Join us on a literary world trip!
Add this book to bookshelf
Grey
Write a new comment Default profile 50px
Grey
Subscribe to read the full book or read the first pages for free!
All characters reduced
How to Ruin a Great Conversation - cover

How to Ruin a Great Conversation

Patrick King

Publisher: Publishdrive

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Summary

Congratulations—you might’ve just ruined a great one. And this book is here to make sure you keep doing it… unless you want to stop.
 
In How to Ruin a Great Conversation, Patrick King hilariously dismantles every awkward, cringey, well-intentioned-but-totally-misguided way people sabotage social interactions. From asking weirdly invasive questions, to oversharing your entire life story, to playing defense like your ego's in a UFC match—you’ll learn exactly what not to do if you want connection, not confusion.
 
This book is for you if:
 
You panic and word-vomit your autobiography to a stranger.
 
You turn curious questions into interrogations.
 
You get stuck recycling the same two conversation topics.
 
You’re more focused on “sounding smart” than being present.
 
With chapters like “Only Be Interested in Yourself,” “Recycle the Same Conversation,” and “Play Defense Instead of Being Open,” King doesn’t just hand you a mirror—he hands you the script to burn and rewrite.
 
You’ll learn:
 
Why silence isn’t awkward—you just made it that way.
 
The formula for asking better questions that actually get answers.
 
How to stop protecting yourself and start connecting instead.
 
What to say when someone else overshares and makes it weird.
 
If you’ve ever walked away from a chat and thought, “Yikes,” this book is your antidote.
Available since: 07/29/2025.
Print length: 261 pages.

Other books that might interest you

  • What the Ancient Wisdom Expects of it's Disciples - A Study Concerning the Mystery Schools - cover

    What the Ancient Wisdom Expects...

    Manly P. Hall

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Subtitled "A Study Concerning the Mystery Schools," this is a practical guide for those who wish to avoid the many pitfalls that can occur on the path of discipleship. It also shows how enlightenment is earned by personal dedication to a spiritual code of conduct. 
    FROM THE PUBLISHER 
    The Philosophical Research Society is a nonprofit organization founded in 1934 for the purpose of assisting thoughtful persons to live more graciously and constructively in a confused and troubled world. The Society is entirely free from educational, political, or ecclesiastical control. Dedicated to an idealistic approach to the solution of human problems, the Society's program stresses the need for the integration of religion, philosophy, and the science of psychology into one system of instruction. The goal of this instruction is to enable the individual to develop a mature philosophy of life, to recognize his proper responsibilities and opportunities, and to understand and appreciate his place in the unfolding universal pattern. 
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR 
    Manly P. Hall was the founder of the Philosophical Research Society. In over seventy-five years of dynamic public activity, he delivered more than 8,000 lectures in the United States and abroad, and authored countless books, essays, and articles. In his lectures and writings, Manly Hall always emphasized the practical aspects of philosophy and religion as they applied to daily living. He restated for modern man those spiritual and ethical doctrines which have given humanity its noblest ideals and most adequate codes of conduct. Believing that philosophy is a working tool to help the individual in building a solid foundation for his dreams and purposes, Manly Hall steadfastly sought recognition of the belief that world civilization can be perfected only when human beings meet on a common ground of intelligence, cooperation, and worthy purpose.
    Show book
  • A Rare Recording of Gertrude Stein Reading Her Own Writing - cover

    A Rare Recording of Gertrude...

    Gertrude Stein

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 - July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and made France her home for the remainder of her life. She hosted a Paris salon, where the leading figures of modernism in literature and art, such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, Ezra Pound, Sherwood Anderson and Henri Matisse, would meet. The following three recordings are from Stein's novel, The Making of Americans (1925), and her poems, How She Bowed to her Brother (1931) and If I Told Him - A Completed Portrait of Picasso (1923)
    Show book
  • The Misery of Christianity - A Plea for a Humanity Without God - cover

    The Misery of Christianity - A...

