This book demonstrates the power of writing in informal and formal organizations in the past and the present. It shows how writing, despite long lasting criticisms that can be traced back to Plato, and in spite of its frequent definition as a mere recording medium is in fact a creative mode of communication that supports the expression of emotions, the developing knowledge, and the building of strong communities among faraway individuals. The first part of the book illustrates how this has been true historically. The focus on writing as a fundamental mode of communication - the other being speech or the oral mode - is still important in our technology-infused world, where writing seems to have been reduced to short cryptic text messages or tweets. Precisely because of their heavy reliance on technology, current practices are in need of a deeper understanding that focus on deep as opposed to surface features and unveil the four essential mechanisms - objectification, reflecting, specifying, and addressing - that give writing its creative powers. In the second part of the book, we use contemporary case studies and interviews to illustrate how shifting our focus from the media to the mode of communication and focusing on the mechanisms of writing allows us to go beyond current debates about the capabilities of various communication media and to understand better today's communicative practices. This book is an attempt to unveil the powers of writing as well as to highlight the implications for organizations of the potential loss of these powers in today's world where writing-based distributed collaborations, interpersonal relationships, and online communities are key sources of innovation and support for individuals and organizations.

The key to success in life and business is to become a master at Conversational Intelligence. It's not about how smart you are, but how open you are to learn new and effective powerful conversational rituals that prime the brain for trust, partnership, and mutual success. Conversational Intelligence translates the wealth of new insights coming out of neuroscience from across the globe, and brings the science down to earth so people can understand and apply it in their everyday lives. Author Judith Glaser presents a framework for knowing what kind of conversations trigger the lower, more primitive brain; and what activates higher-level intelligences such as trust, integrity, empathy, and good judgment. Conversational Intelligence makes complex scientific material simple to understand and apply through a wealth of easy to use tools, examples, conversational rituals, and practices for all levels of an organization.

Giving good presentations is not just common sense. Cognitive neuroscientist Stephen M. Kosslyn shows how to make presentations work better based on how our brains work. Where many books focus on how to create a first draft, Better PowerPoint gives you quick steps to improve one you already have.
. 8 key rules that are easy to remember and use
. Clear principles about how to design effective slides based on well-established scientific data
. Quick steps to sharpen and strengthen your presentation
. Easy-to-use checklists guide you through each aspect of your presentation
. Chapters are structured to help you prioritize the most effective edits
. Memorable examples and illustrations to show what works, and what doesn't
. Lessons in what to fix can also help you create better first drafts faster.
If you have a PowerPoint presentation that is not giving you the results you want, take advantage of what scientific research can tell you about how your audience is seeing and thinking about what you have to say."

Filled with real-life e-mail success (and horror) stories and a wealth of entertaining examples, "Send" reveals the hidden minefields and pitfalls of e-mail. Now with a new Preface by the authors, "Send" is more than ever the essential book about e-mail for businesspeople and professionals everywhere.

Why is it that many women believe that working with other women is harder than working with men? A clue: it's not because women actually are harder to work with. After decades of working to help women to succeed at work, Andie Kramer and Al Harris noticed the same thing over and over again: Women's relationships with other women are causing conflict in the workplace and this is hindering careers across the board. Their research demonstrates that at the root of these clashes lie stereotypes, toxic assumptions and societal expectations about how women should behave. Through extensive research and hundreds of interviews, Andie and Al have identified the most fraught scenarios of women working for, working with, supervising, and collaborating with other women. It's Not You, It's the Workplace provides practical, immediately usable techniques that will allow women to develop strong networks that will foster their career success and organizations to structure their policies and practices - unlocking the potential of women in team situations. The companies that succeed in the future will be those where bias no longer blocks women's career satisfaction or advancement to leadership.

