[Wasabista]

Bought a great book recently called (in English, though the book is in Japanese) Talk like a Successful Person or something like that. It's on the national bestseller list. It teaches some graceful expressions to use in everyday situations. For example, if it looks like it might rain, the ordinary thing to say is "ame ga furisoo desu ne," but it sounds more "oshare" to say "hakkiri shinai o-tenki desu ne."

Another one that stands out is: If you want to sit next to someone, say on a bus or in a cafeteria, the normal thing to say is:

Kono seki wa aite imasu ka? (Is this seat available?)

But say this and you're a star:

Dooseki sasete itadaite mo yoroshii deshoo ka? (Do you mind if I take this seat next to you?) -- (sounds way better in Japanese)

And so on. Just useful stuff to make everyday kaiwa sound more polished.