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What Does Effective Communication Really Mean? The ability to communicate effectively is not just nice to have, but a must-have for many IT positions. Still, the term “communication skills” is vague, and it’s reasonable to ask what it actually entails. Think about making a list of communication skills to use when evaluating job candidates—or job hunting yourself. |
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Growing Generalized Specialists on an Agile Team A generalized specialist is not a jack of all trades. It is an individual with deep knowledge in a particular specialization who also has learned to be productive in other team roles. Here are some tips on how to grow generalized specialists on your team in order to maximize your team's productivity potential. |
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How to Grab People's Attention In this hectic, fast-paced world, it can be tough getting anyone’s attention. But you’re more likely to succeed if you quickly arouse interest, generate intrigue, and make an impression. One way to do that is with a hook—an opening statement or question that quickly piques curiosity. Here's how to grab attention. |
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How to Manage a Challenging Audience When You’re Giving a Presentation Most audiences will be courteous when you’re giving a presentation. But it can be a challenge to face customers, senior managers, or even coworkers who persistently disagree with you, constantly interrupt you, treat you rudely, or otherwise disrupt your presentation. Here are some ways to cope without losing your cool. |
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Craftsmanship: The Software Testers’ Goal Some people just don’t care about creating great products or services. They believe the marketplace will settle for lower quality. Lee Copeland argues that as software testers, we need to combat that way of thinking by embracing craftsmanship. Focus on quality with knowledge, skill, diligence, judgment, and passion. |
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5 Strategies to Get Approval to Attend a Conference Your organization isn’t in business to send you to trade shows, seminars, and fun-in-the-sun conferences. There has to be a solid business reason for you to attend, and you’ll improve the odds of getting the OK to go if you can make a comprehensive justification for going. Here are five things to focus on. |
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If You’re Working Too Much, Is It a Challenging Project or Bad Management? Projects sometimes encounter challenges that require team members to put in extra work. But if this is happening repeatedly, it's worth figuring out where the pressure is coming from. You may need to ask, “Is this project simply challenging, or is it being badly managed?” |
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Doodle Your Way to Improved Focus and Concentration If you're stuck in a boring meeting and having trouble paying attention, there's an unlikely activity that could help you focus: doodling. Sketching or drawing keeps the brain active during discussions and can help you relieve stress, improve productivity, and even better recall what you're listening to. |