Susan RoAne - How to Work a Room: The Ultimate Guide to Making Lasting Connections--In Person and Online

The best part of writing a book is drafting the acknowledgments because writing a book still feels like giving birth to an elephant. And I was never alone each time.

Over the years, thousands of people gave me their time, energy, insight and humor in personal interviews, conversations, emails and audience feedback. Friends, clients and colleagues, as well as people I meet on airplanes, at events, in line at the supermarket or treading on the mills at the health club, continue to be generous with their whys, wisdom, wherefores, wit, wonderment and wows. Im grateful to the people who took the time to share their stories and experiences for this book.

And thanks to my friends, who support me, believe in me (once again), let me hibernate and become who Ruthe Hirsch calls Esther Sequester. I am especially grateful to Aileen Jett RoAne, my late, dear, former mother-in-law, who was the first person to tell me that I could and should write a book. Thanks to Dr. Geraldine Alpert for her wisdom; to Patricia Teal, Mark Chimsky, Laura Friedman, Griggs RoAne, Lois Keenan, Patricia Fripp, Toni Boyle, Diane Parente, Pam Martens, Gail Edenson, Leigh Bohmfalk, Allison Fortini Crawford, Robert Spector, Helen Bohaczyk, Anne Paterlini; Susan Belling, Sandy Hufford and Donna Schafermy Saturday Breakfast Club; Arlynn Greenbaum, my New York host and friend; Lisa Miller Beckstead, who was a most supportive roommate during the initial writing of my firstborn; Nicole Wells Johnson for her bringing her skills and sunny disposition to my business and allowing me to be her wedding greeter; Sherwood and Jonathan Cummins, who work my muscles and help me work through situations that Ive captured in the book; Mike McEvoy, Harold Hingle and Tim Eatherton for my web presence; Bonnie Hughes for all; my brother, Ira Rosenberg, for clever quips and current sports tips; Victoria G.G. Kellman for more than I can express; the Berringers for allowing me to be part of the family and Grandma Susan to their girls; my Foxcroft/Adams family of Durban for sharing their South Africa with me; and to the entire Skov clan and Shayne, Patrick, Olivia and Annikabeing your Grandma Susan is a joy!

To Lana Teplick, chief of staff and best friend, for her wisdom, total support, timely reminders and her oh, wows! for many years.

To Judith Briles, who first recognized that How to Work a Room should be a book and who continues to help other emerging authors at Author U.

To Connie Glaser, my cosmic twin, for her continued friendship, laughter and support.

To Carl La Mell, the chairman of the board of The RoAne Group, for his great BS detector and CEO-size street smarts and decades of friendship.

To Joann Davis, for believing both in me and in this book and for making me write the next two books to create the trilogy of connecting and communicating.

To Zach Schisgal, the editor who first acquired this book for Morrow/Harper and gave it a new home and is now a friend.

To Trish Daly, my current editor (and my former student at NYUs Summer Publishing Institute) for her enthusiasm, support and wise advice.

To Becky Gordon, patient transcriber of my hieroglyphics, to whom I am eternally grateful for her editorial know-how, organizational skills and sense of humor and the Gordon Giggle test. Once again, she helped birth the book you now have in your hands.

And I am especially grateful to the transgressors of good taste and good behavior. Unfortunately, I legally cannot name them and so wish I could. We all know who you are. Your inappropriate behavior is a treasure trove of volumes of material you continue to contribute... unwittingly.

To my agent, Michael Bourret, a savvy, smart sweetheart of a guy, with a superb sense of humor, for his unfailing encouragement.

Merci beaucoup , muchas gracias , todah rabah , thank you to the unsung heroes of book sales: the sales reps without whom this book would not be in the stores or in your hands and the booksellersboth online and in your neighborhoods around the countrywho have been so supportive of my baby and kind to me these past twenty-five years.

To my social media mishpocheh and blogger pals who helped the get the word out via their blogs, websites, newszines, tweets, posts, pins and status updates. You are cyber-super!

And to the readers and members of my audiences, who have thanked me over these many years to help them manage to mingle more successfully. Without you, I wouldnt be a best-selling author.

To my clients, who realize how important this skill is, I thank you for continuing to hire me to share these strategies with your companies and associations: Without you, I wouldnt be a successful keynote speaker.

Face to Face :

How to Reclaim the Personal Touch in a Digital World

How to Create Your Own Luck :

The You Never Know Approach to Networking,

Taking Chances, and Opening Yourself to Opportunity

What Do I Say Next?

Talking Your Way to Business and Social Success

The Secrets of Savvy Networking :

How to Make the Best Connections for

Business and Personal Success

A SAMPLING OF
SUSANS CLIENTS

CORPORATIONS

Anheuser-Busch

Arbonne International

AT&T

Bell Canada

Boeing

Cartier

Century 21

Coca-Cola Leadership

Darden Restaurants

Discovery Toys

Equity Residential

Exxon Corporation

Hershey Foods (now Hershey Company)

Infiniti

Keyspan (now National Grid)

Kraft Foods

Lockheed Martin

Lucent Technologies

Monsanto Chemical Company

Ohio Edison

Pfizer

Procter & Gamble

Prudential Real Estate

Rohm and Haas Company

SuccessFactors

Time Warner

Trainer Communications

Waste Management of North America

ASSOCIATIONS

American Automobile Association

American Bankers Association

American Payroll Association

Associated General Contractors of America

Association of Government Accountants

College and University Professional Association for Human Resources

International Council of Shopping Centers

League of California Cities

National Asphalt and Pavement Association

National Association of Catering Executives

National Association of College Stores

National Association of Secondary School Principals

National Association of Television Producers and Executives

National Association of Realtors

National Court Reporters Association

National Football League

National Restaurant Association

National Tour Association

New Jersey Association of Mortgage Bankers

Professional Insurance Agents

Public Library Association

Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals

Society for Foodservice Management

Toastmasters International

Womens Council of Realtors

Womens Fund of Omaha

CONSULTING FIRMS

A.T. Kearney

Booz Allen Hamilton

Deloitte & Touche

Ernst & Young

KPMG

PA Consulting (UK)

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Watson Wyatt Worldwide

FINANCE

Bank of America

Black Economic Council

Chase Manhattan

CitiGroup

City National Bank

Edward D. Jones

Georgia Society of CPAs

Goldman Sachs

Managed Funds Association

Moss Adams LLP

Treasury Management Association of Chicago

United Nations Federal Credit Union

Wells Fargo Bank

Zurich Financial Services

LEGAL

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney

Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May

Latham & Watkins LLP

Lewis and Roca

Paul Hastings LLP

Pitney Hardin

Quarles & Brady LLP

Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP

White & Case, LLP

Williams Kastner & Gibbs

MEDICAL/HEALTH CARE

American Association of Healthcare Consultants