Straight-talk at work Grumblings in offices everywhere suggest that we crave more, but don't get often enough of it. "Beyond Bullsh*t" reveals the dynamics of bullsh*t and why it has become the corporate etiquette of choice. It also explains how telling it straight contributes to personal well-being and business success.
After decades of research and consulting, Samuel A. Culbert is convinced that straight-talk at work "is" possible. But it requires more than luck and willing people. Straight-talk is the product of thoughtful, caring relationships, built upon trust and commitment. There's no greater contribution to operational effectiveness and success than conversations in which people with conflicting viewpoints discuss their differences forthrightly.
Readers will be engaged and delighted as the text demystifies the obstacles to getting beyond bullsh*t and guides them in developing straight-talk relationships. Further details are available at www.straighttalkatwork.com.

It doesn't matter how smart your idea is. If you aren't in sync with the decision maker's mindset, you are bound to fail. That's the message of "The 5 Paths to Persuasion". This revolutionary new book shows how one can project key decision makers into one of five basic categories - Charismatics, Thinkers, Skeptics, Followers, and Controllers. Once you know which category the decision maker falls into, you can quickly determine which is the best pathway to follow when making your presentation.

"[Think on Your Feet] is a helpful maven's guide ideal for anyone who views a podium with fear and trembling."-Publishers Weekly Get out of your own way! Our professional lives are full of situations outside of our control. A job interviewer asks a question out of left field. A coworker puts you on the spot in front of the boss. Your PowerPoint presentation crashes at a critical moment. Most people react to the unexpected with anxiety and unease. We get rattled, stumble over our words, and overthink the situation. Others, though, handle it with self-assurance and aplomb. They gain a sense of empowerment and energy when the pressure is on. Like great improv actors, they're able to think on their feet. The great thing is, improv isn't about winging it or flying by the seat of your pants; improv at its core is about listening and responding. It's based on rules and techniques, and it taps directly into your soft communication skills. By incorporating it into your prep work for professional situations, you'll learn how to retrain your brain for the unexpected and get out of your own way in those unexpected-and expected-professional situations. Practicing improv isn't about being funny. Instead, it's about developing the mental agility to spin any surprise in your favor and to communicate with confidence. Filled with engaging improv activities, this interactive guide will ensure you never come away from a tough moment pondering the woulda, coulda, shoulda! again. You'll learn how to nurture your personal style for communicating in every professional situation. From effective listening in the office, giving presentations, and leading meetings to negotiating a raise, acing an interview, and more, you'll start communicating with confidence and stop letting the unexpected hold you back. Take your workplace communication-and your career-to the next level by mastering the art of Thinking on Your Feet.

People buy more and buy more happily when in good humor. Understanding humor and being able to effectively use it for your sales and persuasion purposes is a powerful advantage--for any speaker, salesman or writer."
Drawn from 30 years' experience as a popular professional speaker, author of 13 books, columnist and advertising copywriter, Dan Kennedy looks at humor as an instrument of persuasion and influence. Anyone--amateur--or pro--who must stand and deliver speeches, seminars, group sales presentations, serve as toastmaster, or write advertisements, sales letters or newsletters will find fodder here, to be faster on their feet, more confident and adept at being funny with a purpose. The book contains thoughtful insight but also simple shortcuts. Reading it, you'll get a better appreciation for the humor around you and humor professionals who entertain you, and you'll exit stage left with humor strategies and tricks you can use. Even if you're not all that funny. Note: this book contains adult material and may not be suitable for minors. Or for the easily offended.
From the author. . .
"I first titled this book "Mugging for Fun and Profit," but then thought better of it. Reminds me of Napoleon Hill being threatened by his publisher with the title 'Use Your Noodle To Get The Boodle, ' which Hill transformed to 'Think And Grow Rich.' Overnight. The power of a deadline and desperation. And one of the all-time bestselling books on the subject of success the result. Anyway, unless you are just doing to hit 'em over the head and drag them out into the desert to empty their pockets, I'd suggest, you need to know how to make 'em laugh.

Addressing the unique difficulties involved in day-to-day project management communication, The Project Manager s Communication Toolkit provides proven methods for creating clear and effective communications including text-based plans, reports, messages, and presentations. It examines the many tools available and goes beyond traditional coverage to define their proper use and application.

