KateNasser.com

Two recent experiences gave me insight to update this post (original was June 2010) to include even more value of the two magical words. Enjoy this post and the updates shown below in green.
As you read the title of this post, two magical words for the best people-skills (also known as soft skills or interpersonal skills), you might immediately think of please and thank you.  While these classics are still very valuable people-skills words, they are superseded by two words that are magical even when you just think them.

Could the two words be:

Trust & respect? Admittedly crucial yet just thinking them doesn’t necessarily produce great interactions.

Intuition & connection? Some people have little intuition yet they learn great people-skills.

What are the two magical words for the best 21st century people-skills?

Magical Words for Best People-Skills Source:Istock.com

What else does this magical two word phrase do? Or do you have another favorite two word phrase for the best 21st century people-skills?

My strong technical background (Mathematics) and my natural intuition about people gives me a special insight into the people skills (also known as soft skills or interpersonal skills) of technical professionals. It is a myth that technical professionals are incapable of highly social interaction.  As with any population, there is a range of abilities which can depend on interest level. Many technical professionals seem to enjoy the technical/occupational skills over the people skills. Yet I see in them a wealth of knowledge and a very deep commitment to helping others.

Today, thanks to technology ironically, technical professionals must interact more than ever with all types of people and cultures globally while in pursuit of their technical goals!

So this post of people skills tips is dedicated to you, technical professionals and your people skills, in order that all can see and benefit from your intelligence, knowledge, and deep commitment to helping others.

People Skills Tips for Techies By:@J#@

The dividends, the value, of people skills (soft skills, interpersonal skills …) become clear to those who jump into learning and using them. For skeptics, the dividends seem unclear because they can’t easily measure them with numbers before investing.

People-skills for Success Today By:afcool83

As a leader, whether you are a skeptic or a believer, it is worth considering how much more productivity and what new success your teams can achieve with better people skills. With virtual team members distributed in workplaces throughout the globe trying to meet objectives, people skills are more critical than ever to overcoming obstacles and reaching success. Even within one workplace, people skills are the vehicle for all to contribute their occupational knowledge so that others can use it effectively.

Help Desk Insitute, (popularly known as HDI), invited me to write a feature article, What Are the Dividends of People-Skills, for their Support World journal. The editor has graciously sent me the pdf (see link below) for all to read. The print version is available only to members. The article is copyrighted so please do not re-post on other sites without permission (Email: info@katenasser.com).

The article in pdf format: What Are the Dividends of People Skills.

To get started improving your people skills, here’s a related blog post: Professional People Skills – Work on You and On the Work.

Thank you Cinda and Megan at Help Desk Institute for covering this very important people-skills topic. [HDI is the professional association for internal and external IT customer support offering industry best practice research and reports, training, and certification. For more information: Help Desk Institute.]

There is much press today about whether people skills (also known as soft skills) are considered during the hiring process. Do people skills count more than your occupational (aka hard skills)?

Quite honestly, to me the debate is both useless and a bit risky. Your professional career is in your hands. Hiring managers, teams of current employees, HR reps are people. They may consider people skills. Do you want to gamble that those interviewing you don’t consider people skills in making the choice? Whether they do it consciously or subconsciously, why bet that they won’t? Develop your professional people skills. Work on you AND the work. Be workplace ready!

Work on You AND The Work by:vaXzine

When to start? Yesterday. Developing your people skills can begin in school. In can happen in your everyday life — inside and outside of work. I was lucky enough to have a mother who demanded it of us. So when I graduated college with a BS Mathematics, I had been developing the interpersonal skills of my right brain while sharpening and expanding my left brain.

Is it too late to start? Never. I continue to learn and improve my people skills. You have infinite interactions with people and it costs nothing to learn “on the job” so to speak. Even those who debate whether or not interviewers consider people skills in the hiring decision, agree that people skills are expected and assessed for job assignments and promotions once you have the job.

How to start? The most productive first step is to understand your own personality type — for two reasons.

1. You will interpret what other people say and do based on your own personality type.  It is your reference sheet.
2. Knowing your type gives you limitless potential for adapting to others of a different personality type.  It is the fuel for success in teamwork, leadership, customer relations, and long term professional friendships.

Here is some valuable footage on personality type differences to spur your learning: GPS Your Brain to Work With Any Personality Type.

