Grammar Repair Shop: When to end a line with a preposition
End with a preposition only when it keeps you from sounding hopelessly stilted.
Year: 2006
Grammar Repair Shop: Period inside or outside parenthesis
Reader Sharon Wentzell sent us this question: “When you use parentheses at the end of a sentence, where does the period go: inside or outside the last parenthesis?” Answer: When you have a full sentence inside parentheses, and it isn’t positioned inside another sentence, it should begin with a capital letter and end with a […]
Build a training program for managers
The reason Taco Bell’s admin team came up with its “Team of Two” training program is clear when you listen to admin Karen Walters describe managers in her building. “There were a few managers in the group who maybe weren’t using admins to their greatest capabilities,” explains Walters. “In their defense, they didn’t have a good model.” So the admin team decided to give them one…
Kitchen etiquette dilemma: ‘I’m not the office maid. My name isn’t Hazel!’
Problem: "I’m in charge of turning on the dishwasher each night before leaving. To some, this translates to my also being in charge of cleaning up after everyone. Several memos have been distributed … but have not been successful. Any ideas? I’m tired of being known as the office maid. My name is not Hazel!"
Nine double-click tricks for Word
You probably already know about double-clicking in Word to select a word or paragraph. But did you know about these double-click tricks for getting through your work faster?
Taking minutes is all about the action
The meeting’s over. Within moments, everyone is scurrying back to check voice- and e-mail messages, quickly forgetting about the action items they just took on. Your mission? To produce minutes that remind everyone what needs to happen next, and assure them that their meeting time was well spent. These five suggestions will help you write […]
Create an agenda-building ‘cheat sheet’
The monthly department meeting is next week, and you’ve already heard from four people who want to appear on the agenda. You expect a few more to chime in. It’s your job to create an agenda that affords adequate time for each item, as well as to make sure the meeting runs smoothly and ends on time. Your best approach? Annette Marquis, co-owner of TRIAD Consulting, recommends building an adjustable meeting-agenda template in Excel.
Grammar Repair Shop: With regards to, irregardless
Reader Kelly Merritt sent us the following note recently: “Most people write ‘I am writing with regards to,’ or ‘in regards to,’ and I have even been corrected when using ‘in regard to’ … when everything I have read says that ‘regard’ and not ‘regards’ is the proper term. Which is the proper word?”Please also […]
Streamline your back & forth editing
Any Word feature that can save time and make you look good is worth tapping into, right? One such feature: Word’s built-in reviewing tools, which let you and others track all the changes you make as a document is written and edited. With the Track Changes tool turned on, you can track each insertion, deletion […]
Build a network of helping hands
Admins are helping one another take their careers to the next level. How? With professional development programs created by and for admins.