Description: In a World of Words, the Eyes Have It by James Gray from The Stepping Stone Newsletter, April 2004, Issue No. 14.

Description: Humor in the workplace can improve productivity. This article describes a typical office relationship problem and how humor helped disparate teams work together.

Description: Reinventing the Actuarial Image by Sudha Shenoy from The Stepping Stone Newsletter, July 2004, Issue No. 15.

Description: Based on a decades-long study, honesty is the most important quality in a leader. This article addresses ways to establish trust with their co-workers.

Description: The author identifies miscommunication challenges that may exist in the workplace, including misunderstandings and communication mishaps, assumption of motive, and relational tension, and suggests clarifying conversation as a way to address these challenges.

Description: This article defines "elevator pitch" and why one is needed. A great elevator pitch is an indispensable competitive advantage that will accelerate your career progress. A poor one can leave you toiling in anonymity.

Description: In the midst of the activity and glitter of Times Square, one group of actuaries devoted an entire SOA meeting one morning to developing their communication knowledge and skills. The workshop titled, “Actuaries can Communicate,” was designed to identify ways to communicate more effectively as an actuary, to develop individual communication competence and to practice communication skills central to the work of an actuary. From The Stepping Stone, April 2005, Issue No. 18.

Description: I recently attended a conference where a succession of speakers crossed the line from self-absorption to rudeness. Indifferent to the obvious distress of their audience, they each rumbled interminably over their allotted 20-minute presentation times. From The Stepping Stone, April 2005, Issue No. 18.

Description: This article describes team dynamics of introverts and extroverts, with an actuarial audience in mind. The article references the works of author Susan Cain.

Description: The author encourages planning ahead, setting the stage, facilitating effectively and time management as steps in creating meetings that are extremely valuable and and informative.