Get Started! Take a well respected personality indicator like The Kiersey Temperament Sorter and then use the knowledge in your daily interactions. People-skills are the conduit to delivering your occupational knowledge to those around you and to the company that employs you.

If you get stuck, you can always call me (or my mother) for help!

Warmest wishes,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach in This Technical World
Masters in Org. Psychology

The 25 Worst CS Stories. Photo By:mlibrarianus

As The People-Skills Coach and a professional customer service trainer, I use both positive and negative real life stories to train Help Desk analysts, Customer Care teams, Customer Service Reps (CSRs), and Call Center agents. The positive stories define the model of great service behavior. The negative stories address the emotional intelligence team members need to deliver memorable service.

The 25 Worst Customer Service Stories

1. The foul language is clearly wrong. Will your CSRs quickly identify the other critical error in this exchange? Here’s the story: I had a problem with a new piece of electronic equipment and called for assistance. The first technician I talked with insisted that there was nothing wrong with his company’s equipment, that it must be my fault. When I explained that everything in the network had worked perfectly until I powered the new item up, he laughed at me. When I asked to talk to his supervisor, he responded with the infamous two letter expletive and hung up. I called back and spoke with a different tech who was able to resolve the problem in a matter of minutes and who then asked his supervisor to join us on the line. When I told the supervisor of my earlier experience, she asked me to give her one day so she could resolve the problem. She called back in less than fifteen minutes to tell me that she and the call center manager had reviewed the tape of the call, fired the original technician, and promoted the second one to a customer service training position. It went from being the worst customer service experience ever to one of the best in less than half an hour.
   –Submitted by: Ron B.
   
   
2. The story: I was trying to get some information from the local cable company, Comcast, about my bill. I couldn’t understand the different groupings of channels which had no explanation just names like Extended Package. She couldn’t explain it and kept getting the same channels in different groupings. I said, very politely, “I don’t understand your explanation, is there someone else who can explain it to me so I will understand it.” She replied: “You’re stupid.” Then she hung up.
   –Submitted by: Elaine B.
   
   
3. “You’re not following our process.” Sadly, this was said to a customer by one of my own CSRs.  This was a wake-up call for sure.
   –Submitted by: Drew J.
   
   
4. “I’m sorry, but that’s our Policy and I’m not connecting you with my supervisor.”
   This reply is anathema to the reason for customer service — to serve the customer (the person with the $$$ they want).  I could care less about their policies.  My policy is that I don’t do business with companies that don’t treat me with respect and give me value for my money.  If something doesn’t work, then just fix it.  If you don’t know – then say “I don’t know, but let me find out for you.”  Companies are run by humans and humans make mistakes.  I don’t judge them badly because they make a mistake.  It’s how they resolve the mistake that matters.
   –Submitted by: David G.
   
   
5. Can you believe this interaction? Here’s the story: In our large grocery store, I asked about the cinnamon buns that were in the sample dome. The employee I asked said that they were very fattening and I could do with losing some weight!
   –Submitted by: Andrew F.
   
   
6. I explained to a DELL rep that I had 12 new laptops that would not power on no matter what I did.  His answer to me was “What do you want me to do about it?”  I said excuse me?  He clarified by saying “if they don’t power on I can’t trouble shoot them and if they aren’t powering on it has to be something you did to them that made them not work.” I still have nightmares.
   –Submitted by: Liz M.
   
   
7. “You will have to go online to and fix this.” I replied “Seriously? I am talking to customer service – a real live human being and you can’t do a thing for me? “Yes ma’am, you need to go online to do this.”  So I asked her, “What, exactly, do you do?”  Silence.
   –Submitted by: Shelly S.
   
   
8. It’s not our fault that you have this problem – it’s yours.” (Big Insurance Company in the UK)
   –Submitted by: Ian T.
   
   
9. I’m still fuming from my experience with Travelocity/ABC Airline this morning. Woke up sick as a dog, needing to catch a flight at 7:00. I’ve probably booked one hundred flights with Travelocity and I have always paid the $20.00 insurance if changes ever come up, including unexpected illness. I have never actually used this insurance but was happy to have it until I was told from ABC Airline: “I’m sorry, there’s nothing we can do for you.”  And, then again from Travelocity, “I’m sorry, there’s nothing we can do for you.” Lesson learned. Don’t buy Travelocity’s insurance. Or, better yet, avoid Travelocity.
   –Submitted by: Anonymous
   
   
10. Is this stupidity or lack of caring? The story: A pharmacy CSR refused to authorize one of my meds. When I told her I had been waiting 2 weeks and explained the effects of not having them,  she said ”maybe you should see a doctor about these new symptoms.”
    –Submitted by: Denise C.
    
