The Ultimate Guide to Successful Networking

According to a recent survey, social anxiety and shyness are on the increase. But we all need to communicate effectively in order to get on in life. This is as relevant to the retired widow as it is to the ambitious young business executive. Much of Carole Stone's time is now spent lecturing people on how to be more confident and network better. This book is a collection of the key things all of us need to know in order to go about our daily and business lives with confidence.

The daughter of a sweet shop owner, Carole was a gawky girl with, as she says, huge feet and a big nose: she was also terribly shy. But she overcame her lack of confidence and became the producer of Woman's Hour, Down Your Way and Any Questions and it was these programmes which allowed her to exploit her communication skills. She is now a media consultant or 'facilitator', running lunches for major organisations, putting useful people together. Her parties have become legendary, with politicians, media moguls, actors and bishops happily queuing round the block to get in.