A. M. Howcroft Knihy

Everybody asks questions, but how many of us have been trained to do it effectively? There are special techniques used by professions; teachers, psychiatrists, lawyers and sales people are all taught about the art and science of questioning, but their approaches vary greatly based on their differing goals. With the explosion of so-called big data, organizations are now using powerful software tools to ask questions and analyze or influence our behavior. This book takes you on a mind-blowing ride through the history and techniques of questioning, looks at the heroes and villains, the technology and the future of the questioning-industry. Whether you want to triple your sales revenues, avoid questions that will damage your relationships, or simply live a happier life, this book can be your guide. You will find out how questions are used in Hollywood movies, why they are critical to jokes, and the ten most bizarre things you might get asked at an interview. We will blow the cover on how people use bias to make us answer questions a certain way, and you will learn new skills such as the art of using silence effectively, or how to spot hooks and use them to great effect. You can discover how to become a guru, and we will expose the way questions can change your memories. You may even learn how to master the black art of the killer question.

Short stories are like miniature films, and this prize-winning collection by A M Howcroft delivers a potent screening of art-house tales and Hollywood blockbusters. They are studded with a memorable cast of characters, such as a chicken-factory worker balanced high on a slippery roof, a woman carving saints out of driftwood, teenage boy-racers who've solved life's mysteries, through to a business woman who dies nine times. Each story is set within a rich-cinematic backdrop to reveal people at critical turning points, with delicately balanced risks and rewards. Whether starting riots in Paris, breaking into a friend's house in California, or killing time before being busted by customs officers, the narrators are flawed, unpredictable, smart and stupid in equal measure. Funny, moving and often provoking, these compelling stories will entertain; giving you images that linger and dialogue you'll want to repeat in fake accents.