The Squeaky Wheel, Guy Winch, Ph.D.
The Squeaky Wheel, Guy Winch, Ph.D.
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The Squeaky Wheel
Complaining the Right Way to Get Results, Improve Your Relationships, and Enhance Self-Esteem

Author: Guy Winch, Ph.D.

Narrator: Guy Winch, Ph.D.

Unabridged: 7 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/04/2011


Synopsis

Although life was physically more difficult in the days of the horse and carriage, we complained much less back then, and when we did, our complaints were more likely to get results. Today we complain about everything--yet do so with remarkable ineffectiveness. Most of us grumble, vent, and kvetch, neither expecting nor getting meaningful resolutions. Wasting prodigious amounts of time and energy on unproductive complaints can take an emotional and psychological toll on our moods and well-being. We desperately need to relearn the art of complaining effectively.

Psychotherapist Guy Winch offers practical and psychologically grounded advice on how to determine what to complain about and what to let slide. He demonstrates how to convey our complaints in ways that encourage cooperation and increase the likelihood of getting resolutions to our dissatisfactions. The principles he spells out apply whether we're dealing with a rude store clerk, a bureaucrat, a coworker, our teenager, or a spouse or partner who's driving us crazy.

Complaining constructively can be extremely empowering and it can significantly strengthen our personal, familial, and work relationships. Applying our new-found complaining skills to customer service representatives, corporate leaders, and elected officials increases the odds that our comments will be taken seriously. If we all complained more effectively, squeaky wheels could change our own lives as well as the world for the better.

About Guy Winch, Ph.D.

Guy Winch, Ph.D., received a doctorate in clinical psychology from New York University, completed a postdoctoral fellowship in family and couple therapy, and has been using complaints as a therapeutic tool in his psychotherapy practice for more than a decade. He also dabbles in stand-up comedy. The Squeaky Wheel is his first book.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Chason on May 01, 2011

Got this as a free book from Random House as part of the first reads giveaways. I am really enjoyed the book. It is well-written and extremely honest. The author, Guy Winch, has a PhD in psychology and the book deals with a new-ish field of pscyhology known as "complaining psychology" or "complainin......more

Goodreads review by Monika on January 14, 2021

Książka w polskiej wersji ma niestety mylny tytuł. Tytuł oryginalny powinno się przetłumaczyć raczej jako - sztuka konstruktywnego narzekania. Z proszeniem to ma niewiele wspólnego. A szkoda, bo raczej miałam ochotę poduczyć się właśnie jak prosić o przysługi, a nie jak narzekać w sposób niosący efe......more

Goodreads review by Alexandra on November 25, 2019

really enjoyed - the stories were funny or interesting and the psych around avoiding victimization was well done. Plus the anecdotes really showed the different situations that happen from too much or not enough complaining/ action-taking. Quotes: The combination of these two perceptions and feelings,......more

Goodreads review by Crystal on August 24, 2014

A quick and interesting read about complaining that reads more like fiction. Excellent for complete novices, but still interesting for those who know a bit about the subject. Admittedly, there were parts that felt very "after-school special", and other sections where I questioned why they were added......more

Goodreads review by Dahlila on July 22, 2016

I found this listening book to be a lot more interesting than I originally imagined. (Also, the reader is delightful). It not only talks about the right way to complain, but also the necessity of complaining, complaining correctly. Plus, it really shows what it's like to be a sales clerk, customer s......more