When saying less is best
As a naturally helpful person, you may eagerly answer questions from a caller on the phone or a colleague in the office. Offering too much information can be costly. Use these guidelines.
Recognize the needs behind colleagues’ demands
When you’re frustrated by micromanagement or other demands at work, step back and study what the other person truly needs from you. One day Lydia Abram had an “ah ha moment” that taught her how to satisfy a micromanaging colleague’s needs without slowing down her work flow:
Don’t get burned with contracts
Signing a contract is always a hair-raising and nervous experience. But signing a hotel, convention center or other facility’s standard contract for your company could damage your organization’s financial well being. To protect yourself, ask to review the standard contract, but consider that as only a starting point.
Avoid, conquer and accept daily stress
If stress hits you with a capital S, you’re not alone. We use the word “stress” so often today that it’s almost meaningless.
Easy ways to turn your toolbar into a timesaver
Using the computer toolbar again and again to pull down the same functions is monotonous and stifles productivity.
Ursula Faix, of Sarasota, Fla., offers her time-saving strategies of bypassing drop-down menus so “every command I need is one click away. For me, the most important time-saving technique in Microsoft Word and Excel is to customize the toolbars,” she says.
Little words leave big impressions
In new situations, the first words out of your mouth (like, you know) can leave a lasting first impression. While you don’t want to come across as overly formal or stilted in your speech, you do want to be professional and well-spoken. (And the little words you “say” online can leave an even longer lasting first impression.)
Spring Cleaning: 7 steps to conquer clutter
Clear the deck, scrub it down and start over? Remove everything and put back only what you need? In your dreams! If “cluttered desk,” “cluttered mind” is your motto and purging your work station of clutter is only a dream, approach it one problem at a time. Use these seven steps to “declutter”:
5 options that will help you resolve conflicts
When a conflict with someone makes it hard to complete your job, you have five options to reach a resolution. The problem? We regularly rely on one or two options rather than using the best option for that particular situation. Defaulting to our favorite tactic instead of being flexible makes us less effective. Here are the five ways to respond to conflict and how to figure out which tactic to employ…
‘Can you hear me now?’
The next time you’re ready to deliver a presentation, don’t let nitty-gritty audio problems make you even more nervous before stepping up to the mike. You don’t want to start the presentation with “Can you hear me now?” Set the stage to set off on the right note, by answering these questions:
Customize MS Word tools to check your writing
If you’re like most professionals, you use Microsoft Word every day. Take a few minutes now to customize your Word workspace by tailoring the built-in spelling and grammar checks on your computer to meet your specific needs. Here’s how: