communication
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The Importance of People in Software: A Tribute to Jerry Weinberg Gerald Weinberg's work inspired many to be better engineers and better leaders. Although he’s no longer with us, his message about the role of people in building quality software lives on in his writings and in those who have learned from him. Here, Steve Berczuk recalls some of Jerry Weinberg's most influential books. |
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The Right Way to Respond to Customer Feedback Due to time constraints and other logistical issues, it’s not always possible to respond to customers about their feedback. But when it is possible, the impact on the customers can be strongly positive if you make your response personal. Here are some things to keep in mind the next time you gather customer feedback. |
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5 Tips for Giving a Polished Presentation Most software audiences appreciate solid content over performance pizzazz, but you don't want your demonstration to be a dud. You can learn a lot about how not to give a presentation from others' mistakes! If you'll be speaking at a conference or meeting soon, here are five tips for giving a polished presentation. |
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The Power of a Single Question in Understanding Customer Needs People tend to see their circumstances as more unusual, difficult, or troublesome than anyone else’s. As a result, by asking about their problem, priorities, or responsibilities, you can gain important information about their situation and how they perceive it. Here's one question to learn a lot about your customers. |
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Things Managers Should Never Say Managers have to communicate regularly with the people they're managing. However, managers also need to try harder to be mindful of what they are saying, instead of speaking before they think. Here are some things a manager should never say—avoid these lines and people will be more likely to follow your lead. |
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Send the Right Message: Monitor Your Choice of Voice When we communicate with our coworkers, what’s important in getting our point across is not just what we say, but how we say it. Most of the time, we intuitively moderate our tone to convey friendliness, seriousness, or disappointment, but that can change when we're stressed. Be sure you're sending the right message. |
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What Intelligent People Say Instead of “I Don’t Know” It takes a certain level of self-confidence to admit to not knowing something when people view you as the expert. Still, if you don’t know the answer and you (or others) think you should, you have some options other than “I don’t know.” These alternative responses are more useful to you and to your questioner. |
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4 Impediments to Nurturing a Feedback-Rich Culture Being able to have open, candid conversations that fuel learning, growth, and improvement is critical to a team’s success, so it is important to look out for impediments that can get in the way of having a feedback-rich culture. Here are four common impediments to watch for, as well as behaviors you should nurture. |