    Joachim Kahl

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    In this provocative and newly expanded edition, Joachim Kahl challenges the very foundations of Christianity, arguing that the religion has failed to live up to the ideals of its founder. Kahl contends that the gospel of Christ, far from being a message of love and compassion, has instead been used to justify the persecution of Jews, the suppression of women and sexuality, and a cynical indifference to social reform. 
    Now, half a century after its original publication, Kahl's searing critique is more relevant than ever. This updated translation includes previously untranslated sections from the latest German edition, delving deeper into the role of institutional religion in perpetuating inequality and injustice. Kahl also reflects on the enduring significance of his arguments in light of global events and shifting religious landscapes. 
    Prepare to have your assumptions about Christianity challenged and your mind opened to a bold new perspective. This thought-provoking work is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the complex and often troubling relationship between faith, power, and social change. 
    Joachim Kahl's compelling journey from theology to secular humanism is masterfully captured in this thought-provoking book. Born in war-torn Germany, Kahl's quest for truth led him from the pulpit to the lectern, as he grappled with the profound questions of our time. With a philosopher's insight and an activist's passion, Kahl invites readers to join him on a transformative exploration of reason, ethics, and the human condition.
    Show book
  • The Heart of Homestay - Creating Meaningful Connections When Hosting International Students - cover

    The Heart of Homestay - Creating...

    Jennifer Robin Wilson

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Open yourself up to the homestay experience and bring the world to your family.Every year, thousands of students from around the world come to Canada, Australia, the U.K., and the U.S. for an immersive, educational experience. Helping them to get the most of their overseas adventure are the homestay families who open their hearts and homes to these students. But beyond the usual tips on meal preparation and culture shock, what does it take to have success as a homestay family? If you’re ready to ask deeper questions, this collection of stories and guidance has your answers.In The Heart of Homestay, Jennifer Robin Wilson draws on her two decades of experience working in the homestay industry to provide an honest and comprehensive portrayal of the homestay experience. By sharing real stories from a vast network of homestay families, Wilson shows the benefits of bringing an international student into your home while also being real about the challenges that can arise. From first impressions and settling in to navigating cultural differences with compassion, communicating through language barriers, and what to do when it's time to say goodbye, Wilson guides you through countless scenarios to bring you closer to the experience.No matter what stage of the homestay journey you are in, this book is a resource you will return to again and again. And you’ll learn that while there is a lot to consider when choosing to open your home to a stranger, once you do, your family will grow further abroad than you ever imagined.
    Show book
  • Chunin Menage - Yaoi Anime - cover

    Chunin Menage - Yaoi Anime

    Rainbow Press

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Nurato, Sucara, and Susaci have finally graduated the academy and are on their way to being true ninjas. Little did this tumultuous trio know that their new life would have them working together as a team… and living together. 
      
    Kikicha Sensei puts his students to the test to see if they can work together, a task which they fail at first. It takes breaking the tension between them to bring them together as one unit. And the tension breaking doesn’t stop on the training field. 
      
    Back at their shared apartment, it’s time to explore their new bond… filling all the holes the three never could have imagined would be filled. 
      
    The trio’s union is cemented even further as they go on their very first bodyguard mission… and recuperate with one another afterward.
    Show book
  • Arthashastra or The Playbook of Material Gain - Pragmatic and amoral tips on how to gain defend and expand power from India’s greatest philosopher - cover

    Arthashastra or The Playbook of...

    Chanakya

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Truly radical "Machiavellianism", in the popular sense of that word, is classically expressed in Indian literature in the Arthashastra of Kautilya (written long before the birth of Christ, ostensibly in the time of Chandragupta): compared to it, Machiavelli's The Prince is harmless.— Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation (1919)Chanakya's treatise, written while turning a farmhand into the emperor of the largest empire India had ever seen, focuses on how to manage an empire, covering everything from domestic policy and personal rights to assassination and the dirtier arts of politics. This is not, as with Plato’s Republic, a work of theory. Chanakya’s guidance is entirely practical, and is based on both his education and his experience building an empire. It lacks the philosophical ponderings and moralizing of its equivalent Western works (such as The Prince, The Republic or Leviathan) and instead focuses on how one deals with the messiness of the world in practice.People will occasionally refer to Chanakya as an Indian Machiavelli, but this does some discredit to Chanakya. The Prince is a satire, and focused around exposing the tactics and inhumanity of Cesare Borgia. Arthashastra is a manual for every aspect of statecraft, and while it deals in the unethical it does so only because that is, after all is said and done, one of the options available to a ruler.If you're after a totally pragmatic analysis of leadership, stripped of moralising and focused on what works and how to deal with real-world issues, this is the book for you.
    Show book