communication
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How to Hold a Productive Project Status Meeting Status meetings let team members report what they’re doing and whether they’re hitting targets, and they help the project manager identify weaknesses early and make adjustments. Unfortunately, all too often these meetings are boring. They don't have to be! Read on for tips on making them productive. |
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The Art of Asking Questions Effectively to Get the Best AnswersAsking effective questions is a powerful skill. It can help you better understand your client’s problem, work with your staff more effectively, gather better information, defuse volatile situations, and reduce mistakes. So to get the most useful answers, think carefully about what questions you ask. |
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How to Present Your Ideas So They Have the Best Chance of Being Sold Have you ever proposed an important change and those in charge stubbornly refused to back your ideas? Consider whether it was because your proposal was one-sided, misdirected, or poorly packaged. To persuade managers, stakeholders, or customers to support your ideas, keep these points in mind. |
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How to Be a Likable CoworkerIf you want to succeed at work, likability matters. Being likable is a matter of displaying a positive attitude, having a sense of humor, offering an occasional compliment, expressing empathy, listening, and—of course—being a team player. Read on for tips on being more likable (or less unlikable). |
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To Give a Better Presentation, Don’t Read from Your SlidesWhen giving a presentation, reading the slides verbatim makes you look unprepared, inconsiderate, and unprofessional. And it’s the fastest way to get your audience to stop listening to you. Instead, replace any lengthy text with keywords. Read on for more tips about giving an engaging presentation. |
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Become a Skilled Problem Solver at WorkSome people view problem solving as jumping directly from the problem to the solution—not just to a solution, but to the solution. And sometimes that works. But with anything more than trivial problems, problem solving is a process. Especially at work, it's important to have a structured approach. |
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Make Sure You Aren't Killing Your Employees' MoralePoor morale is an energy zapper and leads to lack of cooperation, raw nerves, unproductivity, and, often, the loss of your best employees. But many managers either don't know or don't care that their behavior has a strong—and potentially negative—impact on their employees’ attitude and motivation. |
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For Agile Program Iterations, Short Is BeautifulFor programs, the risks are too high to have longer times between integration points and demos. Waiting too long increases potential delays, which increases risks. You want feature teams in your program working together, so you want short iterations and small stories connecting often and everywhere. | 
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