Category: 1-Minute Strategy

When writing a phone message, jot down the correct way to say the caller’s name along with the other information. You don’t need to use the phonetic alphabet, just a note like, “Mr. Behr (pronounced Bear).”

Eye have a spelling chequerIt came with my pea see.It plainly marques four my revueMiss steaks eye kin knot sea. There’s a danger if you rely solely on your computer’s spell checker.

Be prepared to answer two questions when pitching an idea or attempting to influence your boss: (1) How will the organization benefit? (2) How will my boss benefit?

If you berate yourself when you make a mistake, you’ll worsen the damage. But if you say, “I’ll fix this,” or “I sure learned from that,” you turn a negative into a positive.

Giving a presentation? Speak in your natural tone. Optimism should flow from your authentic personality. If you adopt an artificially perky tone, listeners may find it grating.

When someone tells you, “I need this right away,” ask what he means, including day and time, advises Amy Garrett, a workshop leader for National Seminars Group. “You could be putting yourself under unnecessary stress.

You can make difficult decisions up to 20% faster when standing instead of sitting, says recent research. One possible explanation: The increased heart rate stimulates the brain to work faster.

When you leave a message, jot the name and purpose of your call on a list beside your phone. Later, when you receive that mystery greeting, “Hi, this is Joan,” you won’t have to wonder who Joan is and why she’s calling.

Create a phone-answering schedule with another admin and automatically forward calls during that period. You’ll both benefit from some time without ringing interruptions.

Trim documents to one page to cut back the time it takes others to read and review your correspondence. You can always explain that support material is available upon request.