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How To Be Killer At Cocktail Parties

Firoozeh Dumas is the author of <em>Funny in Farsi</em> and <em>Laughing Without an Accent.</em> She is fabulous at cocktail parties.
Firoozeh Dumas is the author of Funny in Farsi and Laughing Without an Accent. She is fabulous at cocktail parties.

My husband's idea of hell is a cocktail party. Having to impress total strangers in under three minutes with just the right banter is enough to make him stay home.

As an engineer, he never mastered the art of shallow conversation, which I — a humanities major — specialized in. It's just a matter of knowing a little bit about a few relevant topics and having a good fake laugh. I can't help you with the latter, but all you need are these three books, and you will look bright and suave all the time, regardless of the topic.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Firoozeh Dumas

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.