Communication Etiquette

Writing Without Bullshit is the first comprehensive guide to writing for today's world: a noisy environment where everyone reads what you write on screens. The average news story now gets only 36 seconds of attention. Unless you change how you write, your emails, reports, and Web copy don't stand a chance.

Everyone has a "schmuck" in their office - a difficult, disruptive person who upsets the workplace, confuses their coworkers, and causes concern. No one is safe from a schmuck. They come in many sizes and shapes. In her new audiobook, Dr. Jody Foster explains the entire spectrum of schmucks and how they can decrease productivity and generally make everyone else unhappy.

One of the nicest ladies I ever met was a school teacher. I think we chatted for about 30 minutes and then I never saw her again. Thirty minutes. I seriously thought that I could trust this lady with all my deepest darkest secrets. After years of observation, I realized that all master small-talkers have a few things in common but the biggest things are the two keys that were shown to me so elegantly by that school teacher. Once I had mastered those, no small talk conversation was a nightmare anymore. In fact, I started to enjoy them.

In our fast-paced, electronic society, the most basic social interaction - talking face-to-face - can be a challenge for even the most educated and self-assured individuals. And yet making conversation is a highly practical skill: those who do it well shine at networking parties, interviews, and business lunches. Good conversation also opens doors to a happier love life, warmer friendships, and more rewarding time with family.

Saying the right thing isn't just about feeling comfortable. It's also essential for building successful relationships, getting ahead at work, and increasing your income. To get what you want, you have to know how to ask for it, how to negotiate, how to react. That's where Lisa Marshall's audiobook comes in. With proven strategies and practical action plans, Smart Talk will help you resolve conflicts, strengthen your natural charisma, and master the art of persuasion.

This book is a primer into the world of good manners and etiquette. Topics covered include formal and informal dining etiquette, table-setting, how to host dinner parties, image etiquette and much more. You will learn about what is proper behavior in a variety of situations - what it is to have good manners. We hope you enjoy the book and gain valuable skills and tools as well.

For Jim McCann, the founder and CEO of the world’s leading florist, 1-800-Flowers.com, being open and ready to speak to a variety of audiences is his most powerful leadership tool. In Talk Is (Not!) Cheap, McCann illustrates how the art of conversation leadership - the process he developed to engage others and create forward momentum in the workplace - can be used to inspire, innovate, and win. Using a blend of how-to and insightful personal stories, this audiobook argues that the gift of gab may just be the most critical (and undervalued) skill set in today’s workplace.

Refinement of Manner will set you on a journey to a finer, more elegant lifestyle, while encouraging and challenging you to become the best person you can be in all areas of life. Social, career, financial, home life... you can balance it all with grace, poise, and talent you never thought you had. This is your way to a greater, more fascinating you! This is the book on becoming beyond mannerly to absolutely elegant and refined. Here are the tools to becoming a refined elegant woman of the 21st century.

Whether you are sending an email, twittering, or just wondering if it’s appropriate to answer your phone, here are the answers to all your communication questions. Covering phones, the Internet, television, and much, much more, this accessible and lively handbook provides up-to-date information on all your modern electronic needs. Written by the founders of the National League of Junior Cotillions, this book provides the listener with access to information sought after by hundreds of people.

In Polite, Louise shows how the unseen science of politeness governs everything we do, from what we say to how we act, and reveals how a better understanding of the rules and norms of politeness can help us in all aspects of our work, leisure and home lives. And, in doing so, she answers the age-old question... are politeness standards really declining?

Working with difficult people can reduce your morale, threaten your productivity, deplete your energy, and waste your time. But you don't have to be helpless in the face of other people's craziness! Knowing how to handle coworkers' disruptive behavior is one of the most important career skills you can have, allowing you to become a more valuable employee and a more self-reliant person.

The best and the brightest use advisors and experts. Whether in business, sports, entertainment, academia, or politics—expert help is a fundamental enabler of success. That means that the demand for expert advice will grow and the competition will increase for such help. This isn't a matter of "certificates" and "universities," it's a matter of specific skill and behavioral sets that create a trusting bond and reliance. Trusted advisors are beyond coaches—they are comprehensive resources and supporters.

With Manners Will Take You Where Brains and Money Won't, Donald James goes beyond handshakes and thank-you notes to explain how the true definition of manners is the authentic and genuine way we show up in the world. With inspiring and thought-provoking stories from his 35 years in public affairs and education at NASA, and guided by the lessons his mother taught him, Donald explains how having good manners is a key ingredient to finding purpose, fulfillment, and meaning in business and in life.

Do you always get the assignments you want? Do you know how to ask for help without sounding dumb? How to answer a question you don’t know the answer to? All the while sounding smart, capable, and competent? If the answer is no, you’re not alone. Jodi Glickman founded the communication consulting firm Great on the Job to help rising stars of the business world with the same issues. Now, for the first time, the training program that Jodi uses with her top-tier clients is available in book form. Great on the Job teaches people how to talk to one another at work, every day, in every situation....

Success in life is more than having goals and skills. You need connections. And to get connections, you need to reach out - fearlessly, strategically, and every day of the work week. For many, this is a daunting and confusing task. Reach Out shows listeners how to use social media and simple digital tools to begin building and expanding the number of people they know. Author Molly Beck explains how to: establish and strengthen your digital presence; develop career goals that reaching out can help you obtain; and much more!

Our world is constantly changing, but something that always remains true? Manners matter. Etiquette is about more than just knowing which fork to use at a fancy dinner or how to write a thank-you note. Modern Etiquette For Dummies shows you how to navigate tricky interpersonal scenarios and tough workplace dilemmas with ease. With the help of Dummies, you'll toss aside stuffy old notions of etiquette and discover how to conduct yourself in various environments. This book is full of tips on tackling today's unique challenges.

Have you ever been in a situation where you suddenly find yourself feeling awkward because you don't know what to do or say? Maybe it happened at a dinner with your colleagues, or at a wedding reception or maybe at a funeral? In fact, for most people not knowing certain specific social norms has on occasion lead to a tendency to be excluded from social events. Remember, there is more to good manners than sipping your tea the right way. These specific sets of rules allow us to identify with each other and find common ground.

You know those subtle tricks your coworkers are all guilty of? The constant nodding, pretend concentration, useless rhetorical questions? These tricks make them seem like they know what they're doing when in fact they have no clue. This behavior is so ingrained, so subtle, and so often mistaken for true intelligence that identifying it, calling it out, or compiling it into an exhaustive digest has never been attempted. Until now.

Quick: what's the one skill you absolutely need in order to succeed in your career and your personal relationships? Answer: verbal fluency. Expert socializer Susan RoAne, best selling author of How to Work a Room, shows how easy it is to gain the verbal edge. This easy-to-understand and enthusiastic guide, peppered with hot tips and practical suggestions from scores of business leaders, will turn you into a ConverSensation before you know it!

It's Monday. Time to hit the pause button on your personality and get ready for the next meeting because, for the next five days, we'll be speaking the language of business. And, from bloated jargon and monotonous memos to syrupy slogans and deadly dull presentations, the official language of business is bull. The second we get to work, we join the masses who trade the wit and warmth of their voices for a corporate stamp of approval and the comfort of conformity.