    
11. Are your CSRs so busy following scripts that they don’t listen? Here’s the story:  My father passed away.  I called a credit card company to cancel his account.  I said, “My name is Debra. My father Pat passed away and I am the Executor of the Estate. I am calling to cancel his account.”
    The CSR replied, “Well, I need to talk to Pat.” I said, “Listen very carefully. He’s DEAD – now if you want to talk to him, you’ll have to figure out how to. GIVE ME YOUR SUPERVISOR!”   The Supervisor got on the phone and I said, “Do you have a connection with God?”  She cracked up laughing – she had heard about the conversation.
    – Submitted by: Deborah B.
    
    
12. I called HP customer service about a new HP printer that wouldn’t interface with my Mac (even though the company swore it would easily work).  After hours of being on hold and being told that I had obviously done something wrong or just couldn’t understand, the rep told me “Yeah, really not my problem, lady.” So I went to Apple. They figured out the problem – and were nice.
    –Submitted by: Julie G.
    
    
13. My favorite bad customer service response was “it is working as designed” after the support agent was able to duplicate (and agree with) an obvious bug/error in a popular word processing program.
    –Submitted by: Tom M.
    
    
14. “You should buy one of those bust reducing bras from Marks & Spencers.” This was in a clothing store said by one of the stick thin pre-pubescent staff.  This is customer service? I don’t think so!
    –Submitted by: Emma C.
    
    
15. Is this the new version of customer self-service ? The story: I was checking out at WalMart, with my elderly Mom and small kids in tow.  A pair of $8 shoes I was buying rang up for $10. I questioned the clerk on the price at which time she said “No they rang up for $10. “You can go back there and check it yourself”. I wasn’t about to do that, so I just settled up for the $10. grrrr.  Got home and pulled the shoes out of the box and guess what. The actual price tag on the shoes said $8! Next day I went back to customer service and happened to be waited on by the same clerk at which time she said, ”That wasn’t my fault; it was the cash register. I can’t help you”.  I had to find the store manager to get the issue resolved.  He not only gave me all my money back, but he let me keep the shoes.
    –Submitted by: Amanda K.
    
    
16. I had spent well over 3 hours on the phone with customer service/tech. support, having been repeatedly put on hold, transferred, and disconnected. I called back after yet another disconnection after being on hold for several minutes. The person who answered started to go into their script, asking me for irrelevant information. I told the person that I just needed to be connected to XYZ because I had been disconnected after being on the phone with them for over three hours. The CSR went to a very long speech about how he’d be happy to transfer me. I didn’t need a speech. I just needed him to transfer me. I told him this. He repeated the speech. His scripted, inhuman “courteousness” just made me angry and hate the company.
    –Submitted by: Joe S.
    
    
17. Have your CSRs ever said this? “There is nothing I can do for you.”  I asked for a supervisor they told me that the supervisor will tell me the same thing!
    –Submitted by: Sahar A.
    
    
18. This one is beyond belief — yet true. Here’s the story: I was hosting a party for 150 people and needed catering prices 7 weeks prior to party to review bids, select caterer, or determine another venue. I had a drop-dead due date and explained that.  When I contacted the caterer for prices because they hadn’t contacted me by the morning of the due date, my main contact was on vacation and left no information. I was fuming. Obviously, they did not get my business.  When I finally reached the caterer to determine how they could have made such an error, he said “I decided you didn’t need it by your due date.” I was appalled.  How could they decide my due date? I did contact the management office and heads did roll. This was not lost business from this one event, but there were 5 hosts involved (their friends) and word of mouth travels fast.  While management appreciated my comments, they were foolish in not throwing me some type of bone to offset the situation. In a world where it’s tough to get business, this is not acceptable.
    –Submitted by: Lisa R.
    
    
19. “ya wesd rufj dimn uklod doodop” In other words, the worst customer service ever was delivered by someone who spoke no comprehensible English. I’ve heard it hundreds of times to lesser degrees, but in one case it was entirely incomprehensible. When will these companies learn that customer service agents need to actually be comprehensible in the language they are supposedly supporting?
    –Submitted by: John B.
    
