ONLINE-MEETINGS – (repeat) One day I visited a small country museum. On the wall was an old,  faded, embroidered sampler with this message.         “Every meeting has four bones.         There are the wish bones – the ones who wish someone else will do all the work.         There are the jaw bones – who…

MEETINGS –         Your reputation can depend on how well you run a meeting.         Always ask yourself do you really need a meeting?  If you have good communication systems in place you will need fewer meetings.         Before you call a meeting answer several questions. “What type of meeting should we hold?” “What do…

MEDIA SUPPORT – Work for mutual benefit        Sooner or later you will need the support of the media to get your ideas and messages to your target audiences. To get this you need to understand the role of the media and the needs of reporters.         Both the print and the broadcast media are…

MEDIA INTERVIEWS – There will be times when you may need publicity for your cause or to refute a misunderstanding in a press story.         To get publicity you must understand the role of the media and the needs of reporters. Both the print and the broadcast media are in the business of making profits…

MANAGING SUCCESSFULLY –        Learn to ask simple questions and listen hard – especially to clients.        You are only as good as the staff you recruit and train so give a high priority to these tasks – don’t delegate these roles.        As a new manager, or section-leader, be prepared to ask for advice…

Managing Others – Inspiring WORKERS Before you can manage others you must learn to manage yourself.           Successful management requires  clarification of purpose, total commitment, and a first class team of workers.           Management is all about dealing with people – picking the right people, encouraging them, delegating to them and occasionally having a frank…

LISTENING – Good listeners are popular people.          You please more people by listening to them than by talking to them.          You cannot listen if you are doing all the talking – and if you are not listening you are not learning.          For better listening don’t talk so much and concentrate on what…

LETTERS to SELL –         First you must get the attention of your reader.         You must identify what they need and wants.         Aim to sell benefits not products!         Keep you message simple, brief and  make actions required simple, easy to read and to carry out. A Handful of Tips to help you…

LETTERS TO the EDITOR –           If you want to get free publicity for your idea or for an event  a letter published in a newspaper, or in a magazine can give you wide publicity.           A letter to the editor is a letter sent to a publication about issues of concern from its readers.…

LETTERS lll –  HANDLING COMPLAINTS – Complaints are not about you but usually about your organisation, so be graceful.         They should be polite and end in a friendly fashion.         If you respect your client  and handle a complaint honestly and fairly your business should grow. A Handful of Tips to deal with a…