Thanks to Olivia Wong for writing to say: "I thought it's about time I show some gratitude. It's great to receive your newsletter every month. I look forward to reading all the articles and especially like the A-Z of Bloopers, Blunders, Common Errors and Clichés. I have picked up quite an array of tips and, more importantly, make use of them. Thanks for the tremendous effort on your part."

Well a huge thanks to you too Olivia. I know you'll be pleased this month with the start of a new feature. Yes, more A-Zs for you to learn from! Here are some new A's:

Advice/Advise
These words are often used incorrectly in written English, and they are often pronounced incorrectly too.

Advice is a noun meaning 'a suggestion or recommendation' - the final sound is an 's' as in 'cross' or 'loss'. For example:
I asked Shirley for some advice on how to write good
e-mail messages.
I gave him some advice on how to use PowerPoint.

Advise is a verb meaning 'to inform' - the final sound is a 'z' as in 'Zoo'. For example:
Please advise me on the best way to display a business letter.
Mark advised me that the contract had expired.
Shirley advised me on good e-mail etiquette.
I must put her advice into use immediately.

All ready/Already
These are not the same.

All ready means 'prepared'. For example:
The speaker was all ready to begin when the screen fell. The meal was all ready, but my husband was late.

Already refers to something that has happened previously. For example:
I have already seen King Kong.
I tried to do that already, but it didn't work.

NB: Please resist the temptation to put already at the end of every sentence, eg: "I've finished already". "I ate already." "I'm home already."

All right
Often spelled as alright, but this is incorrect. The correct spelling is as two words, meaning 'OK', or 'Fine'.
For example:
All right, let's do that.
John says is all right to go ahead now.

All together/Altogether
These also have different meanings.

All together means 'in a group'. The two words may be separated. For example:
The kittens are playful when they are all together.
I love to see all the animals playing together.

Altogether means 'totally' or 'completely' or 'in total'.
For example:
I bought three books altogether.
Altogether there are 12 zodiac signs.

Wow! Thanks to all of you who have signed up for ASSAP - The Asian Summit for Secretaries and Admin Professionals. It's going to be a fabulous event, held at the Orchard Hotel in Singapore on 18-19 May 2006.

Co-organised by me and Partners Conference, The Asian Summit for Secretaries and Admin Professionals (ASSAP) is a one-day conference featuring a powerhouse of 7 dynamic and inspiring presenters, plus a one-day workshop on Effective Communication Skills conducted by me and Ricky Lien.

Who is ASSAP 2006 for?
ASSAP 2006 aims to promote and enhance the skills and position of all the admin and support staff, secretaries and PAs who work so hard in today's changing office environment. Today's offices are full of men and women who fall into the category of 'support staff' - executives, administrators, customer care staff, sales staff, office managers ... and, yes, secretarial staff too. The topics at ASSAP 2006 are relevant for all these special people!
Men and women, guys and gals! People just like YOU!

Find out more about ASSAP and get a S$100 discount when you register - just say you read about it in Shirley Says, and use the Priority Code 'SS' on the registration form!

For any enquiries please contact Delphine at
(65) 6288 1273.

Thanks to those of you who have signed up to attend Shirley & Ricky's Training Forum to be held in Singapore on Wednesday 29 March 2006.

I'm proud to be working with Ricky on this special Training Forum called "How To Make Training Work - for you, for your company and for your participants".

If you are responsible for HR or Training, why not come along and take part in this complimentary Training Forum? It's going to be lively, informative and thought-provoking, and you'll get to meet some new friends and network too. Sign up today by e-mailing annette@shirleytaylor.com with your name, designation, company and telephone number.

I had a laugh recently when a friend forwarded me an e-mal containing lots of actual call centre conversations. Here is one I think you might like:

Tech Support: "I need you to right-click on the Open Desktop".

Customer: "OK".

Tech Support: "Did you get a pop-up menu?".

Customer: "No".

Tech Support: "OK. Right-Click again. Do you see a pop-up menu?"

Customer: "No".

Tech Support: "OK, sir. Can you tell me what you have done up until this point?".

Customer: "Sure. You told me to write 'click' and I wrote "click'".

BOOM BOOM!! :-)

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Sydney in January - here I am enjoying the beautiful harbour with the Opera House in the background.

No holidays again for a while now - just looking forward to meeting lots of new friends at my upcoming workshops in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in February.

See you again next month.

Shirley