Using language that s easy to understand, the author explains how to determine the appropriate tools for specific communication needs. This time-saving resource provides the understanding to harness the power of everyday communication, such as email and PowerPoint(r) to:

• Gain control over project parameters
• Overcome conflict
• Create effective project plans, charters, and statements of work

Considering that most projects fail due to lapses in communication, it is essential for project managers to understand how to communicate their plans and ideas clearly and effectively. Complete with numerous examples and case studies, this book provides the understanding required to select the right tools, as well as the insight to use those tools effectively in a wide range of real-world situations.

Praise for:

... a slam dunk in providing the reader a foundation, emphasizing various tools, techniques; and in which situations they should be applied. The case studies further challenge the day-to-day situations one may face; providing techniques that work Anyone that has been part of a project team will benefit from this book.
Lisa Holowiak, Quality Assurance Specialist, Pfizer, in PM World Today, Vol. XII, Issue X

a valuable resource for program and project managers at all levels and all industries. Shankar very successfully managed very large and complex projects for my organization utilizing many of these tools and techniques.
Nancy Couture, V. P. Enterprise Intelligence, Ingenix

Why do people like you, or trust you? Why do they hire you, or follow you?

This book shows that it's all in your "Likeability" and "Credibility" qualities. Lovas and Holloway explore and expose these qualities, and show you how to systematically improve both. If you want to improve your results with people, you need to understand how those people perceive you. That's where Likeability and Credibility become vital to you. This is a must-read for every professional interested in achieving greater success

Michael Lovas and Pam Holloway are authors of several popular programs and books including, "Face Values: How to read people and adjust your presentation to connect with them in less than three minutes " Find more of their fascinating resources at: www.aboutpeople.com.

Most research on corporate communication has concentrated on positivist approaches, leading to a limited view. This book reviews extant corporate communication theory from discourse and strategy-as-practice perspectives, expanding the picture by more communicational aspects. It proposes an integrative framework of alternative corporate communication as a key contribution to corporate communication theory.

Straight-talk at work Grumblings in offices everywhere suggest that there is not much that we crave more, but don't get often enough. Beyond Bullsh*t reveals the dynamics of bullsh*t and why it has become the corporate etiquette of choice. It also explains how telling it straight contributes to personal well-being and business success. This book is for people who wonder what it's going to take to get rid of the constant deception and obfuscation that, at the end of the work day, leaves them feeling beaten up, confused, and even a little dirty. It is also for the people greeting them at home, wondering, What's going on that takes such a toll? Pressed for an answer, many explain it's all the bullsh*t I have to endure. Even people who disdain deception find themselves involved in it. They bullsh*t at work. After decades of research and consulting, Samuel A. Culbert is convinced that straight-talk at work is possible. But it requires more than luck and willing people. Straight-talk is the product of thoughtful, caring relationships built upon trust and a commitment to look out for one another's success. Culbert describes this brand of truthfulness as a caring, other-sensitive, candor-on-demand, loyalty-producing, intimacy-escalating, give-and-take relationship, leading to enhanced personal and organizational productivity. From an organizational perspective, there's no greater contribution to operational effectiveness and success than conversations in which people with conflicting viewpoints discuss their differences forthrightly. Readers will find this book personal--which is unusual for a business book; they will think that many of the stories are about them.They will be engaged and delighted as the text demystifies the obstacles to getting beyond bullsh*t, and guides them in developing straight-talk relationships at work. N.B.: One pending blurb--Robert Sutton

