In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Another alternative is to use similar one-to-one or group courses. It's actually useful to pair people up and role play for the purpose of letting people develop their own insight. As they review the manner in which they make the role-play calls, they may become more aware of their own phone mannerisms and how to self-improve. Avoid the "training recordings" as a learning method. It's quite an old fashioned method to record and replay phone calls for training sessions, while everyone listens to a coworker on a call. This can backfire as no one knows if their calls are being listened to "Big Brother" style and it may put them on edge, especially when a caller is being particularly confrontational, or the phone handler is having a bad day that may be unusual. This is also an excellent trick for smaller companies as well. The caller can be encouraged to imagine a person at the other end as someone who is likely wearing a suit in a huge office, but who in reality is sitting in an informal small-business office, or at the opposite end of the spectrum, operating from a large, busy corporate call center. Stage techniques are surprisingly influential and can help a person express themselves more clearly and confidently. A good example is the frequently suggested technique of smiling when you pick up the phone, but it works the other way, too; it's detectable to clients when the person at the other end is trying to sound happy and helpful, but isn't really--it's like grinning through your teeth, or hiding your misery, it still comes through. It's best to relax the face and throat (something that is taught in drama classes) to be able to speak more naturally and pleasantly. A gentle smile is fine, especially when it is sincere and reaches not just your face, but also your eyes. Go through the calls from greeting to closure, and experiment with different types of user personalities, allowing your analysts to respond in the moment. Once completed, take the time to discuss the ways it could have been handled differently afterwards. This is both a fun and effective way to check that the training is working.
Summary: Look into using DVD or video training programs. Send your staff members for elocution or drama/theatrical lessons if they're working in a high-profile office. Do phone role plays.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Keep a planner, calendar, and to-do list and update them consistently. Keep them in easily seen and reached places, or have multiple that can be synced together.  If you work well with pen and paper, keep a small planner or calendar that can fit in your pocket or purse so you always have it with you. Keep a pen attached if possible so you never have to fish around for one. Have a designated note pad for to-do lists at your desk, and cross things off as you go. If you work better with digital organization, use your phone’s calendar and reminder system to make appointments and receive notifications about them. Try apps like Wunderlist or Todoist to manage your tasks. Make sure you always have notes and other materials with you by syncing calendars, lists, and files across all your devices, which nearly every modern app has the capability to do.  Share tasks, documents, and notes with other secretaries, your boss, or other employees with project management software like Basecamp or Trello.  Share documents and spreadsheets with Google Docs and use programs like Dropbox or Hightail to send files. Set up a color-coding system to help categorize all of your materials at a glance. Assign a color to each project, day, employee, or any way you want to delineate your work. Use highlighters and colored tabs or labels to mark up files, trays, and notebooks to easily locate the right information. Many web and mobile apps for email, calendars, and lists also allow you to assign a color to each item. Keep your email inbox clean and important information easy to access by filing an email into a folder right away, flagging or marking it as unread if you need to come back to it, or archiving or deleting it if you’re sure you no longer need it. Try making folders for each year, quarter, or month, or label them by project, employee, or type. Try to respond to, delete, or log the email's information elsewhere right away. Set schedules for yourself, like having all emails filed in appropriate folders by the end of the day, and cleaning out and dealing with everything left in your inbox by the end of the week. Keep materials of the same type in a particular place, and designate notebooks and folders to specific projects. Have a specific notepad for phone memos, for example, that always stays by the phone so you never end up taking down someone’s name and number on a napkin. Keep meeting notes in a separate place from other notes so information doesn’t get mixed up and hard to find later. Avoid printing to save paper and opt for online forms or other documents so you can save time and resources. Fill out forms electronically if possible. Scan and save copies of paper files so they’re always available and don’t get damaged or lost. Circulate digital files, reminders, memos, and agendas instead of paper versions whenever possible. Never run out of important materials you use to be organized, like notepads, pens, envelopes, and stamps by buying or letting an office manager/purchaser know when you are on your last box or container of something rather than once they are all gone. Order supplies in bulk from a company like Quill to save money and avoid running out so quickly. Keep supplies organized at your desk or workspace. Use containers, trays, file folders, and other containers that are all labeled or colored for easy sorting.
Summary:
Commit to lists and planners. Sync your information. Color-code everything. Clean up your inbox. Be consistent. Save paper and time. Stock up on supplies.