You don’t have time to sleep
It was 5.46am. 5.46am. That’s right. I got up at 6.45am, which is late for me, and noticed a voicemail and text message on my phone. Now I set my phone to ‘Do Not Disturb’ at night so only family and friends can call me. I answer my phone at ...
Preparing for a telephone interview on live radio
This morning I got a call from BBC Radio Five Live asking if I would take part in a live discussion about courtesy on national radio. As I am a volunteer on the executive of the National Campaign for Courtesy, I said yes. The campaign achieves a high profile by taking ...
How sure must we be of facts?
If a customer asks for a written quotation, most businesses will honour it, even if they attach a time limit to it. If a customer places an order on the basis of that quotation, they’ll very likely get angry if they get charged more or lots of extras are added ...
When you need information from busy people, tap into their enthusiasm
When you need information to be able to do a job but someone is too busy to give it to you or just never gets round to doing it, try tapping into their enthusiasm. People love talking about their likes and are pleased to have a keen listener, so try to catch them over a cup of tea or a drink for five minutes and ask them about activities they like talking about. Take a genuine interest and ask them questions so that they talk about what you need to know.
