The New Comedy Bible is a step-by-step, no excuses manual for writing, performing, and launching your career as a stand-up comic. Written by Judy Carter, the author of The Comedy Bible (2001), which was called by The Washington Post and Forbes as a “Comedy Essential”. This new book, penned in classic Carter’s style - part career coach and part comedy dominatrix - has 100 percent new content.

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.

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.

Laugh Tactics is full of strategies that dissect, break down, and analyze all of the types of humor that you'll encounter in daily conversation - stuff you can really use with people you talk to. We're not all trying to become standup comedians, and this isn't a book about ha-ha jokes with setups and punch lines. Learn to simply make a better impression on people, put them at ease, charm them, and make them smile with you.

Step-by-Step to Stand-Up Comedy, written and narrated by Greg Dean, is a comprehensive guide for people who are funny, want to be funnier, or have dreams of being a stand-up comedian. This first-of-its-kind audiobook demystifies the craft of comedy by breaking it down to the fundamental skills used by professional funny people. Dean lays out these skills in simple-to-understand lessons that are easy to practice and master.

Since taking over TED in the early 2000s, Chris Anderson has shown how carefully crafted short talks can be the key to unlocking empathy, stirring excitement, spreading knowledge, and promoting a shared dream. Done right, a talk can electrify a room and transform an audience's worldview. Done right, a talk is more powerful than anything in written form.

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.

Like most adults, you have likely attended a number of presentations, speeches, or talks while in school or at work. But how many have stayed with you? Sadly, it wouldn't be surprising if you answered, "very few or none at all." If you are planning to speak before a group, big or small, on a particular topic, the last thing you want is for your message to fall flat and soon be forgotten. However, if you incorporate these simple yet vital elements in this book, your message will be clearly conveyed, understood, and easily remembered.

The ultimate public speaking handbook: tips, techniques, and strategies to help you deliver stellar speeches and harness the power of storytelling. This thorough guide will provide you with the knowledge and strategies you need to take your fear of public speaking by the horns, connect with your audience, and start seeing public speaking as a magnificent opportunity for reaching, motivating, and inspiring others.

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.

For years, men have been puzzling over what it is that women find attractive in a man. Now, the world's leading female pick-up artist trainer, Kezia Noble, is here to unlock the mysteries of what women really want in a man. Unlike male pick-up artist trainers, Kezia doesn't make assumptions about what women want - she knows exactly what it is they find attractive in the opposite sex.

Being able to talk does not imply that you would also be able to communicate well. And the fact that you're an adult and consider yourself a good judge of character is no way to measure your adeptness at analyzing verbal and nonverbal communication. This audiobook, Workbook to Analyze People, will provide you with the answers to such questions and more. Learning to accurately read verbal and nonverbal cues is the stepping stone to being able to effectively persuade and control the mind of anybody.

Every day, you have an opportunity to use your voice to have a positive impact - at work or in your community. You can inspire and persuade your audience - or you can distract and put them to sleep. Nervous, rambling robotic - these presentation styles can ruin a talk on even the most critical topics. And with each weak performance, career prospects dim. To get ahead and make an impact, you need to deliver well-crafted messages with confidence and authenticity. You must sound as capable as you are.

After decades of giving and viewing presentations in large multinational organizations, in many countries and cultures, Tony Smart has seen it all, both good and bad! Tony will guide you on how to avoid the well-known and not-so-well-known pitfalls. After some practice, you will become well-versed at giving powerful, persuasive, and compelling presentations. Most people absolutely dread public speaking; you will learn the tips and tricks he found that helped him throughout his career!

If you’re like most of us, you openly admire and, maybe, secretly envy those who can stand fearlessly in front of a crowd and deliver an inspiring speech effortlessly. But what if you could be one of these chosen few? What if you could make your message clear and powerful and turn passive listeners into excited followers? Yes, you can do it even if you’re introverted. If you think that you’re “just not cut out for public speaking”, stop and think again. Don’t let your amazing ideas wither away unheard.

In this step-by-step guide, an actor and improvisational teacher brings his tested methods to the page to show how actors can take risks and gain spontaneity in all genres of scripted theater. Through 28 lessons - each of which includes warm-ups, points of concentration, and improvisation exercises - Improv for Actors provides insights into thinking and reacting with fluidity, exploring a character’s social status, using the voice and body as effective tools of storytelling, and more.

For years, men have been puzzling over what it is that women find attractive in a man. Now, the world's leading female pick-up artist trainer, Kezia Noble, is here to unlock the mysteries of what women really want in a man. Unlike male pick-up artist trainers, Kezia doesn't make assumptions about what women want - she knows exactly what it is they find attractive in the opposite sex.

Simply Said is the essential handbook for business communication. Do you ever feel as though your message hasn't gotten across? Do details get lost along the way? Have tense situations ever escalated unnecessarily? It all comes down to communication. We all communicate, but few of us do it well. From tough presentations to everyday transactions, there is no scenario that cannot be improved with better communication skills. This book presents an all-encompassing guide to improving your communication.

Have you ever wondered why some people earn attention and respect when they speak and others don't? The secret to their success can be summed up in one word: gravitas. In this revolutionary new book, leading voice coach and speaker Caroline Goyder reveals how to speak so others will listen. Through simple techniques to build your natural gravitas, you will learn how to express yourself clearly, with passion and confidence, to persuade, influence and engage listeners. By being grounded in your values and capabilities, you will gain the authority needed to make people sit up and pay attention.

Whether meeting a new client or bumping into a potential mate, you only have a few seconds to make a favorable impression. Is that really possible? Author Nicholas Boothman, a lecturer and licensed master practitioner of neurolinguistic programming, believes yes! He introduces a revolutionary approach to face-to-face communication that will help anyone succeed at making meaningful, and immediate, connections.

A bad best man’s speech can ruin a wedding. Why do we plan every detail of a perfect day and then give the groom’s idiot best friend five minutes of total power? Enter Nate (Glen Powell), a speechwriter-for-hire who helps people write incredible best man speeches. To keep the best man from embarrassing himself (and the newlyweds), Nate uses his list of don’ts: Don’t mention the exes, don’t be rated R, and don’t bum everyone out. Nate’s system never fails. That is, until he meets Dan (Nicholas Braun).

Traumatized by the bombing of Dresden at the time he had been imprisoned, Pilgrim drifts through all events and history, sometimes deeply implicated, sometimes a witness. He is surrounded by Vonnegut's usual large cast of continuing characters (notably here the hack science fiction writer Kilgore Trout and the alien Tralfamadorians, who oversee his life and remind him constantly that there is no causation, no order, no motive to existence).

Alice's journey begins as all good journeys do: hitting on the sales guy at REI. After a tumultuous breakup, a quick career transition, family upheaval, and a sobriety journey that didn't fix her life quite as much as she expected it to, Alice decides that the only way to solve all her problems is to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. But as she begins preparing for the months-long quest, she realizes the answers she's seeking might not be on top of a snow-covered mountain. Especially since she just learned there was snow in California.

Superstar comedian and Hollywood box-office star Kevin Hart turns his immense talent to the written word by writing some words. Some of those words include: the, a, for, above, and even even. Put them together and you have the funniest, most heartfelt, and most inspirational memoir on survival, success, and the importance of believing in yourself since Old Yeller.

Patrick Bateman moves among the young and trendy in 1980s Manhattan. Young, handsome, and well educated, Bateman earns his fortune on Wall Street by day while spending his nights in ways we cannot begin to fathom. Expressing his true self through torture and murder, Bateman prefigures an apocalyptic horror that no society could bear to confront.