Communication

Breaking bad news in writing

November 5, 2015
Follow these science-backed tips to take the sting out of a written message that brings bad news.

Tips for managing your friends

October 20, 2015
When you work together, it’s easy to become friends. When you become the manager, those relationships change.

Are you reading your employees’ ‘tells’?

October 19, 2015
By deciphering clues from their words and their eyes, you can vastly improve your communication with them.

Give advice that counts

September 17, 2015
You have the knowledge. Your employees can benefit from it. Now comes the tricky task of communicating so that your advice makes a difference.

Start using these awful business buzzwords before someone else steals your thunder

September 15, 2015
For those craving a buzzword fix because it’s been more than two weeks since a new one shimmered into being on a PowerPoint slide, help yourself to these emergency rations.

Praise: It’s all in the timing

September 14, 2015
Deep down, you know you should praise your employees more often. Rather than fret about the frequency of praise, consider your timing. You may compliment when you’re in a good mood, to grease the skids before you criticize, or when you happen to think of it. Those are not necessarily the best times. Consider these factors.

Beware the lure of exclamation points!

September 10, 2015
Hold it right there!! Don’t stop reading this, because every line is important! Why?!

The many deep issues sparked by a simple ‘Achoo!’

September 8, 2015
At work, the post-sneeze moment can be a strangely telling one. As if you didn’t already have enough on your plate, now’s the perfect time to become hyperaware of its ramifications …

Train a mumbler to enunciate

September 2, 2015
Q. I’ve got a great employee with one flaw. She mumbles on the phone. Because much of her job requires phone negotiation (she’s an insurance claim adjuster), she runs into problems when people have trouble understanding her. How can I help her? — Jay, Ohio

Office civility: Can that please be a thing again?

August 31, 2015
The three criteria for polite communication that we probably learned as kids haven’t changed one iota since then—so why have so many on the staff never been able to internalize them?