Dr. Julien C. Mirivel, an associate professor in the Department of Speech Communication at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, recently finished work on his book, The Art of Positive Communication: Theory and Practice.

Published by Peter Lang, Mirivel said the book has been a work in progress for several years. It is for communication students and others who want to improve the way they communicate.

The book started with the idea of showing students that communication is consequential and evolved into a book that introduces a model for how to communicate positively in everyday and professional life, according to Mirivel.

“The starting point was to figure out what it means to communicate well, to communicate ethically, and to inspire people,” he said.

Several key questions drive the themes of the book, including what communication behaviors exemplify our potential, inspire others and make a difference in a person’s life.

“This book is my synthesis of what we know about communication and my current answers to these questions,” Mirivel said. “The model summarizes these behaviors in an easy diagram.”

Mirivel’s hope is that people from “all walks of life” will improve the way they think about communication and will practice these behaviors with the people they love and those they meet everyday.

He is currently teaching a graduate course using the book and will deliver several talks surrounding the ideas in it at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in October.

Mirivel noted that the work of his mother, Annick Vauthier, a professional artist in Switzerland, is featured on the book cover.

Mirivel received doctoral and master’s degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Northern Iowa.

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