Communication is one of the most basic functions in any organization. It transmits ideas, thoughts, information, opinions, and plans between various parts of an organization as well as to external customers or businesses – Its vital importance can never be over emphasized.Yet it can be difficult and communication breakdown is not uncommon. There are several essential elements to making business communications work; these include structure, clarity, consistency, medium, and relevanc...

Book 3 of the Smart Skills series: practical guides to mastering vital business skills and techniques. Using proven strategies from business experts, these essential smart skills can empower anyone with the tools to get ahead.Gain a competitive edge at work with your business writing skills.Effective business writing skills can help you win that million-pound contract, earn a promotion, resolve a dispute or generate a significant increase in business leads....

Negotiation is not an argument.It might seem like a daunting word, but to negotiate is simply to interact and engage with the world around you. Whether it’s for sales, personal reasons (negotiating a pay rise) or in political and corporate environments, in this book Patrick Forsyth has condensed his many years of experience to outline the fundamental principles of getting what you want.

Part of the Smart Skills SeriesMeetings offers all you need to know to get the most out of meetings - from setting meetings up, leading them, to how to make the most out of them once the meeting is over. A must for any employee, manager, freelancer of business owner. The book offers proven, practical advice on: setting objectives and creating practical agendas; deciding who should attend and when and where; effective chairing and effective participation - the commu...

Alice Carter always wanted to be a journalist. Still new to her first job as a junior reporter on a local newspaper she reckons her editor seems to be stuck viewing her as the office dogsbody. Nevertheless she tackles everything conscientiously while also looking for a new home in the town in which she now lives.She is learning a lot, however, no one knows more about the ideal costume to wear for a fun run or how many pies it is impressive to eat in a pie eating contest, and she hopes plan...

Book 6 of the Smart Skills series: practical guides to mastering vital business skills and techniques. Using proven strategies from business experts, these essential smart skills can empower anyone with the tools to get ahead.Maximise your opportunities by mastering the art of persuasionThe underappreciated skill of persuasion is vital not just for negotiations, but in every aspect of business life. Taking on more resp...

Part of the Smart Skills series, Persuasion offers all you need to know to get the most out of your business operations. With the current global economic crisis excellent persuasion skills have become invaluable as businesses now more than ever must maximise every opportunity they face. Persuasion is not only required as part of negotiation, but in every aspect of working and business life. There are many different facets to persuasion and different approaches this book provides the detail...

Philip’s life is back on track, going well and he plans to improve it further. But his tendency to get involved with other peoples’ problems remains.A chance encounter in the library leads him towards a psychic incident, and sorting out the loose ends following the death of his neighbour sees him discover a mysterious break-in and make a new friend.Soon he finds that, far from just recommending suitable reading choices to those visiting his library, his influence stretches ...

A short story may have less words to play with than a novel, but this simply means it must be especially well crafted. Every piece here links to the county of Essex in some way, for instance because the writer is Essex based or because the subject matter or setting of the piece has a link.The nature of these pieces, mainly fiction, though there are some factual pieces too, is intentionally diverse: they link to many an emotion: sad, happy, poignant and more. But they all have in co...

Getting a message across on paper and presenting a proposal in a clear and persuasive form are vital skills for anyone in business. This book provides practical advice on how to impress, convince and persuade.This fully updated 7th edition now features even more practical exercises, useful templates and top tips that will help you to write succinctly and with impact across different media. ***How to Write Reports and Proposals***will give you the tools to put over ...

How to Manage Your Time Effectively is packed with proven tips, tools and techniques to help you review and assess your time management and adopt new work practices to improve it.This book includes great time-saving ideas, practical solutions and checklists, plus advice on: controlling paperwork, organizing your emails, delegating and working with others, prioritizing to focus on key issues, getting and staying organized. This fully updated 7th edition fea...

Direct marketing just got easierPicking the right promotional mix is not easy. Whatever is done it must be effective, and also cost-effective, and both budgets and time are no doubt limited. Business does not arrive unbidden (or very little of it does), nor does it magically arrive just by crossing your fingers and shouting 'Promotion!'; so something must be done and time and effort must be expended to make sure it works.Even in this electronic age, direct m...