    
20. How would your CSRs reply to this request? Here’s the story: I lost my cable service for 3 days. Apparently, it was a system wide failure and thousands of customers were affected. During the course of my conversation, I said something like “Please just credit me for 3 days worth of service.” The rep said, “We can’t do that. Do you know how much it would cost us if we credited everyone for the past three days?”
    –Submitted by: Phil F.
    
    
21. “I am sorry but that’s our policy”. Even if the CSR says it politely, this is a statement that can tick anybody off. Such a statement exudes rigidity and inflexibility, which is the last thing a customer wants to hear when he/she calls customer service with a genuine problem.  This statement, if used too many times by a customer service agent during a call would generally lead to an escalation or loss of a customer, which indicates the poor performance of the agent.
    –Submitted by: Om D.
    
    
22. Have you taught your CSRs the difference between professional and personal behavior? Here’s the story: I was speaking with a customer service representative about a problem I was having.  I said, “I know it’s not your fault.” She said, “That’s right.  It’s not my fault.” She is the representative of a company. She should accept responsibility even if it’s not her personal fault!
    –Submitted by: Randi B.
    
    
23. Here’s one of the recent nightmares I lived through. There was a charge on my Citibank Mastercard from a vendor who renewed my $400 membership without asking me.  I spoke with the vendor and he agreed to send a credit into the credit card company for the charge.  Since the credit card bill was due in 15 days, I called the credit card company to ensure that I wouldn’t have to pay $400 up front only to have it credited back later.  The CSR who answered the phone went into his long drawn out scripted answer. I asked to speak with a supervisor and after waiting on hold, the supervisor started another scripted answer.  I said “I am a busy person and I just need a simple direct answer.” He replied: “I am sorry you called when you were busy.  We are open 24 hours a day.” I stopped using that card.  I will not give my money to a company whose representatives communicate sarcastically and blame me for their slow scripted service.
    –Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach
    
    
24. I had a credit card and somehow after a year the bank changed my zip code and I didn’t get the bill. When they called I explained I never got a bill.  After we found the issue I asked for a refund of the late fee. Though I got it eventually I was initially told,  “You are responsible for your bill, we only send the statement as a convenience to you.”
    –Submitted by: Shawn D.
    
    
25. What would your CSRs say if they had difficulty communicating with a customer? Would they sound like this CSR who acted as if she was the sergeant in charge.  Here’s the story: A CSR at a big box cable company in the Midwest said to me:  “You’re not listening to me. “
    –Submitted by: Linda L.
    
    

The key training topics from this list include emotional intelligence, customer care outlook, listening skills, the perilous effects of procedur-itis, ownership, and clear communication.

I am ready to inspire and train any and all of your employees who work with internal or external customers — your business’ most valuable resource! Just give me a call and we will discuss the training to deliver memorable customer service for the greatest return on your investment.

Please feel free to leave your comments or customer service stories and insights in the field below. If customer service is your passion, take a look at a related post on this blog “Ace Your Next Customer Service Moment.”

Thanks for stopping by and RSS this blog for the latest people-skills posts,
Kate Nasser

Team success in a diverse workplace requires more than a common goal. Respecting the differences is key. Each team member must be willing to flex their style and adapt to others.  Once again people-skills, also known as soft skills, impact the tangible results in business.  In this case, the people-skill needed for team success is an individual willingness as well as the skill to embrace others’ styles and blend yours for the team’s success.

The underlying support for this is a basic respect for the differences. Engage your teams in a discussion on this topic. You may be surprised at what they say! Here’s a short inspirational video to help you get started:

1. Respect the differences
2. Learn to love the differences
3. Find the fit

Here is a summary of Kate Nasser’s Twitter stream from last week filled with people-skills  (aka soft skills) tweets and inspirational thoughts.  Share your favorites with your team, your leadership, and your social network.

