By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Last week I couldn’t log in to one of my financial services accounts. I had three options: online help, email, or phone. I opted to call. That’s what you do when you’re in this industry. I reached their automated attendant and listened to the prompts. After a couple of button […]
Authors who use dictation claim a much higher writing speed I’ve recently been experimenting with using dictation to write and bought a USB headset to reduce dictation errors. So far I’m excited about the process and anxious to get better at it. To accomplish this, I’ve bought Dragon speech recognition software and will begin using […]
A successful omnichannel strategy requires intentional implementation By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Have you ever had a company ask how you wanted them to contact you? Options might include phone, email, text, fax, mail, or social media private messaging. How well did they do at complying with your request? With one company I asked for […]
A quality headset reduces dictation errors Last week I shared my first steps at using dictation as an alternative way to write. To test dictation I didn’t invest any money in software or hardware, as I merely wanted to do a proof-of-concept before I spent any money. I used Google Docs, a Chrome browser, and […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD I have been following the sport of hockey. Before that, a myriad of other athletic diversions captured my attention. As a youngster, I did what many of my peers did and played Little League baseball. Not that I was good at it or particularly enjoyed it. In fact, after four […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD As we move into a warmer season, many telephone answering services experience increased call traffic during the summer months. But this bump in incoming calls is dwarfed by what many services experience at year’s end with the build-up to Christmas. Although we know these seasonal fluctuations in traffic will happen, […]
Today’s hot writing advice may prove embarrassing in a few years I still have the mimeograph handout from high school, from oh so many years ago. The title boasts “50 Substitutes for Said.” The opening instruction says, “Both color and drama can be added to a story by using other verbs as substitutes for said.” […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. I don’t like to write about politics, but politicians in the United States is once again messing with healthcare. Some call it to repeal, and others view it as repair. Some are for it and others oppose it. No one knows for sure how things will shake out or when […]
Authors must be aware of words they overuse and that will irritate readers Every writer has words they use a lot, too often in fact. They’re called go-to words. In my fiction writing, I use a smile, nod, and sigh a lot. Too much, way too much. But I never realized this until my editor […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD A friend works for a company that helps government agencies provide better service to its customers. One division works with call centers, and another addresses walk-in traffic. That’s where my friend works. Often his company needs to address the basics. Sometimes they must start with a simple instruction that seems […]