Your Festive Season
CX Reading List

It’s time to kick-back, relax and enjoy some CX reads

The festive season is here, and whether you’re hoping to relax in the warm at home or escape to somewhere new, we’ve got 12 interesting reads for you during the lead-up to Christmas.

Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

“The rise of AI has the potential to transform our future more than any other technology—and there’s nobody better qualified or situated to explore that future than Max Tegmark, an MIT professor who’s helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial.”

Link to book

Zack Kass
AI Futurist, former
Head of GTM at OpenAI

Customer Experience Unearthed

“Have you ever paused to consider the Customer Experience from the consumer’s viewpoint? It’s easy to forget, while ensconced in professional roles, that we are also everyday customers navigating an array of experiences—both delightful and disheartening. This book invites you on a revelatory journey, seeing the world through the eyes of genuine customers. Eschewing complex journey mapping, we zero in on the authentic human experience.”

Link to book

Julien Rio
Co-Founder at CX Therapy

Get Out Of Wrap

“I would highly recommend my dear friend Martin Teasdale’s podcast ‘Get Out of Wrap’. It features conversations with passionate contact centre people from across the industry who share insights, anecdotes and stories from their careers.”

Link to podcast

Nerys Corfield
Contact Centre Consultant

Exceeding UK Customer Expectations

“Exceeding UK Customer Expectations” is based on a survey of 1,000 UK customers, looking at what they want when contacting a business, what they actually get, and what they then do about it. The report identifies the frontline issues that most impact on customer experience and advises businesses on how to solve them.”

Link to report

Steve Morrell
Managing Director, ContactBabel

Elevate On-Demand

“Without sounding biased, I would highly recommend you, watch, listen or read Elevate On-Demand. In today’s digital-first world, the paradigm shift in customer engagement driven by AI and emerging technologies is undeniable for any customer-centric business. Elevate ’23 On-Demand is all about you, as we explore the crucial issues that matter most in this dynamic landscape.

Watch, listen or read sessions from Puzzel’s panel of CX experts and AI enthusiasts as we celebrate success, unleash innovation and elevate excellence in customer engagement in the age of AI.”

Link to Elevate On-Demand

Rachael Russell
Senior Campaign Manager, Puzzel

The AI Dilemma: 7 Principles for Responsible Technology

“I’d like to recommend The AI Dilemma: 7 Principles for Responsible Technology by Juliette Powell & Art Kleiner, which shows us how to realise the enormous potential of AI but to it safely and equitably. If you don’t fancy reading the whole book, then have a listen to my chat with the authors on the Punk CX podcast.”

Link to book

Adrian Swinscoe
Best-selling author, Forbes contributor, speaker, investor, advisor and aspirant CX Punk. 

The Rise of the Machine Customer

“If you’re not an avid reader, this CX recommendation is for you! But if you are, don’t worry; this video has subtitles…

In this video, I chat about the rise and adoption of the ‘Machine Customer’. This really changes EVERYTHING. We are going to have to make a profound paradigm shift to accommodate Machine Customers – but it just could be the best thing to happen to businesses and customers in an extremely long time.

The machines are here, and they are taking over CX. 

So grab a cuppa and a mince pie and learn more about the rise of the machine customer!”

Link to video

James Dodkins
Customer Experience Rockstar

Advice from a Call Center Geek Podcast

“If you like a good podcast, I would recommend you check out Advice from a Call Center Geek. Advice from a Call Center Geek is a weekly podcast with a focus on all things call centre and contact centre. They discuss topics such as call centre operations, hiring, culture, technology, and training and have fun doing it!”

Link to podcast

James Marscheider
CCO, EvaluAgent

Voice: its place in a multichannel world

“Another recommendation would be EvaluAgent’s recent white paper ‘Voice: its place in a multichannel world’. This white paper, based on extensive contact center research, highlights the enduring importance of the voice channel in customer contact. Despite lower investment than digital channels, voice remains a gold standard. The paper emphasizes the voice channel’s crucial role in long-term customer loyalty, resolving over 20% of digital-initiated interactions. It advocates for organizations to prioritize the ‘3 E’s’ – efficiency, effectiveness, and empathy – by understanding and analyzing all customer interactions for a quality experience and cost management. Enjoy!”

Link to white paper

James Marscheider
CCO, EvaluAgent

Talk: The Science of Conversation

“I would recommend ‘Talk: The Science of Conversation’ by Elizabeth Stokoe. This book will change the way you think about talk. It will explain the big pay-offs to understanding conversation scientifically. It’s a great read and has had a big impact on me at work and in my personal life.”

Link to book

Martin Teasdale
Founder & Owner, Get out of Wrap

Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain

“One of my sources for the work I do in emotive CX comes from the brilliant team led by neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett. ‘Seven and a Half Lessons About The Brain’ captures the latest insights into why humans have evolved to use emotion and its role in shaping our daily reality. An easy read and a great myth-buster as well! It’s a book I always recommend for anyone wanting to develop more powerful people engagement strategies based on the evidence of how humans interact with their world.”

Link to book

Martin Hill-Wilson
Director, Brainfood Consulting

Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain

“I’d recommend ‘The Cult of the Customer, by Shep Hyken. Wading through the masses of brilliant CX content available can be a little intimidating – doubly so if it’s your job to turn around CX at an organisational level! The Cult of the Customer distils CX down to the essentials, and speaks at length about how to create evangelists, which should be the CX end goal of any organisation. Additionally, the framework provided is something you can tie anything new you read, discover, or implement to, so it’s learning for life!”

Link to book

James Henderson
Senior Sales Engineer, Puzzel


Enjoy these tree-mendous CX reads, and have your elf a merry little Christmas!