Cover subtitle: Inspiration, influence, and persuasion through the art of storytelling

Stories have tremendous power. They can persuade, promote empathy, and provoke action. Better than any other communication tool, stories explain who you are, what you want...and why it matters. In presentations, department meetings, over lunch-any place you make a case for new customers, more business, or your next big idea-you'll have greater impact if you have a compelling story to relate. Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins will teach you to narrate personal experiences as well as borrowed stories in a way that demonstrates authenticity, builds emotional connections, inspires perseverance, and stimulates the imagination. Fully updated and more practical than ever, the second edition reveals how to use storytelling to: Capture attention * Motivate listeners * Gain trust * Strengthen your argument * Sway decisions * Demonstrate authenticity and encourage transparency * Spark innovation * Manage uncertainty * And more Complete with examples, a proven storytelling process and techniques, innovative applications, and a new appendix on teaching storytelling, Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins hands you the tools you need to get your message across-and connect successfully with any audience.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The true story of an ordinary mail carrier whose approach to work and life has the power to transform the everyday into the extraordinary—now in an updated twentieth-anniversary edition “This beloved business classic has inspired millions of people over the years, and today Mark Sanborn’s transformative insights are more timely and necessary than ever.”—Jon Gordon, author of The Energy Bus and co-author of The Coffee Bean Meet Fred. In this timeless and powerful book, Mark Sanborn, member of the Speaker Hall of Fame, recounts the true story of Fred, an ordinary USPS carrier who introduced himself one day shortly after Sanborn had moved to a new home in Denver. Fred, however, was no average mailman. As Sanborn came to discover, Fred was the kind of worker who exemplifies everything “right” with customer service. Did people want packages left on the porch or prefer a notice to pick them up at the post office? Fred made sure he knew the answer. When another delivery service left a package at the wrong house, Fred shepherded it safely to the intended recipient. Others might have seen delivering mail as routine work, but Fred seized the chance to find meaning in the mundane, competing with himself every day to find opportunities to make his customers smile. We’ve all encountered people like Fred. In this deeply inspiring book, Sanborn illuminates the four basic principles anyone can use to bring fresh energy and creativity to our work and life: how to make a tangible difference every day, build stronger relationships, create real value for others without spending a penny, and constantly reinvent yourself. In this updated edition, Sanborn speaks to the seismic changes that have transformed the world of work in recent years—with employees increasingly hungry for purpose in their jobs—and outlines the book’s fresh applications. By following his principles, you, too, can find more excitement, fulfillment, and success in your career—and in your life.

Magazine editor Lilly Martin, packing up the vacation cabin she and her ex-husband owned in Cleary, North Carolina, where he now works as chief of police, becomes trapped in a snowstorm with Ben Tierney, who she struck with her car while trying to drive down the mountain, and the situation becomes critical when she uncovers evidence that Tierney may be the serial killer who has been operating in the area for over two years.

The premier guide to combining verbal and nonverbal communication to gain confidence, establish credibility and make lasting impressions Yes—a small word, but the key to opening doors both professional and personal. The power of The Yes Factor gets you the job, the promotion, or the second date. But getting a "yes" can be tricky. Tonya Reiman explains how communication works—what the words you speak actually say about you, and how the perfect pitch can help you achieve your goals, convince your boss or client you should get the account, give a killer presentation, or win control of the remote (without ticking off your spouse!). Combining verbal and nonverbal tricks—identifying types of communicators, recognizing subconscious motivations, and adopting covert communication techniques-The Yes Factor is a simple approach to influencing and framing communication so that your message resounds clearly, ensuring that your ideas are implemented effectively and that you present your best possible self. A leading body language expert and Fox News contributor, Reiman's accessible prose, firsthand anecdotes, step-by-step advice, sidebars, diagrams, and short quizzes make The Yes Factor the ultimate how-to for exuding confidence, establishing authority, gaining credibility, and making the lasting impression that will get you a "yes" everytime. Watch a Video

This is Barth's most distinguished masterpiece. This modern classic is a hilarious tribute to all the most insidious human vices, with a hero who is "one of the most diverting...to roam the world since Candide." "A feast. Dense, funny, endlessly inventive (and, OK, yes, long-winded) this satire of the 18th-century picaresque novel-think Fielding's Tom Jones or Sterne's Tristram Shandy -is also an earnest picture of the pitfalls awaiting innocence as it makes its unsteady way in the world. It's the late 17th century and Ebenezer Cooke is a poet, dutiful son and determined virgin who travels from England to Maryland to take possession of his father's tobacco (or "sot weed") plantation. He is also eventually given to believe that he has been commissioned by the third Lord Baltimore to write an epic poem, The Marylandiad. But things are not always what they seem. Actually, things are almost never what they seem. Not since Candide has a steadfast soul witnessed so many strange scenes or faced so many perils. Pirates, Indians, shrewd prostitutes, armed insurrectionists - Cooke endures them all, plus assaults on his virginity from both women and men. Barth's language is impossibly rich, a wickedly funny take on old English rhetoric and American self-appraisals. For good measure he throws in stories within stories, including the funniest retelling of the Pocahontas tale -revealed to us in the "secret" journals of Capt. John Smith - that anyone has ever dared to tell." —Time Magazine

In the tradition of the bestselling book The One Minute Manager, authors Ken Blanchard and S. Truett Cathy, entrepreneur and founder of Chick-fil-A restaurants, present The Generosity Factor--a parable that demonstrates the virtues of generosity. It's the story of a meeting between the Broker--a young man on his way up the corporate ladder who has the illusion of success, yet deep inside feels insignificant--and the Executive--the CEO of a very large and successful company who claims the greatest joy in his life is his ability to give to others. Thinking he might get a competitive edge by meeting with the Executive, the Broker's worldview is turned upside down as he talks to the Executive and hears the principles that form his life. He calls it The Generosity Factor--a way to give time, talent, treasure, and touch to those in need. Providing a unique twist on what it means to thrive in business, at home, and in life, this story will forever change your definition of success.