How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships (Paperback)

by Leil Lowndes (Author)
Key Phrases: leil lowndes, sticky eyes, accidental adulation, Epoxy Eyes, Killer Compliment, Lady Stephanie (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Leil Lowndes' How to Talk to Anyone offers 101 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. Packeed 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:

Product Description
"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

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 2 edition (September 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 007141858X
• ISBN-13: 978-0071418584
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #942 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #6 in	Books > Business & Investing > Skills > Communications
  #11 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > Social Psychology & Interactions
  #16 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Relationships > Interpersonal Relations

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful, but limited if you aren't networking or looking for a promotion, June 10, 2008

By	Coyote - See all my reviews

I borrowed this book from a friend. I was both impressed and turned off by it on many different levels. I have no interest in navigating the shark filled waters of corporate America or the yacht club and this book seems to be geared for those seeking entrée into that world. Of the 92 tips, the majority focused on working parties like a politician, making people think you like them when you secretly find them to be bores and pandering to native human egocentricity. Basically, it's a how-to guide for people who want to learn how to be charming and fake, without seeming to be fake. All very useful for ambitious corporate folks, entrepreneurs seeking financial backing, and even musicians looking to get a record deal, no doubt, but not very useful for average people looking to improve their social skills among friends.

For instance, the publisher's blurb on this site brags that the book shows you "7 ways to establish deep subliminal rapport with anyone". What they don't specify is that the author only shows you tricks to SIMULATE rapport with that person. This book is mostly about creating a complex, flexible illusion.

Although the author had many useful tips (I made myself a list of the 19 excellent tips I want to remember and incorporate into my own life) and her writing was very entertaining, I found myself thinking - "I'm glad she's not my friend. She may be a cool cat and a charmer, but she's also plastic."

So I'm giving the book a mixed review. Be aware of why you are buying it. If you want tips on how to network (a necessity for many people to succeed in their field), this book is probably nothing short of brilliant. She's keenly observant and gifted with the ability to analyze behavior and articulate it in an easy to understand manner. This book may very well be a life saver if you are trying to survive in a world that essentially runs by the rules of politicians and bureaucrats, where the ability to play the game is what counts. When you are surrounded by fakes, sometimes your best option is to learn how to put on your game face. The author does deliver the goods on this, in fine style.

If you want to improve your relationships with family, friends and romantic partners, where the creation of a facade is of no real value, this book does have something to offer you, but it will be limited. You'll find yourself trudging through entire chapters on how to sell people widgets by handing them pictures of your dog, or how to get a dead bore to tell his favorite "I'm so cool" story to your friends at a party so you can sneak off for better company without him realizing you've ditched him.

122 of 146 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth It, April 4, 2004

By	T. Sparfeld (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You will enjoy this book. I bought it on clearance at a book store and hoped it would be worth it for the plane ride. It has proved to be fantastic. I have never prided myself on being good at small talk or at introductions, but Lowndes gives you numerous practical tips which can be easily and immediately applied. Although many of these tactics are specifically meant for introductions and first impressions, they can also be used for daily contact with acquaintances and friends as well. (It also feels good to come across some of the tricks and know that you already have been doing that). Unless you live in a cave, you're conversations with others will be more valuable to you than money you use to get this book

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good advice, clunky style, January 28, 2006

By	Jon D. Vinson (New York City) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Most of the advice given in this book is sensible and useful, and contrary to the John Smith review above, it is not stuff that everyone learns when they're very young. Perhaps one or two of the 92 tricks might be better left untried, but discerning readers will spot them easily enough.

What you might not care for is what surrounds the advice. For example, the author keeps repeating that her book is aimed at a more "sophisticated" generation than Dale Carnegie's, which is hard to take seriously if you know anything at all about that period of history. And if we really are so much more sophisticated, why do we need these techniques explained to us in more detail, rather than less?

The humor can be irritating at times, and there's even a minor factual error: Cape Canaveral is referred to as Cape Kennedy. Yes, that last item is a shameless "gotcha", but it's a good example of what you have to look past in order to get the most benefit from this book.

Fortunately, since the 92 chapters are all very short, and each technique is summarized in its own little box, it's not difficult for a disciplined reader to ignore these problems, and focus on the essential information. All in all, quite helpful.