We Should Assume We’ll Never Return to Business as Usual By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD As the telephone answering service industry responded to an unexpected, pandemic-induced spike in call traffic coupled with some workers reluctant to come to the office, changes occurred out of necessity. Many services looked to address this two-pronged threat by pursuing […]
Author: Peter Lyle DeHaan
Author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, publishes books about business, customer service, the call center industry, and business and writing.
Categories
Article Submission Tips
Here are the key article submission tips on submitting an article to a publication. Know the Publication or Website Read their past content. As you do, envision if your idea is a good fit. If not, don’t force it. Seek a different topic or a different outlet. Look for Submission Guidelines Find their submission guidelines […]
While Still in the Pandemic Begin Planning for Post-Pandemic By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. During the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare call centers stepped up to take a more prominent role to facilitate patient-facing communications. Though a few missteps may have occurred along the way as they forged into the unknown, overall they met the challenge facing […]
Many writers wish editors, agents, and publishers would give feedback when they reject a submission, but they don’t. As a writer, I share this frustration. As a publisher, I know the reason why they don’t provide submission feedback. After trying in vain to give writers feedback and wasting way too much time in the process, […]
Categories
Coronavirus Communication
Seek Balance in Your Customer-Facing Messaging By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD It seems cliché to say it, but we live in an unprecedented time. We don’t have a roadmap on how to navigate this crisis we’re in. Responses to this pandemic vary, with some overreacting and others being dismissive. We need balance in our response, […]
Categories
Periodical Submission Tips
There are three key periodical submission tips to follow when sending content to online outlets and print media publishers. I list them from least important to most important, but if you don’t get past the first one, you’ll never get to the second. And you must pass the second step to even have your writing […]
Third-person omniscient is out of favor. Do you wonder why? While we could attribute it to a trend, the best explanation I have is that we’re so conditioned to watching TV and movies, which limit us to the camera’s vantage (third-person limited, if you will), that as readers we expect books to do the same […]
With More Reasons to Have Operators Work at Home Comes the Need to Better Oversee Them By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Around the world, many jurisdictions have enacted stay-at-home mandates to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Other areas are pursuing a “stay home, stay safe” recommendation. This scenario hits answering services doubly hard. First, as […]
Categories
Word Processing Options
Microsoft Word is expensive, but it is also the de facto standard for writing and publishing. I urge you to use it if possible. Even so, consider these word processing options. As an alternative to purchasing Word (or Office), you can check out Office 365. It includes Word, but instead of buying the software for […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD The month that follows March kicks off with some tomfoolery; we call this April Fool’s Day. As a publisher, each year I receive some April Fool’s Day press releases. While the best ones quickly become self-obvious, there were a couple that I wasn’t sure about. I scowl and press delete. This […]