Communication
Affirm your credibility in a meeting with these five tactics:
No matter what you do in life, you have to sell something, writes author Michael Ellsberg—selling your boss on why he should promote you, selling your brilliant idea, or selling co-workers on why they should donate to your cause. How to sell, in a nutshell:
Grandmas are known for their nuggets of advice about bundling up in winter or baking a fruit cobbler. As it turns out, they know a thing or two about navigating the workplace, too. Pearls of wisdom from grandma:
“What do you do?” Be prepared for this question before you head to any networking event because you’ll probably be asked dozens of times … Need someone to make a decision? Approach him in the morning. “Decision fatigue” is a very real phenomenon affecting people who have to grapple with an ever-increasing number of choices.
The co-worker in the next cubicle hums all day. Yesterday your boss dressed you down in front of the entire team. Another admin has been griping about the same issue for a week. In every case, it would be all too easy to ignore the problem, or avoid confrontation by sending an email. But in every case, a live conversation is the better solution.
An admin reader recently wrote, “My goodness, will you please do a piece that tells people the difference between ‘intra’ and ‘inter’? While you’re at it, ‘effect’ vs. ‘affect’ wouldn’t hurt, either.”
Do you know how to win people over by saying the right thing? Find out in this survey crafted by Laurie Puhn, Harvard lawyer, couples mediator and best-selling author, designed to gauge your communication IQ.
Which unforgettable writing lesson did you learn in school? Are there any you still use today? See if any of these ring a bell:
Socializing at work is good for you, according to a jillion studies. What’s not so good: getting stuck in a conversation that seems to never end, about a colleague’s trip to the pet groomer or the adorable 10 things the co-worker’s child said yesterday. Avoid these topics:
The bond between a boss and assistant is far from ordinary. And feelings of devotion often run both ways. Consider these true life-saving stories of assistants and their executives:
A new study by researchers at Tel Aviv University found that employees with strong social networks on the job actually lived longer than those “working in a very unfriendly and nonsupportive environment.”
Use “and” instead of “but,” advises Joan Burge of Office Dynamics. Why? Using “but” sets up a negative that can make people defensive and less likely to listen.
Make your email more readable by crafting enticing subject lines … Why wait for an annual review to get feedback? Ask for one-minute feedback at every opportunity … Knock out more of your critical to-dos by whittling down your to-do list each day … Go ahead: Ask for a $100,000 salary …