An engaging guide on how to develop and hone your professional communication and influencing skills in the digital age In a world where human interactions and behaviour are more pivotal than ever to business success, Working With Influence sets out nine easy-to-apply principles, based on robust behavioural science, for influencing people and outcomes in both physical and digital working scenarios. It provides ambitious professionals with a set of actionable principles which will help them kick-start, accelerate or transform their careers. Technology has redefined almost every job and is becoming the primary medium through which we interact with colleagues and clients - this book provides crucial insights into how you can influence others and stand out in this new digital landscape. With the hugely competitive and unpredictable nature of the job market and the unstable economy, it is more important than ever to improve your communication skills and broader qualitative skillset to ensure a prosperous career in the 21st century. This book's insightful principles are drawn from first-hand research findings and behavioural science data. Each chapter includes a wide range of relevant, applied workplace examples, as well as tools to help readers build their own action plans. Packed with practical guidance and psychological research, Working With Influence is the modern guide for anyone looking to improve their communication, networking and drive in business.

Is Your Networking Net Working? is the how-to guide for professionals and entrepreneurs to become their own center of influence using a unique and exciting business networking strategy. Like it or not, everyone needs to meet more people. Professionals, entrepreneurs, and business owners need to network in order to get their name, face, product, or service out in front of the public. They need a constant flow of new, quality prospects and clients in order to become a high-profile, sought-after, respected professional. Financial service professional John Dade emphasizes the importance of business networking to business and income growth. He reveals how it doesn't have to be a chore or stressful endeavor. Is Your Networking Net Working? serves as a step by step guide for readers to build their own networking group based on their likes and passions and how to become their own center of influence and Go To Person. For anyone looking for a way to network, or even those who think they aren't the networking type, this guide helps them build relationships and get better results.

It's no good having a good idea if you cannot communicate it to someone else. John Simmons, in this stimulating and readable book, demonstrates how we can write and use words more creatively and persuasively in business today. From differentiating your company from another, to injecting life and vibrancy into your products and services, to writing everyday emails, this cult business book by the modern-day guru of business writing (now released as a new 21st anniversary edition) shows ways in which we can use words to gain competitive advantage in business life through "tone of voice". John Simmons' method of writing powerfully for business is based on his "WE, ME, THEM and IT" model, which over the past 25 years has been adopted by tens of thousands of marketers and other professionals around of the world. Simmons argues that effective business writing is about learning to love writing and words, and bringing more of our real selves to working life.

Today, social media offers an alternative broadcast and communication medium for nonprofit advocacy organizations. At the same time, social media ushers in a "noisy" information era that renders it more difficult for nonprofits to make their voices heard. This book seeks to unpack the prevalence, mechanisms, and ramifications of a new model for nonprofit advocacy in a social media age. The keyword for this new model is attention. Advocacy always starts with attention: when an organization speaks out on a cause, it must ensure that it has an audience and that its voice is heard by that audience; it must ensure that current and potential supporters are paying attention to what it has to say before expecting more tangible outcomes. Yet the organization must also ensure that advocacy does not end with attention: attention should serve as a springboard to something greater. The authors elaborate how attention fits into contemporary organizations' advocacy work and explain the key features of social media that are driving the quest for attention. Developing conceptual models, they explain why some organizations and messages gain attention while others do not. Lastly, the book explores how organizations are weaving together online and offline efforts to deliver strategic advocacy outcomes.

If you are a manager who receives the results of any data analyst's work to help with your decision-making, this book is for you. Anyone playing a role in the field of analytics can benefit from this book as well. In the two decades the editors of this book spent teaching and consulting in the field of analytics, they noticed a critical shortcoming in the communication abilities of many analytics professionals. Specifically, analysts have difficulty in articulating in business terms what their analyses showed and what actionable recommendations were made. When analysts made presentations, they tended to lapse into the technicalities of mathematical procedures, rather than focusing on the strategic and tactical impact and meaning of their work. As analytics has become more mainstream and widespread in organizations, this problem has grown more acute. Data Analytics: Effective Methods for Presenting Results tackles this issue. The editors have used their experience as presenters and audience members who have become lost during presentation. Over the years, they experimented with different ways of presenting analytics work to make a more compelling case to top managers. They have discovered tried and true methods for improving presentations, which they share. The book also presents insights from other analysts and managers who share their own experiences. It is truly a collection of experiences and insight from academics and professionals involved with analytics. The book is not a primer on how to draw the most beautiful charts and graphs or about how to perform any specific kind of analysis. Rather, it shares the experiences of professionals in various industries about how they present their analytics results effectively. They tell their stories on how to win over audiences. The book spans multiple functional areas within a business, and in some cases, it discusses how to adapt presentations to the needs of audiences at different levels of management.