• Teaching intercultural people-skills may be key to becoming a global city or company! http://bit.ly/9NFl8w #
• IT Architects – You need top-notch soft skills (people-skills) to reach goals Source:Gartner Group http://bit.ly/9GBIhf #CIO #
• Career technical education even in small PA town to focus more on people-skills — to be more job competitive. http://bit.ly/aOo7Bk #
• Nothing is secure but life, transition, the energizing spirit.~ Ralph Waldo Emerson #change #
• #FollowFriday CustomerService – @ericjacques @brandon_caudle @parature @compcomm @servicesphere @royatkinson @katenasser
• #FollowFriday #GENY @modite @katenasser
• Jazz up your brand w/new color schemes! @DesignerWife RT @nicholaspatten: 12 Creative Color Schemes. http://bit.ly/aMgLXM #entrepreneur #
• I am thinking of buying a SONY Vaio FW520 laptop. Anyone out here have one? R U happy w/it? #
• TY! @americandream09 WOMEN OF INFLUENCE @MelissaMcCreery @anneebeling @CoachingGuru @LorenaHeletea @KateNasser STANDOUT TWOTTER SUPERSTARS! #
• RT @americandream09 We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle #
• Feed your development with fun self-learning this weekend! Then start Monday renewed. #
• RT @HeshieSegal Scatter the seeds of your strengths so that others might use them to grow. << This is “activational”. Thx! #
• RT@dennycoates “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland #inspiration #
• RT @U2FREE My #objective is not to #amuse or #abuse.It is to get #U to #think! #
• RT @brandonrofl Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind – Shakespeare #quote #
• The PPL-Skills Coach: “What is the worst thing a customer service rep. ever said to you?” Reply/RT! #
• The PPL-Skills Coach: “What is the worst thing a customer service rep. ever said to you?” @mrdatahs @jkwgrowth @pavroberts #
• RT – Let’s start learning! @coachlaura Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding about ourselves. Carl Jung #
• TY @royatkinson Individualized serv > uniformity “Listening Up: Lowest Cost Step to Customers’ Dollars” by @KateNasser http://bit.ly/9AHajL #
• RT @GuyKawasaki Is the customer always right? Maybe not in Paris http://om.ly/fAKb # customerservice #
• IT Supervisory Specialist Job at FBI – deadline Feb. 12 – Pay $123K-$155K http://bit.ly/b4P4Z7 #IT #Jobs #
• Intuition is experience reapplied with courage in order to facilitate the future. ~Kate Nasser #BeOriginal #
• Desire drives thoughts & thoughts guide your actions. Focus on your dreams not your fears. ~Kate Nasser #BeOriginal #
• Which are the fundamental skills for success (technical or soft skills)? http://bit.ly/dCmTc9 #
• Perspectives on Improving IT Customer Service in Schools http://bit.ly/dfS7nx @mrdatahs #
• The PPL-Skills Coach: Learning to Get Along – The Power of Personality Type http://bit.ly/cdEpYW #
• Quicker Way to Learn & Use Personality Type Info for Success at Work http://bit.ly/bNKkrS #
• Are You Set to Choose a Team for Software Development? What to consider – http://bit.ly/9aTeX6 (BusinessWeek) #
• RT TY! @LeadershipNow RT @KateNasser: Quicker Way to Learn & Use Personality 4 Type Work Success http://bit.ly/bNKkrS “Love the differences #
• Clients for Life – Tangible Steps to Creating Them http://bit.ly/aMJdy2 # CustomerService #
• The PPL-Skills Coach: Read this post for latest stats on job hunting and advice for your career spot – http://bit.ly/9a4XsJ #
• Annapolis, MD high school students to learn communication skills – workplace ready! http://bit.ly/9Qrbac #teamwork #customerservice #
• Improve Your People-Skills the Low Cost Way – Volunteer. http://bit.ly/a334iw #peopleskills soft skills #
• Leaders: Undercover Boss Shows Power of PeopleSkills and Improves Morale – http://bit.ly/biyiT4 SoftSkills #PeopleSkills #
• Watson Wyatt’s 2010 Communication ROI Study shows *communication improves employee results. http://bit.ly/9Mtw3s peopleskills #softskill #
• RT TY @jakrause RT @SageInsight @KateNasser Watson Wyatt’s 2010 Comm ROI Study shows communication improvs emp results http://bit.ly/9Mtw3s #
• The People-Skills Coach: Top Ten Skills to Work in the Publishing Industry http://bit.ly/d9eE77 #
• True customer service includes a cultural focus – even on your website: http://bit.ly/9WhJu6 #
• RT @ShowerThinker All glory comes from daring to begin. ~ William Shakespeare 2/11/10 #
• RT @ClaudiaMcNeely Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. ~ Dalai Lama #
• The People-Skills Coach: 6 Traits to Admire & Acquire http://bit.ly/9AWeXs #
• Network Administrators – Improve Your Influencing & Soft Skills for Job Security in Cloud Computing http://bit.ly/cT3bxJ #IT #CIO #
• You need Customer Service and relationship skills even for back office jobs like Payroll Mgmt. (growth area) http://bit.ly/bFHIGj #
• RT TRUE! @americandream09 “Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.” ~Victor Kiam #
• RT @_StaceyChapman Living a full life includes serving and giving to others. |teamwork and customer service! #
• #FollowFriday @eleesha “For all that I cannot have right now, Let me be willing to just go out there and create it.” ~Eleesha |Initiative #
• #FollowFriday @eleesha “For all that I cannot have right now, Let me be willing to just go out there and create it.” ~Eleesha |Initiative #
• RT TY @Earl52 @EllKell RT @KateNasser: You need Customer Service and relationship skills even 4 back office jobs http://bit.ly/bFHIGj #
• RT TY #FollowFriday @gabelk RT @KateNasser: Leaders: Undercover Boss Shows Power of PeopleSkills and Improves Morale – http://bit.ly/biyiT4 #
• TY @JKWinnovation #BeOriginal @KateNasser: Intuition is experience reapplied with courage in order to facilitate the future. ~Kate Nasser #
• RT True! @WillBarth When someone does something well, applaud!You will make two people happy. – Samuel Goldwyn |Teamwork & Leadership #
• Intercultural Business Communication – Interesting facts and a call to action http://bit.ly/blAUJT #

