Monthly Archives: August 2013

How to Start a Conversation and Make Friends (Revised, expanded and updated in 2011). Available as trade paperback, Kindle, Nook, MP3 and CD.

For more than twenty-five years, small-talk expert Don Gabor has helped thousands of people communicate with wit, confidence, and enthusiasm with his bestseller How to Start a Conversation and Make Friends. This newly revised and updated edition combines classic techniques in the art of conversation with necessary skills for communicating in the twenty-first century. By following the simple and dynamic guidelines in this easy-to-read book, you’ll be ready to strike up a great conversation anytime, anywhere. Learn how to keep the conversation going by asking the right questions, using body language effectively, and avoiding conversation pitfalls. Combining his tried-and-true methods with a whole new section on communicating online and through social networking, Don Gabor shows you how to:

  • Identify your personal conversation style
  • Engage in online conversations using proper etiquette and security
  • Turn online conversations into face-to-face relationships
  • Boost your personal and professional speaking skills to the next level

Packed with charts, hundreds of opening lines, real-life examples, FAQs, helpful hints, and solid professional advice, How to Start a Conversation and Make Friends is sure to help you connect with others at home, work, and everywhere in between for years to come.

Talking with Confidence for the Painfully Shy

5A  Talking With Confidence (Front)

Talking with confidence: What could be more rewarding—especially if you’ve been shy all your life?
In Talking with Confidence for the Painfully Shy, best-selling author Don Gabor presents a practical guide that show you how to speak up and speak out in any social or business situation. In no time at all you’ll discover how to conquer the butterflies, nervousness and insecurity you feel each time you meet and talk to others. Plus you’ll learn easy ways to:

 

  • Break out of a lifelong pattern of shyness
  • Master the art of mingling and making small talk
  • Host your own party and present toasts
  • Sell yourself at a job interview and run a business meeting
  • Give a speech, teach a workshop, sell a product, network and much more.

Talking with Confidence for the Painfully Shy offers all the vital techniques, examples and even the exact words you’ll even need for to finally say, “I used to be shy, but not anymore!”

From Booklist:
If 75 percent of all adults consider themselves to be shy in one or more social or business situations, this is the book that can help. Gabor shares techniques he has used in conversation workshops since 1980. The examples and exercises are intended to help victims of shyness build confidence while overcoming nervousness and fear of rejection or even potential hostility. The book is divided into three useful sections. Part one, “Kicking the Shyness Habit,” explains how to change the way one talks to oneself, share interests, and display a sense of humor. Part two, “Speaking in Social Situations,” discusses small talk, mingling at parties, hosting a get-together, making toasts, developing phone relationships, and avoiding “toxic conversations.” Part three, “Speaking in Business Situations,” suggests how to survive interviews, give a speech, negotiate, network, conduct meetings, and deal with difficult clients. It even recommends ways to make new business contacts on airplanes. This is a straightforward, practical guide for people who wants to learn to flex their communication muscles.

— Patricia Hassler