Kiku
On sale
12th February 2026
Price: £12.99
‘A great insight’ – Michael Rosen
Listening connects us to others and the world around us. Learn how to harness its power in this life-changing new book.
Drawing on the Japanese concept of ‘kiku‘ – a deep listening practice – sociologist and listening expert Dr Haru Yamada brings together cutting-edge research with advice, tips and tricks to create a transformational guide to becoming better listeners in everyday life. Once you know how to listen to those around you, you’ll learn how to read between the lines, communicate across divides and connect with those most important to you. Kiku is an essential guide to embracing the art of listening.
Listening connects us to others and the world around us. Learn how to harness its power in this life-changing new book.
Drawing on the Japanese concept of ‘kiku‘ – a deep listening practice – sociologist and listening expert Dr Haru Yamada brings together cutting-edge research with advice, tips and tricks to create a transformational guide to becoming better listeners in everyday life. Once you know how to listen to those around you, you’ll learn how to read between the lines, communicate across divides and connect with those most important to you. Kiku is an essential guide to embracing the art of listening.
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Reviews
Kiku - listening with fourteen hearts - is as powerful as the metaphor is beautiful. Combining expertise in the field of linguistics with deep knowledge of Japanese language and culture, Haru Yamada shows that you're already listening in many different ways. Understanding those differences, you can harness and hone the skills you have, to better connect with your own inner voice and the people you talk to.
Amidst the cacophony of the modern world, this book deftly teaches us the many ways we need to listen: fast and slow, across cultures and generations, and at home and work
A compelling and far-reaching thesis on the importance of listening to others not just in negotiations or daily conversations but in virtually all aspects of social interaction that occur in our daily lives
Understanding human listening intelligence is critical to our survival and well-being as we forge forward in the digital world. As Haru Yamada gives us the insight we need to tune in to our many sociocultural groups, 聴くKIKU The Art of Japanese Listening offers a unique Japanese perspective for contemporary communicators to navigate their everyday listening in a speaker-led world.
Read Haru Yamada's insightful book Kiku if you want to understand better what you are doing when you are listening, an indispensable part of the practice of diplomacy and other professions and activities that depend on effective interpersonal communications.
Kiku is a poetic and practical guide based on this essential truth: real transformation begins not with answers, but with deep, wholehearted listening. Dr Yamada teaches us how to tap into the wisdom and experience of others in a multitude of accessible ways. This book is a profound resource for anyone who believes that questions are only powerful when their answers are met with real presence. A true gift to leaders, educators, and anyone who wants to connect more meaningfully.
During these troubling times, we all need to become better listeners. By dissecting the different channels of listening and drawing on the art of Japanese conversation, Dr Haru Yamada shows us how to enhance our listening skills. Read this wonderful book! It will improve your personal and public lives.
A great insight