips in each chapter of what to do or not to do.
Despite being most useful for early career developers, even more seasoned professionals can gain valuable tips and insights from the book. This is a self-published book, so don’t expect the polish of say an O’Reilly book and the numerous links that Chris provides work better on the kindle version than the hardcopy version.