As you climb the corporate ladder, delivering a business presentation becomes one of the most important skills that you need to learn. A business presentation has to be informative, engaging, influencing, and entertaining at the same time. If one of these four key objectives are not covered well, the effectiveness of the presentation falls down immediately. [Read more…]
When “Start to” and “Decide to” Creep into Your Writing
by Barbara McNichol
Do you have a habit of starting a sentence with the word “start” or “begin”? In a 5,000-word document I recently edited, those two words appeared 14 times, while only five were deemed necessary to the meaning. That’s a lot of extra words!
To be more direct in your writing, skip the “start/begin” part and employ the phrase Nike made famous: Just do it!
These examples show how you can write a stronger statement by going straight to the action verb rather than “beginning” to go for it. [Read more…]
Make Educated Decisions When Choosing an Administrative Conference (Part 1 of 6)
Since there are so many administrative conferences being offered, I would like to walk you through a series of blogs on how to select the conference that is right for you, gain approval and how to get the most for your investment.
I am keeping these blogs to the point.
A conference should feed your brain and soul!
- Start with the end in mind. What is your goal or goals for going to a conference?
- Education wise? What skills do you need to grow? What new skills do you need to learn/develop? The problem with this is sometimes we don’t know what we need to develop. It’s called our blind spot.
- To network and meet new people?
- Learn best practices from peers?
- Learn best practices from subject matter experts?
- What is the value of the program? In other words, what are you getting for your money? Any extra events such as a welcome dinner?
Assistants . . . Looking for an Amazing Gift Idea?
Are you planning a corporate event at a beach resort? Or maybe just looking for a unique gift for your favorite client or special employee? As an assistant who has to occasionally (or often) search for client or holiday gifts, I know how hard it is to find a unique gift. It seems like the same old “stuff” pops up.
Well, I was fortunate to have Martha Liberti reach out to me a few months ago and tell me about her beautiful, customized Beach Bag Gifts. Seaglass—Beach Bag Gifts offers a designer beach bag stuffed (and I mean stuffed) with beach essentials (towels, beach blanket, water bottles and sun lotions) and wrapped with a handmade bow and real starfish! The finished product is a very classy way to say “Thank You.” Or “We greatly appreciate your business.” [Read more…]
A Collage of Success Tips
I just got back from a great 2 day event called Success Live. Maybe you saw my Facebook post… or not. This event was hosted by Success magazine. I have been reading Success magazine for years and find every issue is packed with valuable information and tons of inspiration! Well, the live event was the same.
I feel today is an especially important Monday to share these inspirational insights with you as we honor the lives lost on September 11, 2001 and think of the people affected by Hurricane Harvey and Irma this past weekend. In the midst of tragedy, we must never lose hope. If you are reading this Monday Motivator you must be ok so look for ways to uplift others. One way we uplift others is by elevating ourselves. I hope these people inspire you as much as they inspired me. [Read more…]
Navigate Controversial Topics In The Workplace
Imagine this scenario: You wander into the break room at lunch time to heat up your leftovers and perhaps grab a few minutes with a book or on social media. And then you overhear two co-workers, their voices rising a bit, talking about a controversial subject of the day, or week, or year.
It happens, right? There’s no avoiding people with different points of view, and some of those people don’t have good boundaries when it comes to sharing those viewpoints with others at work—regardless of differing beliefs. So how do you eat your lunch and not make enemies at the same time when those situations arise?
Well, for starters, your workplace should and can be the guide. If your workplace rules prohibit certain things, then you should follow those guidelines. You can also decide not to engage in those topics, or even try to best gauge your audience before you share any details. What other steps should you take? This graphic can help you navigate controversial topics in the workplace.
12 Strategies To Help You Cope With Change
As I’m sitting here on Friday afternoon catching my breath from a very busy week and working on my speeches for our Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence, I am reminded how change is more prevalent than ever in our lives. In the past week, I have personally been through lots of changes; my staff has gone through changes; family and good friends of mine are experiencing change; and the world is changing every day. I’m not saying they are necessarily bad changes. In fact, I have been experiencing some wonderful, good changes. The idea is . . . it’s still change.
I have been speaking on Thriving on Change or Optimizing Change for 27 years. Most of what I have said about “change” has NOT changed. I still use all the strategies I am sharing with you today and they all have worked in good times and in really horrible times.
Change is a part of life. If you do not learn to cope with it, you will be swallowed up by the wave of change. Below are specific strategies to help you cope. You may find that some strategies work better than others depending on the particular situation. Try them all. They are effective. [Read more…]
5 Tools to Help You Automate Your Work
One of the greatest advantages organizations achieves from automating various processes is saving time, among other resources. In the entire history of human development, the need to make work easier, faster and even cheaper comes naturally. This is what has led to various discoveries and developments of tools that automate work. Phenomenal examples include manufacturing, mechanized farming, retail, and many other sectors.
It is also evident that automation will continue to get more advanced with time and will expand to in scope and nature to touch fields that have not as much to write home about in regards to automation.
Social psychologists argue that the human brain tends to create short-cuts when it is faced with long and tedious tasks, for which decision after decision has to be made. Thus, by automating some tasks in the cause of the day, you make easier the processes that exhaust you mentally, physically and even psychologically. Choosing the right tool might mean selecting the best fax machine, which refers to choosing optimum working capacity for your work flow. The tools discussed here have the potential to give individuals and organizations a highly effective turnaround in work output and general achievement in tasks. [Read more…]
Is it ok to leave the office for lunch?
Each month we feature a question from our friends at Business Management Daily’s Admin Pro Forum. Please enjoy engaging in a conversation over this month’s question.
Question:“I’m starting to feel a little natural pressure to eat lunch at my desk—not because I’m so busy, and not because anyone’s recommended it, but just because there are so many people around me who do it, and I get the feeling that when I leave the building for lunch, there’s the perception that I’m not quite as dedicated as others are. Simply staying in my cubicle seems to give off the impression that I’ve never broken stride, even though I’m simply eating and browsing the web. Has anyone else felt this way? Do you think you gain points somehow when you stay desk-bound (but idle) at lunch as opposed to heading out?” – Maeve, Publishing Admin
Comment below, and send your own question to [email protected].
Downsize and Organize Your Digital Clutter
Physical clutter can damage your health. In a study done by the University of California Los Angeles, women who described their houses as cluttered, disorganized, disordered, or haphazard had daily patterns of the stress hormone cortisol that are normally associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic fatigue, and early mortality. These women were also more likely to feel depressed.
If you’ve ever spent a morning trying to track down a lost file on your hard drive or searching through a decade of email, you know that digital disorder can also take a toll on your well-being. Most people handle a constant flow of text messages, emails, photos, videos, and other digital information. When all that digital data piles up, it can slow you and your devices down. Keep reading for a step-by-step guide to downsizing and organizing your digital clutter. [Read more…]
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