READ THIS: The Intelligent Conversationalist: 31 Cheat Sheets That Will Show You How to Talk to Anyone About Anything, Anytime By Imogen Lloyd Webber Our Coverage Sponsored by Surreal Eyewear
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Not everyone was lucky enough to have Mover and Shaker Rennie McQuilkin for an English teacher, so God invented Imogen Lloyd Webber. Previously on Whom You Know, Imogen was recommended for her book, The Twitter Diaries in 2013:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2013/08/read-this-twitter-diaries-tale-of-2.html#.V2lEQbgrLIV
It's time to again enhance your life with Imogen, and this book has amazing practical application.
It's time to again enhance your life with Imogen, and this book has amazing practical application.
The Intelligent Conversationalist is a completely different kind of book, and Imogen proves her writing versatility here and superbly evidences her Cambridge education, enhanced by Pimm's. This new book reflects a massive amount of thought and research and is absolutely essential for everyone that is interested in intelligent conversation (and if you're not...we wonder about you.) The designer you're wearing, your fabulous hairstyle (hopefully by Mover and Shaker Edward Tricomi!), your amazing shoes (hopefully by Mover and Shaker Paul Mayer!) and every other effort you have put into your appearance at any event is negated when you open your mouth and say something unintelligent. We could write a book on unintelligent things we have heard over the years, but remember, we only publish on the positive!
Though Peachy Deegan majored in American History officially at Boston College (with a semester at UCC) as a follow up to four years at Miss Porter's, her participation in activities such as mod golf ensured her cocktail party conversation was up to snuff once she graduated and actually concurrently secured some of the best athletic interviews that were published professionally when she was a student. (And we just retweeted someone we interviewed in college...) All Eagles will be glad to see Imogen is quoting Tip O'Neill: "All politics are local."
So, are people born with majors in cocktail party conversation or is it learned? We'd argue that practice makes perfect and a glass of bubbly in one hand is an asset (hold by the stem so your hand does not change the champagne temperature), but The Intelligent Conversationalist should be in your other hand (just kidding, just memorize the book beforehand). Imogen Lloyd Webber points out this little volume will make anyone into a cunning linguist. She cuts it to the quick; a pundit, a wit, and a cheerfully adept writer, Ms. Webber takes the general un-educated public in hand delightfully. Divided into sections for the desperate, she tackles Language, Math, Economics, Religion. Then there's History, Politics, Geography, Biology and Culture...all subjects at desirable cocktail parties!
The only mistake we see here is courtesy of our study of hockey, and therefore, Canada. On page 280 we're not sure we see Ottawa spelled correctly...and we bet this book will have several reprints because of its spectacular content so maybe fix that for next time. Also though this is absolutely comprehensive overall, there are certain points we would have liked to have seen explored more, such as on page 57 why Lehman Brothers collapsed and perhaps the relationship between Dick Fuld and Hank Paulson, and on page 59 a definition of both mutual funds and fund-of-funds would be helpful. For more on finance overall, see the brilliant books by Peter Lynch written by John Rothchild. In more editions, which we believe would also be successful, we'd like to see more military and political history included.
This volume is wonderful for reading a bit at a time; we would suggest not reading it like a novel. Maybe Imogen can follow it up with a book of tests with answers in the back to make sure you learned something!
These erudite subjects are then broken down much like our beloved Cliff notes from school, whereby you can pick up pointers without ever having to take the class (but we would encourage a college degree!). With bon mots, quotes and details about all of these chapter headings, Ms. Webber makes us into sparkling conversationalists, able to stand up and hit home runs, or at least, not hit foul balls with anyone, anywhere. There are segments that will make you howl, and sections that will make you think. But you will be more educated once you've read it, so do your self a favor, and buy ten copies and distribute them intelligently among your friends. Even the best and the brightest will have something to learn.
Though Peachy Deegan majored in American History officially at Boston College (with a semester at UCC) as a follow up to four years at Miss Porter's, her participation in activities such as mod golf ensured her cocktail party conversation was up to snuff once she graduated and actually concurrently secured some of the best athletic interviews that were published professionally when she was a student. (And we just retweeted someone we interviewed in college...) All Eagles will be glad to see Imogen is quoting Tip O'Neill: "All politics are local."
So, are people born with majors in cocktail party conversation or is it learned? We'd argue that practice makes perfect and a glass of bubbly in one hand is an asset (hold by the stem so your hand does not change the champagne temperature), but The Intelligent Conversationalist should be in your other hand (just kidding, just memorize the book beforehand). Imogen Lloyd Webber points out this little volume will make anyone into a cunning linguist. She cuts it to the quick; a pundit, a wit, and a cheerfully adept writer, Ms. Webber takes the general un-educated public in hand delightfully. Divided into sections for the desperate, she tackles Language, Math, Economics, Religion. Then there's History, Politics, Geography, Biology and Culture...all subjects at desirable cocktail parties!
The only mistake we see here is courtesy of our study of hockey, and therefore, Canada. On page 280 we're not sure we see Ottawa spelled correctly...and we bet this book will have several reprints because of its spectacular content so maybe fix that for next time. Also though this is absolutely comprehensive overall, there are certain points we would have liked to have seen explored more, such as on page 57 why Lehman Brothers collapsed and perhaps the relationship between Dick Fuld and Hank Paulson, and on page 59 a definition of both mutual funds and fund-of-funds would be helpful. For more on finance overall, see the brilliant books by Peter Lynch written by John Rothchild. In more editions, which we believe would also be successful, we'd like to see more military and political history included.
This volume is wonderful for reading a bit at a time; we would suggest not reading it like a novel. Maybe Imogen can follow it up with a book of tests with answers in the back to make sure you learned something!
These erudite subjects are then broken down much like our beloved Cliff notes from school, whereby you can pick up pointers without ever having to take the class (but we would encourage a college degree!). With bon mots, quotes and details about all of these chapter headings, Ms. Webber makes us into sparkling conversationalists, able to stand up and hit home runs, or at least, not hit foul balls with anyone, anywhere. There are segments that will make you howl, and sections that will make you think. But you will be more educated once you've read it, so do your self a favor, and buy ten copies and distribute them intelligently among your friends. Even the best and the brightest will have something to learn.
The Intelligent Conversationalist by Imogen Lloyd Webber is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
With her two previous books, Imogen Lloyd Webber has established herself as “Twitter’s Bridget Jones” (London Evening Standard). Educated at Cambridge University and a former MSNBC Contributor and Fox News regular, Lloyd Webber is currently Senior Editor at Broadway.com and PEOPLE Now’s Royals Correspondent. For her latest book, she has turned her media expertise into an easy to digest, must have for any party conversation with The Intelligent Conversationalist:THE INTELLIGENT CONVERSATIONALIST: 31 Cheat Sheets That Will Show You How to Talk to Anyone About Anything, Anytime (St. Martin’s Press; June 7, 2016).
Have you ever felt like an outsider in the conversation? The person you’re talking to starts in on how the stock market did that day, the political situation in Brunei or the works of George Eliot. You stand there completely silent because you know nothing about the stock market. You think Brunei might be somewhere near Saudi Arabia (it isn’t) and the only Eliot novel you can remember is Middlemarch. You're desperately trying to stay afloat and there's no easy way to Google anything on your phone. If this has ever happened to you, help is here: Imogen Lloyd Webber is on a mission to make everyone an intelligent conversationalist by using one of the oldest and most effective learning devices: cheat sheets — -- those slips of paper filled with facts you used when cramming for tests in high school and college.
In thirty-one different cheat sheets, Imogen takes readers through the major subjects that come up in most conversations —-- the English language, mathematics, economics, religion, history, politics, geography, biology, and culture – and then drills down through the most banter-inducing details. Her cure for the conversationally-challenged: choose a few cheat sheets and bone up before any social event.
From the history of money to who signed The Magna Carta, Imogen Lloyd Webber shows you how to have a well-prepared storehouse of facts, pivot out of a tough bind, never get shut out of the conversation and truly be THE INTELLIGENT CONVERSATIONALIST.
About the Author
Imogen Lloyd Webber is a British broadcaster and writer who now lives in New York City. She was educated at Girton College, Cambridge University, where she read history, specializing in the role of intelligence agencies in international relations. Senior Editor at Broadway.com and PEOPLE Now’s Royals Correspondent, Imogen is the author of the non-fiction The Single Girl’s Survival Guide and The Twitter Diaries: A Tale of 2 Cities, 1 Friendship, 140 characters, co-written with Georgie Thompson. Imogen’s freelance writing has been for publications as diverse as The Financial Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Huffington Post, Jane and Scarlet Magazine.
Imogen’s work as a “pundit” has seen her make hundreds of appearances on air commentating on everything from Hillary Clinton to Hamilton, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Royal Family and the Great White Way. A former MSNBC Contributor and permanent panelist/editorialist for The Dylan Ratigan Show, she has also been seen on The Today Show (NBC), 20/20 (ABC) and Good Morning America (ABC). Previously a Special Correspondent for EXTRA and weekly panelist for Imus in the Morning, other US radio and TV credits include numerous Fox News and Fox Business segments for The O’Reilly Factor, Hannity, Fox & Friends, Studio B, America Live, America’s Newsroom, Cashin’ In and Redeye, along with hits for CNN, HLN, MTV, and assorted shows across the Sirius radio network.
Photo Credit: Caitlin McNaney
THE INTELLIGENT CONVERSATIONALIST:
31 Cheat Sheets That Will Show You How to Talk to Anyone About Anything, Anytime
By Imogen Lloyd Webber
Published by St. Martin’s Griffin
ISBN: 9781250040473| Ebook ISBN: 9781466835849
