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Year: 2010

Misusing reflexive pronouns

A reader recently wrote: What gives with everybody using the words “to myself” instead of “to me”? The administrative people around me always write things like: “Please send your response to my secretary or myself.” That makes no sense … Did someone make this grammatically correct and forget to tell me?

Jump ship now, or stick it out?

One reader, Linda, wrote us with this quandary: The company she worked for was acquired by another company. Previously, she’d been offered perks, such as reimbursement for the graduate degree she earned. But the new employer has frozen pay and promotions, cut pay and issued layoffs … Should Linda hang in there or leave?

Keep a positive tone

Be more persuasive by avoiding the negative. Example: Instead of writing, “The meeting room is a mess because some of us aren’t tidying up after using it,” write, “When the meeting room is clean, we all benefit. Thanks for cleaning up after you use it.”

The complaining caller

You’ve had nothing but constant interruptions all morning as deadlines loom and then the phone rings … again. Seconds later, you find yourself on the other end of a loud, complaining customer, client or colleague whose expectations haven’t been met. What do you do?