I ADMIRE party people because I have little stamina at social events myself.

Bonhomie into the small hours and chatting ad infinitum are not my strong points.

The first 30 minutes are exciting but, after a couple of hours of social revels, I want to slope off.

People who can carry on nattering are lucky to be able to do that. I can't.

But I have developed a way of making myself more sociable. It involves listening to the car radio on the way to the party.

It has to be tuned to a talk station such as Radio 4 or Radio 5, and there must be no talking in the car.

The idea is to listen to other people chatting without doing it yourself so that, by the time you get to the party, you're ready to explode.

My party manner falls short of explosive, but I swear this technique is effective. If, like me, you're shy, give it a try.

You can apply the same principle to every sort of outing. Going to a concert, for example, I don't listen to music in the car. That way, when the live music strikes up, the sound is all the more thrilling.

It stands to reason that if you deprive yourself of something, when you eventually get it, you'll enjoy it all the more.

Take food, for instance. Most people going out for a meal will avoid eating beforehand. Hunger is the best sauce.

Taking this to its logical conclusion, the best way to prepare for a restaurant treat is to starve yourself all day and watch videos of people eating.