Bestselling author and psychologist Adrian Furnham takes a critical and challenging view of the jargon and current fads in management contained in manifestos, mantras and mission statements and shows how these often obscure and mystify. In this latest book he turns his skeptical attention to such topics as atmospherics, blame culture, compulsory training, fundamentalist gurus, integrity tests, networming, personality of organizations, and uncertainty avoidance.

One wrong move can undercut your message. Believe it or not, our bodies speak louder than our words. Postures, gestures, and expressions convey reams of information--and often not what you'd expect. A smile, for example, is usually considered welcoming. But crook one corner of your mouth higher and you project superiority, subconsciously chasing other people away. Without Saying a Word explains how even the subtlest motions have meaning. Distilling decades of research, the book deciphers these unspoken signals: from facial expressions and fleeting micro expressions to positive and negative body language. Discover which postures and gestures indicate confidence and build rapport--and which reveal disinterest, arrogance, or even aggression. Learn to end off-putting habits, accentuate good ones, and become an authentic and effective communicator. Exhibiting body language that is open, honest, and self-assured increases your social influence and enhances your skill as a negotiator . . . while the ability to read the emotions and intentions of others is equally indispensable. Whether you're making a presentation, pitching a project, or closing a deal, the right body language can be your best ally.

All teamwork is grounded on effective communication. Project Communication enables project managers, leaders of project teams and team members to get their ideas heard, facilitate effective teamwork, create a culture of openness and creative thinking--in short, a culture of effective communication within their team. . The book opens with an orientation on what group dynamics and interpersonal communication entail, particularly in terms of management teams. It then guides the reader on a personal journey whereby different theories and concepts in group dynamics, communication and project team management are gradually introduced. Readers are encouraged to use the book to explore and improve their personal communication style, with the aim of sustaining growth and development within project teams and their respective organisations. Project Communication is an ideal companion to professionals, specialists, and project managers who are leading or working in teams within all types of organisations, businesses, NGOs and governmental and transnational institutions. The book should be of interest to all those who want to use psychological knowledge to improve their teams. It is also a practical guide that can be used as a training course in interpersonal communication in general, with a special focus on project teams.

The millennial generation is unique in various ways, particularly with regard to their career aspirations and expectations. Due to their reputation as "job hoppers," recruiting millennials is not enough. Retention of a millennial workforce is imperative for organizational success and longevity. This book explores the expectations held by millennials and the ways in which they differ from those of past generations. It covers a broad range of topics including onboarding, work/life balance, stress, retention after a crisis, boredom, internships, and how employers can best leverage mobile platforms for increased engagement.

"This book is an immensely useful guide to the use of cultural intelligence at work. Cultural intelligence is the individual's capacity for successful work and social adaptation to new cultural settings, and indeed to any unfamiliar social environment. Part I details the various components of cultural intelligence. Part II provides realistic, practical, culture-sensitive stories from intercultural work settings. It describes how leading multicultural organizations deal with cultural diversity, how to create high performing international teams, how to improve job assignments to other cultures, how to deal with a diverse work force, and how to lead people in international organizations."--Harry C. Triandis, University of Illinois, at Urbana-Champaign
"One of tomorrow's certainties is that more and more people will need to understand the effects of culture on behavior and the impact of cultural differences. In CQ, the authors give us important frameworks and insights for developing an understanding of cultures other than our own. Throughout the book, interesting, intriguing, and stimulating examples are presented that focus on cultural differences in workplace interactions and the necessity for dealing with them effectively from the points of view of all stakeholders involved."--Richard Brislin, University of Hawaii