Artful Dodging: Painless Techniques for Avoiding Anyone, Anytime [Paperback]

Jeanne Martinet (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2000

Whether you're dodging an overbearing boss, the chatty guy next to you on an overcrowded flight, your least favorite client, your least favorite parent, or anyone else, this lighthearted, indispensable guide will show you how to make a seamless, effective escape.

The perfect guide for our over-committed, hectic times, Artful Dodging puts an end to all those feeble excuses no one ever believes. It banishes, once and for all, the notion of an invitation you can't refuse. In an almost Kryptonite-like fashion, it helps to break the vice of social obligation that has so many of us in its grip. Yes, it's true: Artful Dodging can set you free.

Topics include: the pros and cons of using a Classic Excuse * mastering the Duck and Cover * using voice mail, Call Waiting, and other telephone techniques * emergency escape tactics * flattery, melodrama, and other dodging diversions * vanishing into thin air * and much more.

For everyone who's mastered the art of making friends and now needs to improve at shaking them, Artful Dodging comes to the rescue, with humor, smarts, and a great exit line.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jeanne Martinet is the author of The Art of Mingling (now in its tenth printing), The Faux Pas Survival Guide, Getting Beyond Hello, and Come-ons, Comebacks, and Kiss-offs. A master dodger as well as an inveterate mingler, she lives in New York City. But if you're planning on calling her, she won't be home.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (June 14, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312254601
• ISBN-13: 978-0312254605
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,318,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeanne Martinet, aka Miss Mingle (www.missmingle.com), is the author of seven books, including the recently published LIFE IS FRIENDS and the widely acclaimed THE ART OF MINGLING, which has sold more than 150,000 copies in the U.S. alone. Her books have been published in the UK, France, Italy, Germany, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Poland. She has been featured in such publications as: The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsweek, The U.S. News and World Report, Salon.com, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, TimeOut New York, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Playboy, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Huffington Post. Martinet has shared her humor and mingling know-how on hundreds of TV and radio shows, including "The Today Show," "The CBS Early Show," NPR's "Morning Edition" and Britain's "This Morning with Richard and Judy."

Jeanne Martinet was born in Baltimore to a family of artists and musicians (her grandparents founded the Baltimore Opera Company) and has a B.A. from the University of Virginia. She has worked as an editor at E.P. Dutton and at St. Martin's Press. Since 1990 she has been a freelance writer and editor. Jeanne Martinet lives in New York City. (Author photo: Tony Ryan)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An amusing and useful guide, July 23, 2002

By 

J. Light "sureshot2611" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Artful Dodging: Painless Techniques for Avoiding Anyone, Anytime (Paperback)

Let's face it, every once in a while there are situations and people in the world that we just want to avoid. Thankfully, Jeanne Martinet has recognized this and provided us with "Artful Dodging", a quick and humourous guide to gracefully disentangling yourself from unpleasant situations.

Other reviews give this book low marks for encouraging lying, which I suppose it does. But then again, if you always tell the truth about everything to everyone, why on earth would you need anything this book has to say? For those of us who lack the ability to regularly dish out potentially painful truths ('To be honest, I don't want to go out to dinner with you because I find you incredibly irritating and your table manners are Cro-Magnon'), this book can be a lifesaver.

Martinet provides a wide range of strategies for extricating yourself from awkward situations that require no theatre training to pull off. She also gives you ways to prevent the need to dodge, such as the preemptive strike. Her anecdotes of these strategies in action, both working and backfiring, provide great humor and make this a quick read. I heartily recommend this book for anyone who's looking for a gentle way to avoid dreadful dinner parties and overwhelming acquaintances.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Light, fluffy, and fun, June 30, 2000

By 

Carla Toms, MD - See all my reviews

This review is from: Artful Dodging: Painless Techniques for Avoiding Anyone, Anytime (Paperback)

Some lazy weekend afternoon, pour yourself a cup of tea and sit down with this charming little petit four of a book. Should you require a modicum of instruction in the gentle art of tact, rest assured, your lean collection of shopworn excuses will emerge polished to a swanky sheen. You may even pick a few sly new tales with which to bewitch your audience unaware. You will feel slippery enough to escape even the stickiest of predicaments. If, however, you happen to be one of nature's more cunning creations, capable of fending of the most persistent of life's little inconveniences with a nonchalance that borders on the virtuosic, you may snicker quietly behind the shielding pages in the pleasure of a well-shared private joke.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from "Miss Mingle", July 18, 2000

By 

travel writer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Artful Dodging: Painless Techniques for Avoiding Anyone, Anytime (Paperback)

As someone who travels often and is naturally prone to the sorts of predicaments that require dodging -- artful or otherwise -- I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Jeanne Martinet dispenses advice with such wit and intelligence that I read the book in one sitting, a feat I was able to pull off thanks to her clever suggestions for ducking the usual interruptions and intrusions. Martinet's blend of stylish writing and brittle social commentary has made me a fan ever since "Art of Mingling." Can't wait for the next one from Jeanne Martinet!