Powered by Twitter Tools

A recent post at http://resumebear.com emphasizes once again that people-skills (also known as soft skills) top employers’ lists of desired qualities. [http://resumebear.com/blog/index.php/2009/12/06/five-character-qualities/]

People-skills or soft skills also top the list of top skills that employers want and new graduates (GEN Y) lack. [http://www.resumebear.com/blog/index.php/2009/05/21/top-skills-employers-want-and-new-graduates-lack/]

As a 20 year veteran entrepreneur, I can also attest that outstanding people-skills or soft skills top the list for business success.  So whether you are a new graduate (GEN Y) or among the many people changing careers or industries, improving your people-skills (soft skills) is a winning step. What skills specifically? Verbal and written communication, listening, and teamwork.

I will be posting a series of content rich articles with tangible soft skills improvement steps.

In this post, 3 solid steps that improve communication with customers, teammates, suppliers, and definitely with leaders.

Soft Skills Tip #1

Speak current and future not past. Our communication is often riddled with references to the past.  Don’t believe me? Spend five to ten minutes being aware of what you say.  You will be very surprised at how often you reference the past.

Now rethink what you truly want to say and reword it to be focused on the present or future.  Focusing on the present and future minimizes the risk of digging up old problems between people, gets you active on solutions, and increases your value to employers and customers. It changes your image, your relationships, and your career/business success.  Simply put: In business, don’t take people back to the past.

True story to illustrate: I found a blog article on soft skills and posted it on Twitter.  I liked the main points the author made.  One of my Twitter followers read it and thought the author’s writing skills were poor.  She sent me the following message.  “Did you read it before you posted it?”  Her focus on the past made this a very poor communication. It can cause problems in interpersonal relationships.  After I wrote back to her, she made it clear that her main point was “I don’t like the author’s writing style”.  Her original message communicated something else.

Soft Skills Tip #2

Speak honestly and positively. Honesty is important in business.  How you deliver the honesty determines how the listener will hear and react to your message. Even during conflict, you can speak with positive tones to speed the healing after the conflict.
Simple Rules: State facts as facts and opinion as opinion. State what needs to change and what is currently good.

Soft Skills Tip #3

Skip the sarcasm. Sarcasm can often be misunderstood. It is more a form of anger than a form of humor. Keep it for moments with a close friend who loves your sarcasm or leave it to the stand-up comedians and bloggers whose brand is sarcasm. Customers, teammates, leaders and even suppliers respond much better to positive action oriented messages.

I hope you will share these tips with others. I ask only that you credit this site http://katenasser.com.

Check back frequently for more soft skills tips that strengthen your career and your business success. I welcome your tips, comments, and questions below.
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach