The time spent identifying your base of contacts is an investment in your success and the success of others with whom you share your resources.

They say, You can't give a smile away; it always comes back. The same is true of a kind word or a conversation starter. What goes around, comes around.

Ninety percent of the people in any group are nice, raised to be polite, and have more in common than not.

Good listeners are perceived as good conversationalists.

Spare me the people who ask, 'Have you thought about ... losing weight, hiring an assistant, buying a Pentium, working with an etiquette specialist, coloring your hair?

Be yourself' is good advice, unless you notice that people are always excusing themselves and moving away from you. In that case, try being someone else!

Small talk is the biggest talk we do.