Communication Skills For Young Adults
Author: RJ Barranco · Status: Coming Summer 2026
What this book is about
Communication as a working skill — listening that actually lands, asking questions that get useful answers, public speaking without the rehearsed-speech-class energy, handling hard conversations without escalating, and operating fluently in digital rooms (Zoom, Discord, group chats). Treats communication as something you build, not something you're born good at.
Who it's for
Grades 9–12, college first-year, ELA / speech / debate / forensics, advisory / SEL, CTE workplace-readiness pathways, peer-counseling and peer-mediation programs, and adult learners doing communication work explicitly. The Neurospicy Toolkit chapter (Ch 13) extends the framework for ADHD and autistic communicators without softening the material for everyone else.
What's inside
Fifteen chapters covering the working skills (vibe checks, active listening, hard conversations, public speaking, conflict de-escalation), the situations they apply to (group projects, family arguments, work meetings, digital rooms), and the recovery skills (humor without casualties, repair after a blow-up, neurospicy translation). Capstone synthesis pulls it all into one working framework.
For educators
The free educator companion guide for this book — chapter-by-chapter teaching notes, sensitivity protocols, discussion questions, and standards-alignment documentation — lives at skillsforyoungadults.org and is freely usable in adopted classrooms and adjacent contexts. Strong adoption fit for ELA Speaking + Listening anchor standards, CASEL SEL, CTE soft-skills clusters, and Title IX-adjacent prevention work.
The full fifteen-chapter classroom toolkit — twelve files per chapter (lesson plans, anchor-read excerpts, worksheets, student-retained reference cards, project rubrics, Marp slide decks, quiz banks, standards-alignment crosswalks, differentiation protocols, teacher notes; sensitivity content for Ch 10 abuse off-ramp and Ch 12 sextortion section built into the differentiation files) — is available to schools, districts, and programs adopting the book for classroom use. To inquire about classroom adoption + toolkit access, contact skills@mojavepublishing.com.
Get the book
First seven titles in the series arrive Summer 2026. Sample chapters and direct-purchase links will be posted here as the book ships.
For press, school visits, librarian inquiries, or institutional licensing: skills@mojavepublishing.com.