Beyond simple small talk: what to say and when to say it to be likable, connect, and make a memorable impression. Actionable and applicable verbal maneuvers for just about every phase of conversation - good and bad. Whatever your conversational goal, you’ll find tactics to put you in a winning position - in a literal sense with arguments, and in a figurative sense with making friends. You can never underestimate the power of a simple conversation.

Learn conversational agility to think quickly on your feet, be incredibly smooth, funny, and clever - all at once. Goodbye awkward silences! No matter where you lie on the spectrum of awkward to engaging, witty banter is always the end goal - and it should be. Witty banter, and all the steps that lead to it, allows you to disarm and connect with anyone, immediately exit boring small talk mode, and instantly build rapport.

Does your mind blank in conversation and create awkward silence? Do you run out of things to say and struggle to keep dialogue flowing? (A) Conversation isn't scripted, (B) it's 100% unpredictable, and (C) it can be terrifying at times. How do you prepare for such a thing? By learning how to apply improv comedy techniques to roll with any punch and improve your conversations and social interactions.

This entertaining and sharply written guide - for both beginners breaking into comedy and professionals seeking to improve their sets and advance their careers - examines the work of great comedians such as Louis C. K., Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Izzard, Moms Mabley, Hannibal Buress, Sarah Silverman, Richard Pryor, and more as a means of illustrating the most important techniques of performing and writing stand-up.   

Public speaking can be terrifying. For David Nihill, the idea of standing in front of an audience was scarier than cliff jumping into a thorny pit of spiders and mothers-in-law. Without a parachute or advanced weaponry. Something had to change.

In what doesn't sound like the best plan ever, David decided to overcome his fears by pretending to be a comedian called "Irish Dave" for one full year, crashing as many comedy clubs, festivals, and shows as possible.

Author Scott Dikkers will tell you how to write jokes. He’s a master joke writer, founder of the world’s most popular humor site TheOnion.com, number one New York Times best-selling humor author, professional public speaker, and successful cartoonist. In this definitive joke-writing handbook, he'll teach you comedy writing and how to write a joke with a simple comedy-writing and joke-writing formula you can use right now to write your own jokes.

Stop enabling, people pleasing, and being so agreeable. The Art of Everyday Assertiveness is a guide for the chronically nice, overwhelmed, and accommodating. It is a deep psychological dive into what makes us lack assertiveness and how to systematically combat those compulsions.

For a long time, I found myself possessing the majority of those traits. I thought, "This is just who I am. I can't change that." Wrong. So Wrong. Most of these traits were handed to me, and probably you too, without request. With the way our society is organized (media, school, parents, etc.), these character traits proliferate. However, it wasn't until I started Un-Learning, that I truly became the well-rounded confident man I am today. Free and fulfilled in ways you can't currently imagine.

Do you see average looking guys getting stunning girls and wonder how they do it? Do you wish you had the confidence to approach that hot girl in the supermarket? Do you wish you knew exactly what to say that would have her eating out of your hand?

Imagine being able to confidently interact, impress and attract everyone you meet. To always make a vigorously positive first impression and be an instant and obvious leader in all situations. This life-changing book shows you how to make a dramatic paradigm shift to accelerate through the three phases of male maturation to become serenely comfortable in your own skin. Discover the secrets to embracing your strengths and skillfully harnessing them to attain maximum leverage on life.

What's the number one quality in men that attracts women, guarantees success, and inspires your peers to follow you? Answer: confidence! Some guys have it but only in certain environments (i.e., the club, the gym, the office, etc.). But almost no one has the core confidence that you can carry into ANY environment, no matter how foreign it is to you.

Like first impressions, we often only get a shot at one conversation to win people over. If your conversation skills aren’t up to scratch, then you will find yourself left behind in life, love, and most definitely work. Us humans are ultimately a social species, making good social skills an imperative for survival. This guide will transform you from the dowdy office bore to the dynamic conversationalist that everyone wants to chat with.

What if charisma could be taught? For the first time, science and technology have taken charisma apart, figured it out, and turned it into an applied science: In controlled laboratory experiments, researchers could raise or lower people's level of charisma as if they were turning a dial.

Can you learn how to write comedy? Absolutely - anyone can. Scott Dikkers will tell you how. He's co-founder and longest-serving editor-in-chief of The Onion, the world's most popular humor publication, and founder of The Onion Training Center at the Second City in Chicago. He's also a number one best-selling humor author and winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. In How to Write Funnier, he tells you everything you need to know to start writing funny stories, how to write funny scenes, and how to write funny sketches. 

Often the decision between a customer choosing you over someone like you is your ability to know exactly what to say, when to say it, and how to make it count. Phil M. Jones has trained more than two million people across five continents and over 50 countries in the lost art of spoken communication. In Exactly What to Say, he delivers the tactics you need to get more of what you want.