Don’t show up for a job interview without a stockpile of good stories. These narratives should be parables with a moral at the end, showcasing the skills that are relevant to the position you’re applying for.

Americans sit for an average of 9.3 hours a day. And a slew of studies have shown just how unhealthy that is, linking it to heart disease, obesity, and cancer. So next time you need to meet with a colleague, don’t book a conference room. Take a walk. Aside from the much-needed exercise, there are numerous benefits:

• Having a common

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To make it in any job, you need to be able to convey ideas clearly and effectively. There are three things the best communicators employ to deliver their message:

• Credibility. Prove your authority by demonstrating technical expertise in a specific area, which helps convince people that you know what you’re talking about. If you

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No one wants their writing to put readers to sleep. And yet, many managers write boring and repetitive e-mails, reports, and letters. To keep your readers engaged, try the following:

• Use personal pronouns skillfully. Don’t overuse I (try not to begin paragraphs or successive sentences with it), but do lean heavily on we, our, you,

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If want to communicate that your project’s goals are “right on target,” it’s tempting to present your colleagues with the all-too-familiar image of a bull’s-eye. But nothing gets an audience’s eyes a-glazing like a visual cliché. To make your presentation stand out, throw out the first visual concepts that come to mind. …

If you want to encourage people to take healthy risks, you need to make sure they’re not afraid to fail. The first step in doing that is defining what a smart failure — a thoughtful and well-planned project that for some reason didn’t work — looks like. Chances are that everyone in your organization knows what success is. Far fewer …

It’s challenging to work with someone you don’t chat with every day at the coffee station. But you can still build strong connections and work successfully together. Here’s how:

To succeed in today’s busy world, you need to decide what to excel at and what to do just adequately enough. Break down activities you do into three categories: invest, neutral, or optimize. “Investment” pursuits are areas where more time and a higher quality of work lead to an exponential payoff, such as strategic planning. Aim

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It’s natural to feel helpless or uncomfortable when someone cries in front of you in the office. But remember that tears are a normal human reaction, not a sign of weakness.

If you’re in the market for a job, you need to be able to communicate your value as a potential employee in 15 seconds or less. That may be all the time you have with a recruiter or hiring manager. Your message has to be crisp and tailored. Say specifically what value you bring — for instance, “My specialty is streamlining messy, …

How many times have you promised to exercise more, or start meditating, or spend less time at the office? To make changes that last, create rituals — highly specific behaviors that you do at the same time every day (or on specific days you select). Willpower is a limited resource, so use less of it by making challenging activities …

When deciding whether to give you their business, prospective customers trust one source of information above all others: their peers. To sell more, you need to get your current customers marketing and selling — advocating — for you.