Articles tagged  "communication"

Are Your Conversations Cooperative? Follow These Four Maxims

By Don Crawley  |  February 28, 2013 4:58 pm

When we’re talking with an end-user or a customer, we want to ensure our conversations are effective, that they make good use of our time and that of our customer or end-user. One way to ensure that conversations are effective is to ensure they are cooperative, a process of give-and-take. Paul Grice was a professor at the University of California at Berkeley and a philosopher of language who identified four maxims of conversation that describe the elements of successful conversation.

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How to Avoid the Wrath of a Grammando: Commonly Misused and Abused Words

By Don Crawley  |  June 7, 2013 5:03 pm

There are grammar Nazis in our midst. I don’t think of myself as such, but there are a few spelling and grammar errors that make my skin crawl. There are others out there like me. When you’re providing customer service or technical support, when you’re applying for a job, doing business, or otherwise working with someone who shares my distaste for such grievous infractions as spelling your when you mean you’re, this simple guide may help keep your reputation intact. (Oh, that was a seriously long run-on sentence!) For many people, proper spelling and grammar is not an issue. For the people to whom it matters, it really matters. By simply being aware, it’s not hard to do it right.

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How to Lose Your Audience: 5 Easy Keys to Giving an Absolutely Awful Speech

By Don Crawley  |  June 11, 2013 6:58 pm

As IT professionals and customer service reps, we’re sometimes called upon to give a presentation to a group of end-users, customers, colleagues, or some other group of people. I recently had an experience that made me want to write a blog post on what not to do when speaking in public.

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How to Win Your Audience: 6 Easy Tips for Giving a Great Speech

By Don Crawley  |  June 21, 2013 5:43 pm

In a recent blog post, I ranted about how to be a terrible speaker. Now, let’s turn it around. Here are six easy tips for giving a great speech or presentation.

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How to Talk to a CEO; Communication Skills for the Helpdesk

By Don Crawley  |  August 7, 2013 4:09 pm

I recently spoke with a client who is concerned about how some of his staff members speak to CEOs. He owns an IT consulting firm with a variety of clients and is worried about his consultants’ communication skills. His consultants are required to interact with various individuals both on the phone and at client locations. He is concerned that some of the consultants’ language choices are inappropriate for dealing with clients, especially when the client in question is a C-level executive.

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Success in Marriage and the Help Desk: Some of the Same Human Relations Concepts Apply

By Don Crawley  |  August 20, 2013 5:27 pm

I spend a lot of time thinking about human relationships. After all, I write books and blogs on human relations, I teach human relations workshops and seminars for IT people, and it’s generally a big part of my life. I think a lot about how we get along, how we don’t get along, what makes …

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There’s a new Compassionate Geek coming soon, very soon

By Don Crawley  |  September 17, 2013 5:20 pm

I’m very excited to announce the upcoming release of a major update to The Compassionate Geek. I’ve added a lot of new material, including reflection and discussion exercises at the end of chapter and more human stories about overcoming difficulty through perspective, tenacity, and strength of will. It’s scheduled for release on November 1 and …

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