Building your online rapport
In the age of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, the rules of social engagement have shifted ever so slightly. A few tips on building rapport online:
Category: Communication
How ‘happy’ is your workplace?
When you think about a “happy” workplace, do you think Google? All those creative-minded people at a beautifully designed work space, working on projects while the entire world watches. You can use some of the same strategies used at Google and other offices to bring more happiness into the workplace.
4 tips to improve your listening skills
You’re on your way to a meeting or you’re in the middle of a project that requires your focus, when someone tells you something important. “Got it!” you say. Later, though, you realize you weren’t fully tuned in. Consider what sort of listener you are, and then heed these tips:
Make your corporate communications sing
Whether you’re writing for a company blog, newsletter or e-newsletter, your goal is to keep readers coming back for more. Here’s a short list of common mistakes people make when creating content:
How to ask for feedback
You crave it. And you probably don’t get enough of it. Here’s how to ask for feedback on your performance: Schedule it. Explain what you want. Don’t fish for compliments. Ask for specifics. Stop being defensive …
1-Minute Strategies: Feb. ’12
Stop monopolizing a conversation. Every time someone asks you a question, ask one in return … Resist the urge to do several things at once … Avoid sending an email to the wrong person, with this tip from Patricia Robb, author of the “Laughing All the Way to Work” blog …
Do you have a presence?
“Presence.” You know it when you see it: Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan had it. Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter did not. Those who have it gain an advantage in winning over others.
Business writing made simple
Strengthen your sentences by using fewer words and getting rid of awkward or passive construction. Practice by rewriting these wordy sample sentences, inspired by the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL):
Creating harmony among the generations
In some offices, you might kick-start relationships between older and younger workers with these tips: Try reverse-mentoring … Go out of your way to collaborate with different generations … Don’t get hung up on office etiquette you think everyone should be following.
Conversation stoppers
While these phrases aren’t grammatically incorrect, they tend to be used in all the wrong places: “With all due respect, …” “Does that make sense?” … “I hear what you’re saying, but …”