Product Description

What Do You Say After You Say Hello? explains what makes the winners win, the losers lose, and the in-betweens so boring...In it, Dr Eric Berne reveals how everyone's life follows a predetermined script - a script they compose for themselves during early childhood. The script may be a sad one, it may be a successful one; it decides how a person will relate to his colleagues, what sort of person he will marry, how many children he will have, and even what sort of bed he will die in...What Do You Say After You Say Hello? demonstrates how each life script gets written, how it works and, more important, how anyone can improvise or change his script to make a happy ending...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25032 in Books
• Published on: 1975-04-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 475 pages

From the Back Cover
What Do You Say After You Say Hello? explains what makes the winners win, the losers lose, and the in-betweens so boring...

In it, Dr Eric Berne reveals how everyone's life follows a predetermined script - a script they compose for themselves during early childhood. The script may be a sad one, it may be a successful one; it decides how a person will relate to his colleagues, what sort of person he will marry, how many children he will have, and even what sort of bed he will die in...

What Do You Say After You Say Hello? demonstrates how each life script gets written, how it works and, more important, how anyone can improvise or change his script to make a happy ending...

About the Author
Dr Eric Berne, as the originator of transactional analysis, was always recognised as an important innovator in the field, but it was not until his Games People Play became an international bestseller that his methods achieved wide popularity. In his writings, until his death in 1970, Dr Berne outlined the principles of his system in works such as Games People Play, A Layman's Guide to Psychiatry, Sex in Human Loving, and Principles of Group Treatment. Dr Berne was a practising psychiatrist in Carmel, California, and held many important posts in professional psychiatric organisations and clinics.

Customer Reviews

Good book on the nature of human destiny (spoilers)
"What Do You Say After You Say Hello" is a sequel to Dr Eric Berne's book "Games People Play". In that book, Berne argued that human beings participate in a series of deceptive rituals and manoeuvres ('games') that hamper real communication and intimacy.

In this book, he extends that theory (transactional analysis) towards human destiny that he says is predetermined by a 'script' people compose in early childhood before they have reached six years old. This script will determine whether that person is a winner, non-winner or a loser. Berne's theory is well founded, taking into genetic, prenatal and parental influences that make up a person's life script. The aim of the book is to act as guide for fellow psychiatrists in recognizing scripts and eliminating their more negative aspects in their patients.

According to Berne, a person's childhood-written script follows closely myths and fairy tales, and the differing roles (Hero, Victim, Villain, Ally, etc) than in simple common sense. People are capable of changing their scripts, but more often than not stick by them, as this is easier to do than to effect any real change in their lives.

Berne covers all aspects of the script using popular fairy-tale analogies like Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood to help illustrate his points. He also includes objections to the Script Theory and a Script Check List for patients.

This book should be a handbook for human psychologists and would appeal to anyone interested in psychology. Casual readers, if they can hack the terminology, might find it interesting as well.

Not for beginners
If you are new to "transactional analysis" I would recommend that you read "I'm OK, Your OK" by Thomas A. Harris instead because it is much easier to understand than this book which I found very challenging at times. Another book which I would definitely recommend is "Counselling for Toads- A Psychological Adventure" by Robert de Board which was a very interesting read. It teaches the basics of transactional analysis through a story based on Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

A very insightful book around the topic of TA.
This is a thorough and thought provking book written by the creator of Transactional Analysis (TA). It takes you from understanding the basics of TA to its implications in Theraphy and life in general. It allows you to look for your own scripts as well as reading those of others and it introduces to the reader the power of names. For those serious about TA it provides a pathway for future research as it is rich in references and for those new to TA, it is definately a book worth chewing and savouring its juices...Enjoy!