If you've noticed a lack of "cubicle etiquette" around the office lately, distribute the following "good neighbor" checklist to your co-workers. Example: Don't be an office prairie dog. Instead of popping your head over the top of a partition, walk around it to see your neighbor.

Sticking to outdated grammar rules could be getting in the way of your business writing, says trainer Fred Kniggendorf. For starters, Kniggendorf says ignore these four grammar rules:

It's almost performance review time, and you want to bring up issues with your boss about co-workers but not sound like a griper? Liz Ryan, a workplace expert, gives her advice on how to speak up during a review:

You dread going to work. The problem isn’t your job, which you love. But your boss makes you miserable. Here’s how to fight off intimidation and get support when you need it most ...

Using PowerPoint visuals that only Einstein could decipher doesn't make the presenter look smarter. Complicated visuals will cause an audience to focus less on what the presenter is saying and more on trying to figure out the images. Here are seven rules for keeping visuals clear and powerful:

Gather everyone in your office—or on your team if you work for a large company—for a quick morning huddle to create a more efficient company culture. Morning meetings work for a lot of companies, according to a recent article in Inc. 

Sara feels like retreating into her shell whenever a certain VP, with his bellowing baritone of a voice, talks to her. Sam shuts down in meetings when an opinionated co-worker dominates the conversation. Feeling intimidated is like having a heavy chain around your ankle. Here are some tips for combating the feeling.

Your boss asked you to prepare a spreadsheet for a meeting the next day. It took a couple of hours and some shuffling of priorities, but you did it. When you arrive at the meeting, though, your boss handed you a spreadsheet that someone else created. Should you tell your boss how frustrated you are?

Imagine sitting in a staff meeting, and every time you offer a suggestion someone looks at you and shakes her head. Or a co-worker consistently “forgets” to invite you to meetings. It may seem trivial, but belittling behavior—or bullying—can take a toll, especially when it occurs over and over again.

The time-waster meeting is a common fixture in offices across America. The reason, says Reid Hastie, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, is that we’re not thinking about and valuing our time the right way.

If your boss is typical, he’s looking for ways to tell the team “thanks.” Appreciation is one of the few, affordable ways to retain and motivate. Help him put sentiments down on paper with these tips:

Thanks to Google’s policy of allowing employees time each week to work on pet projects, the company is forever unleashing new tools to improve your googleability. These four new tools could make you more fluent, more efficient and better-informed.

Listeners, and even questioners, often don’t notice answers that sidestep questions. It’s called “conversational blindness.” Two Harvard researchers found that listeners don’t hear answers critically and even prefer speakers who answer the wrong question well over those who answer the right question poorly.

It’s a myth that good work makes a good career—rather, good office politics makes a good career, says career columnist Penelope Trunk. Here’s how to use office politics in building your career:

 

With the economy slowing down, now is the best time to fine-tune your LinkedIn or Facebook profile, fleshing out the blank spaces and figuring out how to take advantage of those social networking sites. Here are a few tips.

Do you know when to use the term "complement" vs. "compliment," "bad" vs. "badly," "less" vs. "fewer" or "between" vs. "among"? Here's how to use these terms properly:

Admin Brooke Wiseman knew that administrative professionals in her company weren’t being used in the most productive ways. For example, some shared the same title but had wide variations in duties. Her goal was to bring more value to the company by turbocharging the partnerships between executives and their assistants. Here’s how she did it.

Swine flu is casting a shadow of concern over public transportation agencies as health departments prepare people for the risk of a pandemic. So far, health officials in the United States are saying public transportation still is safe for travelers. The lingering question: How long can public transportation agencies continue to lay claim to operating disease-free transit systems?

Want a more creative office environment? Then celebrate the diversity and differences among co-workers.

Why do some people always seem to be successful at getting what they want? It’s their use of the power of persuasion, says Laurie Puhn, author of Instant Persuasion.

One of the best ways to come up with creative ideas is to hold a “greenhousing” session where ideas are nurtured before they’re judged, says Dave Lewis, who runs ?What if! The Innovation Company.

It’s just too tempting to make your words purposely unclear. You might allow underperformers to stay on the payroll without ever telling them what you want or expect. You might even pat them on the back. But that kind of dishonesty hurts the whole enterprise.

Anytime you thrust people together, whether work related or family related, you come across a “toxic taker.” Toxic takers poison your environment, and you need to take action against them. Here are some survival tactics.

Whether you're dining with peers at a convention or meeting with a vendor, lunch etiquette can keep you from marring your image with a faux pas. Here are five etiquette rules for business meals ...

Sure, there’s Evite.com. But have you checked out the competition in online invitations lately?