Office Communication

When you have to deliver bad news to someone, follow this protocol that medical doctors use to tell patients about dire prognoses:

When you hear "negotiation," what comes to mind? When I ask this question at seminars, women often respond: men in suits arguing and yelling; buying a car; attorneys. When I ask how many women enjoy negotiating, only a few hands go up. Yet in reality, women are born to negotiate.

In business writing, bullet points often replace regular old paragraphs, with good reason: Readers can scan them faster. Stick to these standards for using bullets effectively:

Here are six common communication mistakes that people—especially professional women—make in the workplace, according to communications consultant and Business Management Daily contributor, Colette Carlson:

Being an effective manager means confronting those “challenging” employees who, while typically good at their jobs, too often display unprofessional or downright obnoxious behavior. The best way to tackle such problems is to meet with employees right when you spot the problem behavior. Follow these guidelines, which have the side benefit of protecting the organization from employee claims that they weren’t treated fairly.

Is it “100” or “one hundred”? Know how to express a number in your business writing with these rules from Daily Writing Tips:

“A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours are wasted.” This old saying may be true in many cases, but it doesn’t have to be that way. A bit of preparation, discipline and solid follow-up can help you conduct more productive and focused meetings. Here are 11 guidelines.

It doesn’t help anyone if you say “yes” to every project while knowing you can’t possibly complete all the work. How can you set boundaries more assertively with your boss, without coming across as incapable or rude, when you're asked to take on yet another assignment? 7 tips:

Imagine you've just opened an email, and you see that it's four lengthy paragraphs. Do you read it? Scan it? Close it quickly? Try these guidelines for writing short, effective email.

In the age of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, the rules of social engagement have shifted ever so slightly. A few tips on building rapport online: