Don’t Be ‘That Guy’
The 3 Cardinal Rules of
2. Write like a human being. Many professionals assume that the need for brevity means they can get away with short, robotic messages. Managers are especially guilty of this, sending out single-sentence messages in all lowercase letters with no emotion. We get it; you’re busy. But it’s worth taking an extra moment of your time to craft an email that carries the human element as well. It’s important to take a professional tone and to keep communication brief, but you can still write, to some degree, like you talk. This will show recipients that you take communicating with them seriously. 3. For the love of all that is holy, reply to the emails you receive. Again, you’re busy, and you’ve got to prioritize your work, but consistently ignoring emails is a clear sign of negligence and will make you unpopular among your coworkers. If you don’t have time to think of a clear answer, a simple confirmation that you
The average businessperson reads and composes more than 120 emails every day, but there’s an overwhelming amount of business emails that seem to be written with no apparent regard for the reader. A massive chunk of people’s workdays is wasted wading through irrelevant, unclear, or incomprehensible messages. To remedy this issue, it’s vital to understand the keys to effective online communication, both to stem the tide of annoying and unnecessary emails and to protect your reputation as a professional. Here are three rules for effective email communication. 1. Tighten it up. When your message is sitting in an inbox packed with dozens of others, it’s essential to respect your reader’s time. Make the contents of the message clear from a glance at the subject line. Your subject line is what will draw the attention of the recipient — or lead them to skip over it altogether — so be specific and relevant. In the body of the email, your reason for emailing, as well as all the important points, should be immediately clear. Keep it as concise and as transparent as possible.
The Power of ‘Mindset’ How Being Open to Growth Leads to Success
For decades, Dr. Carol S. Dweck studied the phenomena of success. How is it that some people are able to grow their business, stay fit, or achieve their personal goals while others in similar situations stall out? “Mindset” is Dr. Dweck’s answer to this question. Subtitled “The New Psychology of Success,” this book chronicles the Stanford psychologist’s findings, which suggest an inseparable link between belief and achievement. According to Dr. Dweck, people tend to think about the challenges in front of them in one of two ways. They either have a “fixed” mindset — believing that their talents and abilities are static, intrinsic properties of who they are — or a “growth” mindset — believing they can improve every aspect of themselves with practice and perseverance. Those who approach life's hurdles as an opportunity for growth are the ones who find long-term success. If you’ve ever said “I’m just not good at math” or “I’m not a natural leader,” you’ve fallen into the fixed mindset trap. If you believe there’s nothing you can do to change your circumstances, you’ll never strive to improve them.
The same is true of positive fixed opinions of yourself. Dr. Dweck points out that those who believe themselves to be “a great boss” or “an amazing athlete” are also doing themselves a disservice. Once you think your skills are tied to who you are as a person, you’ll avoid challenging them for fear they might be found wanting. Dr. Dweck argues that, instead of falling victim to the pessimism and self-delusion that defines fixed mindset thinking, we need to recognize that the path to success lies in open-minded perseverance. “A person’s true potential is unknown (and unknowable),” she says. “It’s impossible to foresee what can be accomplished with years of passion, toil, and training.” Not only does “Mindset” drive this point home with well-documented experiments and studies, but it also provides a workshop to help people break free of their fixed mindset and find success.
2 • www.JayConner.com • PO Box 1276, Morehead City, NC 28557
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