Category Archives: Rants & Raves

Why I Hate Note Cards

By Phil Stella | Published: September 1, 2019

I recently encountered two different authors of presentation skill-oriented books who recommended using 3×5 note cards for preparing speaker notes. Whoa! Couldn’t disagree more. So, please allow me to respectfully disagree and rerun one of my favorite rants. Read More »

Why I Love ‘My Pleasure’

By Phil Stella | Published: August 4, 2019

In the last week, I’ve thanked two cashiers, one bar tender and one server for one thing or another. And guess what I heard in reply? Not the usual ‘no problem’ you hear from everyone everywhere all the time, but a much more professional and courteous ‘My pleasure’. The server even snuck in ‘You’re very welcome’.  Read More »

Why I Hate Plural Names

By Phil Stella | Published: August 4, 2019

I recently read an article on business writers, referring to the ‘ … Malcom Gladwells, Jim Collinses and Harvey MacKays of this century.’  I really hate plural name references, as if there is more than one Malcom Gladwell or Jim Collins in a group somewhere. Read More »

Why I Love ‘PlusDelta’ Feedback

By Phil Stella | Published: July 4, 2019

Giving constructive feedback is an essential management skill that escapes most supervisors. Feedback is all about helping people get better at what they’re doing. Effective feedback is neither positive or negative – it’s just information. Information that is specific, observable, constructive, timely and focused. Read More »

Why I Hate ‘Soft Skills’

By Phil Stella | Published: June 1, 2019

I love the concept but hate the term – let me explain. I’ve dedicated my entire career to empowering business leaders to enhance their workplace communication skills. Taking away some of their pain when they interact with colleagues, staff, managers or customers in writing, in person and in presentations  – that’s what I love most and do best. Read More »

I Love ‘reply to sender’

By Phil Stella | Published: May 13, 2019

On the opposite of this month’a rant, I really appreciate it when people select ‘reply to sender’ or something similar on a group response email. I actually don’t know when that happens because I never see the response, I just assume the person responded properly. Read More »

I Hate ‘reply all’

By Phil Stella | Published: May 13, 2019

I hate being copied on responses that I don’t need to see. I bet you do, too. Someone responds to a question asked in a group email with a careless ‘reply all’ response because they were lazy or inept to do the right thing.
Read More »

Why I Hate Lame Customer Service

By Phil Stella | Published: April 2, 2019

While no one believes that customers are really always right, CSRs and Sales Reps should believe that customers are always critically important to their jobs and the success of the company. And they should act like that all the time. Problems occur when employees make these mistakes: Read More »

Why I Love Customer Centricity

By Phil Stella | Published: April 2, 2019

People have different preferences about how they communicate. Some people would rather talk than write. Others would rather write than talk. Yet others have very high response rate to text. No surprises there! Read More »

Why I Love ‘Or’ Networking Relationships

By Phil Stella | Published: March 5, 2019

I willingly admit that many of my networking strategies and best practices dance to a different drummer. That’s why I love ‘or’ networking relationships. They’re opposite from and much better than ‘and’ relationships. Read More »