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Top picks for building a web site

As the most popular blogging software, WordPress has matured to become a bona fide solution for businesses that need a blog or even a web site with updatable content. It’s free, capable of search engine optimization and easy to update. Here are five other blogging software options:

Build your image

Exude a strong professional image by having a one-line sentence that tells who you are and what you do, rather than watering down your role, by saying, “I support…” or “I work at…” Practice the line and get comfortable with it.

Wishy-washy words

Don’t use words like “maybe” or “kind of.” Those aren’t power words. And they really don’t reflect who you are. Try “I’m confident that …”

The memos, they are a-changin’

Say you’re an office manager, and you’ve heard from several employees about a problem with the way people use the break rooms. You need to write an e-mail that helps resolve the problem. What’s the most effective way to write it? A few decades ago, a formal tone was proper for memos. Today that same tone sounds cold to most ears.

Put a meeting back on track

Turn around an unproductive meeting by saying, in a neutral voice, “I’m sorry, may I interrupt? Could we review the objective for this meeting, so we’re clear about what we want to accomplish today.”

No self-control? Trick yourself

The problem of self-control goes back to Adam and Eve, says Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational: We would all like to be in the Garden of Eden, but eating an apple right this moment may be too tempting to avoid. Next time you’re trying to accomplish a long-term goal, consider these two strategies for “tricking” yourself into sticking with your plan:

Surviving a Bad Performance Review

Question:  “On her performance review, my sister “Jenna” was rated “below expectations” because her boss said she took too long to complete a major project. However, this really wasn’t her fault.  During that time, she had a lot of computer problems. Also, management changes created some confusion, and her co-workers weren’t very cooperative. Now Jenna is on a three-month probation with a warning that her current project must be completed on time. It’s not clear what will happen if she doesn’t meet the deadline. I don’t think this is fair, because many things are beyond her control and she gets little cooperation from others. What do you think?” — Angry Sis