WEBVTT - Spoil the surprise

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that you shouldn't make people guess what a meeting, call, document,

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<v Speaker 1>or email is about. Let them know in as straightforward

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<v Speaker 1>a way as you can. In other words, go ahead

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<v Speaker 1>and spoil the surprise. Today's tip comes from Gretchen Rubin,

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<v Speaker 1>author of The Happiness Project and most recently Life in

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<v Speaker 1>Five Senses. When Gretchen was a guest on my other podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>Best of Both Worlds, she talked about how she chose

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<v Speaker 1>the title for her new book. She explained that for

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<v Speaker 1>a nonfiction book, you don't want a title that makes

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<v Speaker 1>the reader guess what the book is about. It is

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<v Speaker 1>much better to spell it out clearly. That is broadly

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<v Speaker 1>applicable advice in many contexts. It pays to be clear

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<v Speaker 1>about your topic and your purpose. Don't make people guess.

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<v Speaker 1>In general, people don't like guessing. When people know what

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<v Speaker 1>is happening, they can be better prepared, which will make

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<v Speaker 1>everything more productive. I am sure you have seen the

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<v Speaker 1>opposite happen. Plenty of times someone calls an important meeting

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<v Speaker 1>but isn't really clear about what needs to be discussed

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<v Speaker 1>or decided. The meeting is given some nebulous title like

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<v Speaker 1>updates or summer Season. People show up at the appointed time,

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<v Speaker 1>but they don't know what they're talking about or what

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<v Speaker 1>they're aiming to accomplish, and because of that, they probably

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<v Speaker 1>haven't done any research or thinking to prepare. The odds

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<v Speaker 1>of that being a productive meeting are low. Email subject

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<v Speaker 1>lines are sometimes similarly vague, question, hiring, initiative, vacation. I

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<v Speaker 1>am probably not the only one who has gotten vague

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<v Speaker 1>voicemail messages saying someone had a quick question or an

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<v Speaker 1>exciting updated and they wanted me to call them back.

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<v Speaker 1>Unless you are writing fiction or directing a suspense movie,

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<v Speaker 1>you probably don't want to leave people guessing about what

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<v Speaker 1>is going to happen, and you don't want to leave

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<v Speaker 1>people guessing about the purpose of a meeting. Call email

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<v Speaker 1>or document either. Don't bury the lead, as journalists would say, Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>be direct about what is happening and why. This will

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<v Speaker 1>save time for everyone. If a meeting agenda, let's attendees

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<v Speaker 1>know that you will be discussing the performance review process

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<v Speaker 1>with an eye toward improving it. They may review the

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<v Speaker 1>performance review documents from last year and come to the

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<v Speaker 1>meeting with questions and ideas. If your email subject line

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<v Speaker 1>announces that you have sent a draft for the recipient's

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<v Speaker 1>review by five pm the next day, the person knows

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<v Speaker 1>to confirm right away that they can open the document

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<v Speaker 1>and plan some time to review it. If your voicemail

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<v Speaker 1>says you would like to invite the person you've called

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<v Speaker 1>to speak at an event on October sixth, that person

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<v Speaker 1>can check their calendar before calling you back. When we

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<v Speaker 1>want suspense, we can go to the mystery section of

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<v Speaker 1>the library. In most day to day communications, it's clarity

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<v Speaker 1>that we're after. By being direct about what you are

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<v Speaker 1>doing and what you want to accomplish, you can let

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<v Speaker 1>everyone prepare and waste far less time. In the meantime.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b the number

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<v Speaker 1>four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an

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<v Speaker 1>email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>so much, Should I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.