King, host of CNN's Larry King Live, here sets out to instruct readers on how to talk confidently and effectively in a variety of situations, such as job interviews, business presentations, social events and even discussions with one's spouse. Shyness and "bloopers" can be turned into assets, comments King, who relates how he clammed up the first time he was on a radio show. By openly admitting his nervousness, he claims he disarmed his listeners. Filled with practical advice, amusing anecdotes and a chapter on his "best and worst guests," this self-help guide, written with freelancer Gilbert, will be a hit with King devotees. Fortune Book Club selection; BOMC and QPB alternates; author tour.

You might not be as smooth a talker as King after finishing this book, but it doesn't hurt to try. King, who has talked to everyone from Gorbachev to Michael Jackson, tells us how he does it.

The number one factor that separates the top achievers from every- one else is powerful, persuasive, and confident communication skills.

Take Larry King, a poor kid from Brooklyn, known to his friends as the “the Mouthpiece,” who talked his way into his first radio job and has continued to literally talk his way into media superstardom.

Knowledge and talent can get you a job, but only the ability to speak confidently to anyone, at anytime, anywhere can get you the top job.

If you work with people (and who doesn’t?), then communicating effectively with them is the most important skill you possess. From auto mechanics to astrophysicists, it’s your ability to communicate your thoughts and interact with others that garners respect, admiration, and more business. No matter how professionally competent you may be, without the ability to express yourself confidently, your other skills may go unnoticed.

You can’t help but benefit from Larry King’s years of experience and sage advice. Even if you think you were born without the “gift of gab,”you can begin to improve your speaking abilities immediately. King offers myriad techniques, skills, and ice breakers that anyone can learn to use with confidence.

Larry King also tells personal stories about the best and worst communicators he has met or interviewed. You’ll hear the secrets that made Mario Cuomo, Richard Nixon, and JFK such powerful political speakers; how Jack Kent Cooke, Ted Turner, and Ross Perot became such dynamic businessmen through their communication styles; what makes George Burns, Bob Hope, and Don Rickles so funny all the time; how the super trial lawyers like Edward Bennett Williams, William Kunstler, and Louis Nizer use very different techniques to get amazingly similar results.

Listen to these tapes, and you’ll learn how to:

• Open a conversation with anyone, anytime, anywhere

• Be confident that you will always have something interesting to say

• Get prospective clients, customers, and employers listening to what you’re saying immediately

• Be prepared with the “greatest question ever asked”

• Become an effective leader in business meetings

• Overcome shyness and put yourself and others at ease

• Use humor effectively in social and public speaking

• Discover the eight things the best conversationalists have in common

• Rid yourself of bad speaking habits

• Find effective ways to talk to bosses and subordinates

• Become a conversation quarterback who can pass the conversation—helping everyone in the group contribute

• Handle bloopers, gaffes, and other conversational stumbles with style and grace

• Make the most of “ready-made” conversational subjects

Every manager, politician, educator, salesperson, and medical professional who has achieved high levels of professional success has learned to use the power of communication. But anyone, no matter how successful, can learn new tricks from the “King of Talk.”