Good customer service and problem-solving agility can save the day when you're caught off guard or don't know the answer. If you want to see superb customer service in action, go to an Apple Store and eavesdrop. Customers can ask some pretty random or technical questions and when they do, Apple employees say the magic words: "I don't know.  But let's find out."  Then take accountability and use their available resources to get customers what they need, including their customers in the process.  Their honest "I don't know" builds trust and their "let's find out" turns customers into promoters.

Looking straight at people and smiling increases your attractiveness.  Moreover, a smiling face with direct eye contact makes people 8 times more attractive than a direct gaze with an unsmiling face.

Source: Ben Jones, PhD, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B: BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

What we say is not as important as HOW we say it.  Non-verbal communication cues, more so than our quick wits and senses of humor, determine our likeability.

- 55% is determined by body language
- 38% is determined by our voices
-   7% is determined by our words

Source: A 1971 study by Albert Mehrabian of UCLA.

Create "nooks" and smaller gathering spaces at a party.  People will always congregate in the coziest areas - not necessarily the swankest.  (Next time you throw a party, notice how many people gather in your kitchen or hallways vs. the decked out living room or dining room.)

Break up bigger areas into smaller, cozier spaces.  It could be as simple as arranging a few folding chairs and a low table together in your living room, in addition to the sofa and coffee table.  Some great inspirations for gathering spaces are outdoor living rooms at hotels like The Shore Club in Miami. People line-up to gather in the cozy groupings of furniture, which range from a queen-sized daybed, surrounded by lanterns to floor pillows set next to a sofa and low tables.