Have you signed up yet for ASSAP 2007? If not, good news - you're still in time for our early bird special if you sign up before
15 January!

Don't miss the all-new programme at what's set to be the premier annual event for secretaries, PAs, admin professionals and support staff. The Asian Summit for Secretaries and Admin Professionals will be held on 25-27 April 2007 at the Meritus Mandarin Hotel, Orchard Road, Singapore.

Male or female, new to office life or a mature professional, if you work in an office, ASSAP 2007 is for you! It's for anyone working in an administrative, clerical or secretarial role.

In today's rapidly changing office environment, we are all extremely pressurised, and we have to cope with a lot of stress that all these new challenges bring. That's why ASSAP 2007 is so special. I'm so proud to have lined up a fantastic team of dynamic speakers for ASSAP 2007. They are all leading experts from USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, and they all have vast experience of Asian cultures through living and working in this region for many years. I know their presentations will inspire, energise and motivate you.

Download the programme summary by clicking here.

The dynamic speakers and inspiring presentations at ASSAP 2007 will arm you with valuable tools and techniques that will increase your confidence and enhance your skills. You will be inspired, motivated, energised, transformed and empowered.

Better news yet ... if you register before 15 January 2007 you will be entitled to special early bird fees. Now your boss is sure to love that! Check out the fees here.

Visit www.ASSAP2007 .com now for full details, and sign up before 15 January 2007 to be eligible for the early bird specials.

The upcoming ASSAP 2007 has made me think about the world of the secretary and admin professional. So here's a question for you if you are manager:
Do you use your secretary in the best possible way so that you can both manage your time effectively?

Think about that. Your secretary is not just someone to answer or make telephone calls, fetch visitors and make your coffee!

One of the biggest mistakes that many managers make is that they barely leave themselves enough time to get their own jobs done properly, and then they wonder why the secretary doesn't finish work on time. How many times does your secretary have to stay late to finish a report that you have left to the last minute?

If you are a manager, remember: your time is not yours alone. Everything you do or don't do affects how well (or otherwise) your secretary manages her time.

If you want to organise yourself better and improve your relationship with your secretary, if you want to become a more effective team, then you will enjoy a series of articles I'm starting this month on how to use your secretary effectively. My first article this month gives you my Top 10 tips on diary management. In next month's newsletter I'll look at another important issue surrounding time management in the manager/secretary relationship. If you want me to address any other manager/ secretary issues, please write to me and let me know. I'd love to hear from you.

And if you are a secretary or member of the admin or support staff, why not think about attending my workshop 'Success Skills for Secretaries and Support Staff'? The next one is held on 19 January, so sign up now by calling 6376 2018 or visit www.lciseminars. com.

Many of us don't use our diaries in the most effective way, and managers have a reputation for using their diaries badly. When I was a secretary, my boss was always making appointments and forgetting to tell me! Has it happened to you? It's annoying, yes? So here are my tips for how you and your secretary can manage your diaries more effectively. I hope they help!

1. Make time every day to discuss your workload with your secretary. Get into a routine with this, and don't let another person or a phone call disturb this routine. Your meeting with your secretary is as important as your meeting with your boss.

2. Let your secretary make all appointments for you. If you do make some for yourself, inform your secretary immediately.

3. Your secretary should keep the master copy of your diary. Yours should be a reference copy only.

4. Sit down with your secretary every day and go through your diary carefully. This leads to greater understanding and involvement.

5. If you are out of the office, call in at least twice a day for any messages or changes or new appointments.

6. Allow time in your diary to do important jobs and complete tasks. We are often very good at committing our time to other people but not to ourselves. If you block out time like this, you are more likely to stay focused and meet your deadlines.

7. Allow time in your diary for things to go wrong. For example if you think a meeting will only take one hour, allow one and a half. By doing this, if all goes well, you will have gained half an hour to do something else.

8. Treat every appointment (even one with yourself) as if it were a meeting with the CEO, in other words: be prepared, start on time, focus, stick to the job in hand.

9. Set aside time in your diary every week for general paperwork, otherwise you'll end up buried under a huge pile of clutter and you'll never be able to focus on anything. Clear the clutter regularly.

10. Remember: when you commit yourself to an appointment or a task in your diary, failure to do it will result in your secretary feeling very frustrated as well as looking bad!

I'm delighted to be co-facilitating workshops at ASSAP 2007 with Alison Lester and Ricky Lien. Every day is separately bookable, so you can easily choose the days you wish to attend. It's going to be a great learning experience for me working with 2 such professional and entertaining trainers. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun too. Take a look at the workshops we have lined up for you:

On 26 April in Workshop A 'Successful Business Communication Skills', Alison and I will share with you some powerful tools that will help you build better relationships with bosses, colleagues, clients and friends. You will be able to use these skills immediately to create a more supportive and co-operative working environment, as well as propel you along the path to career success. We will show you that successful communication skills surely are the key to your success!

On 27 April in Workshop B "Emotional Intelligence in the Office', Ricky and I will walk you through our most common inhibitive emotions and get you to look at them from a different perspective. We will take a look at the six key modules of Emotional Intelligence, and show you some essential fundamental skills that will help you to understand yourself and others better. You will be able to put these techniques to good use in your daily work routines so that you bring out the best in yourself as well as everyone else!

Many thanks to Iswandi Bin Jaapar from Singapore, who wrote to me recently. Here's what Iswandi said:

I enjoy using your Model Business Letters book, and reading your newsletter. It helps me a lot in my work. But I hope you can help me with this sentence. I'm confused between which to use.

Pls call me at 12345678 or
Pls call me on 121345678

Thanks for your message, Iswandi, and your kind comments about my book. Actually, both 'on' and ëatí are correct. I think the confusion has arisen because in the UK we tend to say ëoní, so thatís why youíll see this in my book ëModel Business Letters, E-mails and Other Business Documents. In the USA, they tend to use the word ëatí. I think in Singapore we are more fond of using ëatí, which is why I get confused from time to time! Sorry about this.

So yes, both would be fine, so please use whichever one you are more comfortable with, ie

Please call me on xxxxxxxx.
Please call me at xxxxxxxx.

I hope this helps.

Shirley