The Art of Captivating Conversation: How to Be Confident, Charismatic, and Likable in Any Situation

by King Patrick

Overview

The Art of Captivating Conversation is a book for enhancing social skills and developing conversation starters—how to have a deeper connection with people, with tips based on human and social psychology as well as the author's observations and proven coaching techniques. Readers will learn the basics of what makes a good interaction, as well as a plethora of highly-actionable techniques to become more confident, charismatic, and likable. For example:

• If your conversations are boring, it may be because you don't know yourself—your experiences or opinions—so you have little to share
• Most people ask bad questions because they are either too specific (what's your favorite movie?) or too broad (what is your passion?)
• If you need a witty comeback to an insult, simply agree with the insult and amplify it to an outlandish degree. This shows security and wit.

Think of The Art of Captivating Conversation as a more detailed and nuanced How to Win Friends & Influence People for the modern age, now that most people see Carnegie's book as "common sense." It will be a handy reference for both introverts looking to step out, and confident speakers looking for an edge. The Art of Captivating Conversationempowers readers to step out of their comfort zones to not only break the ice, but also engage an audience in a meaningful and enriching conversation. It is a handy book that will empower readers to speak confidently.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510729063
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	01/28/2020
Pages:	168
Sales rank:	468,439
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Patrick King is a former corporate lawyer who owns and runs Patrick King Consulting, a company dedicated to empowering people to communicate better. He is the author of the bestselling series of Conversation Tactics books, and he is a social skills and conversation coach and speaker. He lives in San Francisco, CA.

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

Chapter 1 The Patterns We Live 1

The Primary Purposes of Conversation 3

Hello, Gorg 6

Conversation Patterns 9

Chapter 2 Predictability (In a Good Way) 14

Engaging Answers 17

The Conversation Resume 21

The Fallback Story 24

Chapter 3 The Connecting Attitude 28

WWJD? 30

Tour Mantras 33

Buzzkills 37

Chapter 4 Break the Ice with Anyone 40

Social Goals 41

Four Types of Icebreakers 45

Warming Up 48

Conversation Escape Formula 51

Outrageous Introductions 52

Chapter 5 Avoid Being Avoided 55

Bad Habits 56

Never Laugh First 61

Belief Patrol Membership 64

Pointless Questions 68

Take the Hint 72

Eye Contact 74

Chapter 6 Always Knowing What to Say 80

HPM 81

SBR 83

EDR 85

Provide More Information 88

The Only Two Storytelling Methods You Need 92

Chapter 7 Breaking into Banter 96

Playing vs. Discussing 98

Think Non-Linear 100

Intentionally Misconstrue 104

Sarcasm 108

The Witty Comeback Machine 112

Chapter 8 Creating Flow 118

Make It Easy (for Others to Be Lazy) 120

React to Everything 121

Create Motion 129

Conversation Threading 134

Interrupting Selectively 136

The Four- Word Magic Phrase 140

Throw the Ball Back 144