An interesting news story broke on Tuesday, August 29, in the Dallas/Fort Worth area: A large provider of jobs, RadioShack, delivered lay-off notifications to 403 individuals by email. No tap on the shoulder from a supervisor… no HR representative hovering near the cubicle…just an email saying that the recipient no longer had a job and [...]
You may have heard this adage to writers with a stuffy style, who fill their documents with “please be advised,” “pursuant to our meeting,” and “enclosed herewith.” Generally, “to write as you talk” is good advice. But misunderstood, that advice leads to rambling prose. Instead of a period, writers often succumb to a confusing habit [...]
Please add Bill Marvel’s article, "Writing won’t kill you" (August 21, Dallas Morning News) to your reading list for today. The article offers eight strong tips selected from several authors (myself included) and educators to help you deliver a clear message each time you write. As I blogged in my previous post, I am in [...]
On August 20-25, 2006, senior HR executives, managers, and general professionals from all over Central and South America will gather in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for the annual CONARH conference. Their theme this year is "Transforming to Compete." I’ll be delivering the closing keynote on Tuesday, addressing strategies to improve both personal and organizational communication. In [...]
I’ve experienced the sales game from both sides of the table: making hundreds of presentations to sell our services, and hearing hundreds more from those trying to sell me something. If the parade of presentations goes on for a few hours, buyers grow weary. What can you do to your presentation to overcome your buyer’s [...]
Concise is good. Clarity is better. I hate those four-minute voicemails as much as the next person. But some people have an annoying habit of condensing details at the wrong time, resulting in incomplete information, errors, and hours of rework. A simple illustration from this week’s travel makes my point: I checked into the hotel [...]
I spoke with Alisha Wyman of the Union Democrat (CA) on August 11 about how electronic media has changed how we communicate. Whether we use email, cell phones, a Blackberry—or any other of the myriad of electronic options—we’ve all played a role in the evolution of information sharing. Review the full communication article here. Send [...]
Check the New York Times (August 6) for Matt Villano’s article based on our recent interview regarding effective resignation letters (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/business/yourmoney/06advi.html). Is it worth it to spend extra time crafting an effective, thoughtful resignation letter even though you are on the way out? The answer is yes—unless you’re in the habit of burning bridges. The [...]
Why won’t the latest celebrity flap go away? Such situations calling for a public apology come and go about once a month. Some movie star, athlete, or politician gets caught shoplifting, driving while drunk, doing drugs, having an affair, uttering prejudicial slurs over an open mic, or taking a bribe and the public becomes outraged [...]
