To appear competent, smile more

Communication takes place on many levels. If you are communicating in person or via a video link, there is a lot of non-verbal communication going on. Your posture, eye contact, and facial expressions will all play a part in what you convey. Here's a fascinating talk about why you should smile. It can improve your life span, help you appear more competent, and many other things. Also, can you read the smiles of others? Test yourself to see how many fake and real smiles you can spot. Here's a hint, though: look at the eyes and other parts of the face and head.

Embellishments, Jargon, and Buzzwords

The best business writing is simple and easy to understand. Even if you love baseball and thrill to read about latest record broken , you can't assume your audience shares that enthusiasm for the Boys of Summer.

Here are some examples of wretched buzzword-filled writing that only served to annoy and alienate the reader. Doesn't the notion of disruptive ideation methodology appeal to you? No? Any idea what it is? I'm guessing the writer wanted to say something about how their company approaches problem solving in creative and unexpected ways. But why not just say that?

Beware of Lavish Reviews

I don't know about you, but I have certainly read my share of reviews on Yelp, Epinions, and other user created review sites. So how does one know that the generous praise accorded a new restaurant down the block is real and not written by the family of the owners? Researchers at Cornell have come up with an algorithm to identify fake reviews. Apparently, if there are too many adjectives and very little specific description, the review is suspect. Companies such as Amazon and Trip Advisor are very interested in the research, because good quality reviews benefit their reading public and add credibility to their content. This article has more information.