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

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.

It's not what you know or who you know, but who knows you.

Networking is an enrichment program, not an entitlement program.

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!

Conversation takes practice; the more we do it, the better we get, and the more easily we do it.