Relationships Matter

"You'll not only break the ice, you'll melt it away with your new skills."--Larry King

"The lost art of verbal communication may be revitalized by Leil Lowndes."--Harvey McKay, author of Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten

Leil Lowndes' How to Talk to Anyone offers101 time-tested hints, tips, and techniques for confidently communicating with others. A bestselling author and renowned communications consultant, Lowndes focuses on ice-breaking skills and communication techniques that are proven successful when making a positive first impression, establishing instant rapport and credibility, and more.

Packed with basic, no-nonsense advice and solid research evidence about which techniques work best in which areas, How to Talk to Anyone show readers how to:

• Make small talk not so small
• Use body language to captivate an audience
• Look like you know what you're talking about--even when you don't

User Reviews about How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships

This book seems to encourage insincerity. The author tells the readers to fake a lot of things, like fake listening to a person into talking passionately, or giving them a compliment right away even though they "bombed" it.

With that said, this book does point out some good points. One of my favorite tips is to not give out a naked thank you to someone who does you a great favor, instead, make it "thank you for insert action". I like this tip because many times when a person is particularly helpful to me, I feel awkward just saying a plain thank you.

Overall, this book will help you brush up some of your communication skills. But be do be careful using some of the tips. -- Don't follow all the tips

Here is a great book which enables you to 'show others what they want to see'. I love the way the book is set out, and each idea is illustrated to perfection. I feel that, having these skills, the only important missing ingredient is personal congruence.

There are two ways to use this book: first, you can use the techniques to generate a manipulative facade, a lot of the ideas here could apply to a salesperson; second, you can use it to express a genuine attractive personality. People will eventually see through the former which gives only a short term gain, but in the case of the latter you will be more loved, valued and respected, greatly lifting your self-esteem for the rest of your life.

All the ideas are universal and would probably apply equally well to any nation in any language.

If I can be very British and quote Shakespeare, ' To thine own self be true'.
-- Used properly you will become a special person: used badly, your facade will be obvious

useful book for those of us who are extremely shy and cant carry on conversations. -- tips

Unbeknown to me I already owned essentially the same book by Leil, called "talking the winner's way." a lot of identical tips but I like 92 tricks better (you don't need both). If you're interested enough to read about communication, you've probably noticed people who do well in social settings and were wondering how to emulate them. Some interesting ideas here that will help you do that if you keep brushing up on these strategies. Its not that anything is particularly groundbreaking, but the ideas are useful and its bringing these strategies to awareness (instead of being subconscious) that makes it more likely to be effective. But if you're a shy or unsure person like myself, I think if you're really to get anything out of this book, you've really got to be willing to take some risks and actually want to put these ideas into action, as awkward as it may feel at the start, and thats something that is out of the author's control; you have to really want to work at being more effective at being a "natural" communicator.

I gave this fewer stars mainly because I get annoyed with the writing, it errors on the side of condescending drivel (to me), but she gets her point across and thats the important thing, even if it does involve bizarre narrative, a slew of outdated adjectives, and plenty of cliches (which she specifically warns against using, without heeding herself). Also gave it fewer stars because I didn't expect it to be so much the same as her other book; kind of feel ripped off. Also, as with any "tricks," in the wrong hands they're totally insincere; anyone who does these communication tricks without being genuine will only come across as annoying. Certain aspects of this book seem to condone learning the skills to ruthlessly pursue your own agenda, and that was also something that annoyed me. Sometimes it really does feel like this book is just giving you ways of tricking people into liking you, and while that may be a part of life, its better to try to work at sincerity and gratitude. If you practice better communication skills with those values in place, you're likely to both do better and feel better.

All said and done, If you really want to build relationships and communicate better for the simple sake of improving the skill, enhancing your relationships, and the ability to feel comfortable in social situations, reading about it is a good place to start and actively practicing is even better. This book will give you ideas to carry with you when mingling events arise. -- hmm.