For those who fear public speaking, here’s an even more terrifying prospect: doing improv in front of a crowd. Yet that’s exactly what CEO Mark Fuller encourages employees to do through an improv class. “Improv, if properly taught, is really about listening to the other person, because there’s no script,” he says.
Workplace Communication
In an era of Casual Fridays and work-from-home colleagues, how can you maintain effective office communication in a changing business climate?
We’ll steer you through changes in business etiquette, and help you successfully navigate through the new realities of workplace conflict and office politics.
Wanting to be “right” can often take your career in the wrong direction. You become unlikeable. There’s a clear distinction between being an informative and engaging individual (very likeable qualities) and someone who always expresses her opinions as fact and needs to have the last word.
Many women struggle to answer the question: What makes you stand out at work? That’s what consultant and author Marcia Reynolds found as she was conducting 360-degree interviews for her executive clients. Tips to help you articulate your worth to your organization:
Friction often exists between HR and supervisors because those front-line bosses don’t fully understand your HR role … and they may hold certain stereotypes about your department. Advice: Set the stage for HR-management collaboration with an “HR for managers” meeting. Explain how key HR functions practically benefit managers and their departments.
Good friends are good for a lot of things, but not jobs, because they know the same folks you do. Connectors know lots of people and function the same way a node does in a computer network, routing reams of new data to the right recipients. How can you find these connectors?
You may think you've just penned the most brilliant correspondence of the year, but if it takes the recipient too long to wade through lengthy paragraphs, he'll never know how bright you are. Let's face it: Fancy-schmancy business-speak does not make for strong business writing.
You may not be comfortable when it comes to negotiating your own pay and perks, so lay out your case using these 10 negotiation tips. From opening offers to the handshake that seals the deal, here's how to make your case and get the rewards you deserve.
Employee focus groups are a good way you can uncover issues affecting productivity and retention. Use the following steps to organize your focus groups without excessive red tape or cost:
The kids on the small floating village of Koh Panyee in Thailand had a problem: Though their village held not an inch of soil, they were determined to start a soccer team and play the game they spent hours watching on television ... Now the Panyee Football Club is regarded as one of Southern Thailand’s best soccer teams.
It took Apollo 12 astronauts Alan Bean and Pete Conrad exactly two tries to figure out the equation for teamwork on the lunar surface. Lesson: Teamwork takes practice. Don’t expect it to go perfectly the first time.
