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Polite emails: Hamburger Approach

Do you send polite emails?  Each day at work we send and receive many emails.  The longer you spend writing and replying to emails, the less time you have for other important tasks.  Why should you waste time trying to be polite in emails when all you need is some quick information from someone or […]

Meeting misunderstandings: 4 Steps to Clarify

Do you ever have to deal with meeting misunderstandings? So, you’ve just finished putting forward your proposal. You’d planned out what you wanted to say, given a few examples, convincingly described the advantages, and cautiously addressed the disadvantages. All extremely clearly. Or so you thought. Until you hear the first response: “So, are you saying […]

Email Confirmations: Using R.A.P.

A simple structure to confirm your discussion Email confirmations are a key to avoiding confusion and saving time in business communication. The telephone is a great medium for quick discussions. Often agreements or commitments are made on the phone. But, one major disadvantage of agreements made over the telephone is the lack of written evidence. […]

Meeting Rules: Mobile Phones and Laptops

Does your company have clear meeting rules? While some organizations have clear policies about whether laptops and mobile phones can be used during meetings, in other companies the rules were never established or have been allowed to grow relaxed. Ask a group of professionals what they think about this issue and you’re bound to get […]

Holiday Greetings: Quick Email Phrases

Have you sent your holiday greetings to all your colleagues, suppliers, and customers? It’s that time of year again. People keep dropping by my desk to ask what they should write in their emails they want to send out before the holiday period ahead of us. There isn’t really one set thing that you have […]

Presentation slides: 4 Keys to Keeping Attention

4 Keys to good presentation slides Creating presentation slides that summarize your points but still keep your audience’s attention isn’t easy. Ever try talking to someone who is busy reading a book? It’s not easy to get and hold their attention, is it? This is what happens when you stand up to make a presentation […]

Rescheduling Meetings: Avoiding Confusion

How to clearly describe changes when rescheduling meetings One of the challenges of communicating internationally in English is how to clearly describe changes when rescheduling meetings. Frequently, there’s confusion about words like postpone, move forward, move back and delay. And while it’s not actually a word in Standard English, the word ‘prepone’ has reared its […]

Setting Goals: 8 Ideas to Ensure Effectiveness

8 Ideas to ensure you are setting goals that are effective Setting goals is a large part of any manager’s job. If you are going to spend the time setting goals, make sure that they are going to be effective. We all know about SMART goals, but what about effective goals? 1.  Linked to business […]

Email Complaints: 5 Keys to Replying

Handling complaints by email can be tricky It is always better to handle them face-to-face or over the telephone, but sometimes you don’t have a choice. Every complaint is different, but there are enough similarities with each to approach them with a structure in mind. We can all receive complaints from customers, colleagues, suppliers, or […]

Handling Difficult Questions in Presentations

How are you handling difficult questions in your presentations? So you’ve spent hours preparing your slides, practicing in front of the mirror, and learning the material you are presenting inside and out. The big presentation comes and you breeze through it confidently and calmly. You are about to finish up and just quickly ask the […]

Request Emails: Getting What You Want

Writing request emails Have you ever written request emails to a colleague and never received the information you needed? While it might be one of the most frustrating situations in business, the reality is that we have very little control over how people react to our requests. There are many different factors that can influence […]

Presentation Mistakes: 3 Ways to Handle Yours

We all make mistakes We all make presentation mistakes. Sometimes we don’t realize we’ve made them until it’s too late. Sometimes the presentation mistakes don’t get noticed by others, and sometimes they do. You may have experienced the following: you are in the middle of a presentation when you realize the information on your next […]

Email Phrases: Getting the Tone Right

Adapting your message It can be difficult to know what email phrases to use in your business emails. This depends on whom your audience is, and if the business situation is formal or informal.  You don’t want your emails to make a business partner uncomfortable, so it is important to use the correct email phrases […]

Acronyms and Abbreviations in Presentations

Be clear and consistent It can be very helpful to use acronyms and abbreviations on PowerPoint slides during a presentation.  This helps save time and space.  The key is to be clear as to what they represent, and then be consistent in using them.  A manager I train recently asked me to give feedback on […]

Someone Late for Meetings?: 3 Questions to Ask

When someone is always late Effective meetings can be tough to manage when everyone is on time.  What about when someone is always late for meetings?  Everyone in an organization knows that lateness can be a problem, but the topic of what to do if someone is consistently late for meetings is rarely discussed. Here, […]

Presentation Conclusions: Signal to the End

Strong start, strong finish A good presentation conclusion is a very important part of any presentation, and often not given as much attention as it should.  Many people focus on starting strong with a good introduction, and then delivering good content.  There is nothing wrong with this as long as they finish with the same […]

Evaluating an Idea: Quick Email Phrases

What do you think? Evaluating an idea without causing offense can be challenging at times. Often it is a colleague, client or your boss who wants to know what you think of an idea. Sometimes you think it’s great, sometimes you don’t, and sometimes you’re going to need to know more before you can respond. […]

Handling Complaints Quickly: Phrases to Help

Avoid having small issues escalate into big ones Handling complaints quickly can help your company avoid having small issues escalate into big ones. This summer I had the pleasure of taking my five year old to a well-known fun park on a beautiful, but scorching hot August day. For those of you who haven’t been […]

Reacting to Bad News: Tips for Email Phrases

Reacting to bad news Reacting to bad news in a prompt, well-written way can convey a powerful message: not only are you concerned about your business relationships, you also care about how your clients and colleagues are doing personally, too. If a client cancels a meeting because something unfortunate has happened in their lives, take […]