Spot the misspelling
Here’s a list of the 15 most common misspellings in the United States, according to SpellChecker.com, along with the correct versions:
Category: Communication
Power questions: Knowing when to ask them
Asking questions is more effective than trying to know all the answers, says Andrew Sobel, author of Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business, and Influence Others. The right questions “make people like you, trust you, and want to work with you.”
1-Minute Strategies: June ’12
Start each day with a prioritized to-do list, dividing it into A-B-C tasks … Ditch the half-truths, even the little white lies you tell to make someone feel better … Earn respect of senior management by showing the ROI for whatever you’re proposing.
Snap a business portrait worthy of framing
Peter Hurley, headshot artist for celebrities and executives, tells The New York Times that the most important element of a good headshot is the eyes.
Annoyed? Step away from your keyboard
Remember, any message can be forwarded. Tanya Battel, principal of Elite EAs, warns, “Never use email to complain about someone.”
Understanding the ‘why’ behind your job
“A change agent,” write the authors of Who Took My Pen … Again?, “has the courage to see things that are and know they could be better, and to see things that aren’t, and work, dream, plan, and learn about them, in order to bring them into reality.”
Sentence beginnings and endings
What’s the rule on these four sentence-starting and -stopping strategies? 1. Starting a sentence with “and” or “but.” 2. Launching a sentence with “There is” or “There are.” 3. Ending a sentence with a preposition. 4. Starting a sentence with “however.”
Coping across generations
You’ve probably heard the one about Gen Y’ers wanting—and expecting—constant feedback. Two things to know about that generational myth: First, it’s not exactly true. Second, if you accept it at face value, it could get in the way of good intergenerational relationships.
Keep your ’emotional bank account’ full
“The issues most people struggle with have little to do with our ability to do the work,” says Quint Studer, author of The Great Employee Handbook: Making Work and Life Better. “It’s all the things that happen around the work. … It’s whether we make life easier for our co-workers or more difficult.” He offers these four workplace secrets:
7-step approach to giving feedback
Bosses aren’t the only ones who can provide feedback to employees. Giving negative feedback requires you to counsel and criticize in a way that alerts a co-worker to where the problem lies and what must be done to solve it. Follow this seven-step method: