What Do I Say Next?: Talking Your Way to Business and Social Success

by Susan RoAne

Book Overview

A professor emeritus of business at Stanford University has found only one consistently common trait among successful MBA graduates - great conversation skills. With this book, Susan Roane shows how... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446674265
• ISBN13: 9780446674263
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 3.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Practical Tips for Improving Your Social Skills

Those trying to network and build business or social relationships would benefit from reading Susan RoAne's book, What Do I Say Next?. Inside are hundreds of practical tips to help you converse well with others, and Susan's engaging style makes it enjoyable to read. Reading this book will help you to successfully communicate in any environment. Each situation calls for different tactics, and here Susan gives you them all -- from talking with CEOs to visiting with elderly people in a nursing home. Especially helpful are the lists she provides. Who couldn't use a 20-bullet list of sure-fire ways to start a conversation anywhere? After reading Susan's book, you'll have the confidence and skill it takes to start conversations with people you meet. Meaningful communication builds solid relationships, which in turn expands your network. And a powerful network of contacts is one of the most valuable assets an entrepreneur can own.

Many fine ideas!

Heard WHAT DO I SAY NEXT? . . . written and read by Susan RoAne, its subtitle proves to be an apt description of what the book is all about: TALKING YOUR WAY TO BUSINESS AND SOCIAL SUCCESS. There are many fine ideas presented here, all designed to make communication just a little bit easier . . . many of them I've heard before, yet even those I've too often forgotten. I guarantee that by listening to or reading RoAne's work, you'll get at least one tip that you can begin applying in a work and/or home situation . . . to cite a few for your consideration: Prepare for conversations by talking to yourself first. Make sure your conversations are positive. Always have a 7-9 second introduction for yourself. Put your nametag on your right side. This makes it more visible when you shake hands. Make nametags large enough so all can read the names. [if you forget somebody's name] Stick out your hand when you say your name. People respond in kind 90% of the time. Never ask, "Do you remember me?" Conversations should have a non-compete clause. People who say they are brutally honest are usually more brutal than honest.

Practical Ways to Improve Conversational/Social Skills

"What Do I Say Next" is a book filled with practical tips for improving conversational skills. Although the book is not really designed for the super introvert, it will help typically shy folks to become better conversationalists. It also provides much needed direction for the outgoing but rude. Perhaps the best word to describe Susan Roane's approach is "balanced."Unlike some books about conversation which are highly manipulative, this book is designed for both business and social conversation. Its direction is useful for almost any situation.The book is written casually. Although it is not disorganized, its casual manner with numerous case studies (these are great stories illustrating specific points) means you can pick up a paragraph here or there and find a complete thought.Much of the material in this volume sounds like common sense. After many of Roane's suggestions, readers might think, "Of course. That's obvious. Why didn't I already know that?" She offers practical, down to earth, and realistic advice.The author reinforces her main points with a helpful synopsis after each chapter. For shy people, she encourages them with studies that show 75 per cent of good conversationalists consider themselves shy. Her solution: use the "OAR" approach (Offer an observation, Ask a question, and Reveal your thoughts, ideas, or opinions). But do not drive people crazy with a barrage of questions, she warns us.It is this kind of sensibility and balance that makes this a useful book. It is a practical self-improvement book, not a detailed analysis. Good conversationalists will find a useful pointer or two, weak conversationalists will be overwhelmed with a wealth of advice (and will struggle as to what to do first). Although I did not agree with the author on every point, I recommend this book heartily.

A Must for the Reserved Networker

While some of the concepts seem elementary, RoAne writes with precision and humor. This book is an excellent supplement to How to Work a Room and provides enough schmoozing ideas for the reserved networker to participate actively and enjoyably in any event. It addresses nearly all of the "what ifs" that hinder us from developing the social savvy we desire. If you genuinely enjoy people and just need a bit of hand-holding till you get the hang of small talk, this book is a wise investment.

I haven't read a book this good in a long time.

As someone with a degree in Psychology and a professional salesperson, I feel the book was well done. I enjoyed the stories that were used to drive the theories and points home. I read this book in 2 days and I am now reading it again to ensure that the principles are planted deep within my mind. This book has made a profound effect on the way I view communication. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their communication skills. After reading this book, I have noticed that the really successful people at work use these principles.