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Great Free Gift Idea – How to Get Official Presidential Greetings for a Loved One Are you ready for the most official gift idea ever proposed? Do you know someone who enjoys collecting authentic autographs and memorabilia? Or perhaps you know someone who has a good sense of humor and enjoys a gag gift on those special occasions? If this is the case, you may be interested in a great free gift idea—procuring an official presidential greeting for a loved one. Here is the run-down on how you can get a hold of this awesome gift idea. Believe it or not, getting an official presidential greeting is easier than you might think. Did You Know that the White House Offers Free Greetings? It is true—the White house offers free greetings for those very special occasions. These free greetings are official and recognized by the White House and the Office of the President. However, you should know that there are numerous restrictions to procuring these free presidential greetings. Unfortunately, the White House is not currently able to fulfill all the requests for official presidential greetings at this time. However, if you are truly interested in landing a free and very official presidential greeting for a loved one, it is worth giving it a try. As the old saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained. How to Make Your Request for an Official Presidential Greeting How can you go about making an official request for an official presidential greeting? There are several ways you can request a presidential greeting directly from the White House. There are several ways to make your official request. There are three basic routes for requesting an official presidential greeting from the White House. You can make your official request for a presidential greeting through fax, by postal mail, or by filling out an online email form. Although no one method appears to be considerable more effective than any other, some successful recipients of an official presidential greeting swear that you are more likely to receive a response if you put in your official request through postal mail or fax. However, this may just be a hunch, because it seems that it may seem harder to ignore a written request rather than a virtual email request. As with anything important, you will want to make your request for an official presidential greeting way ahead of time. For instance, if you want to request an official presidential wedding greeting, you will want to make your request well ahead of time. What Kind of Official Presidential Greetings is You Allowed to Request? Although there is no set guideline about what kind of greetings you can request, there are many standard issue presidential greetings. These include birthday greetings, 50th wedding anniversary and higher, births, Bar Mitzvahs, Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, scouting awards and others. Official Guidelines for Requesting Your Greetings For the official guidelines on how to request official presidential greetings from the White House, check out the official White House website. There you will find the official guidelines on how to request greetings from the White House, as well as how to extend an official invitation to the White House. In general, here are some things to keep in mind. The White House will only send out official greetings to U.S. citizens. You must provide the following information: name of the honoree, address of the honoree, form of address, date of birth, birthday, wedding or anniversary, and the requestor's name and daytime phone number. Be aware that the numbers of requests you can make are limited on a per day basis. Requests for multiple institutional requests must be make by fax or mail on official letterhead. When can you expect your official presidential greeting? In general, greetings will be mailed in approximately 14 days prior to the event that is being recognized by the greeting.

Four Ways to Create a Better Work Environment and Increase Job Productivity What kind of environment do you think creates the most potential for job productivity – one in which everything is very regimented and the workers perform their work because they are afraid of “getting in trouble,” or one in which the workers are relaxed and allowed a great deal of freedom and flexibility? It is the great working conundrum – to get workers to do more, you have to let them work less. Further, you have to create a work environment in which work is not stressful. In fact, creating an environment in which work is even enjoyable and a pleasure gets the best results of all! If you want to get your employees to improve their job productivity and job performance, forget about cracking the whip. Instead, think about how you can make coming to work appealing for them, so they actually want to get things done for you! The first way to create a better work environment and increase job productivity comes down very much to your attitude and the way you treat your employees. Make sure you create an environment in which your workers can come to you and discuss work related problems they are having with you. The feedback you get from them will enable to make sure the office is working as efficiently as possible. Additionally, it will allow you to stay on top of everything that is happening in the office much easier – instead of employees trying to hide mistakes and problems from you, they will bring them to your attention and work on finding a solution. Above all else, creating a good relationship with your employees will keep the mood in the office positive – no one likes working for someone who doesn’t appreciate them or casts a black cloud over the office. You’ll get more out of your employees if they are happy when they are at work. The next thing you can do is consider “fun” options, like a dress down day once a week or a weekly office lunch get together. These kinds of shared activities increase the team building and the morale among the workers in your office. When everyone feels like he or she is a member of a team, they will be more likely to feel responsible to each other and perform better at their daily tasks. The third idea for creating a better office environment is related to the second, but has more to do with the actual office itself. Open plan offices are believed by experts to increase feelings of belonging and team membership among employees. Try to encourage shared workspaces and a healthy exchange of ideas between your employees at all times. Again, when employees feel like they are part of a team working together for a common goal, they will be more likely to make sure they are holding up their end of the bargain. Last but not least, make sure your employees are well rested and as stress free as possible. Allowing flex time hours in your office is a great way to give employees more control over their time; it gives them time to get rest when they need it or take a day off when they need to recharge. Encourage your employees to disconnect from the office when they are not at work instead of being constantly available, even after hours or when they are on vacation. An employee who actually gets some time off will be more productive when they return to the office. Likewise, make sure that the office has a break room that offers a real respite for employees during the day, and encourage employees to make use of it. Allowing your employees to get they breaks they will increase their ability to deliver for you when they return.

Networking Know-How: How to Get Through to the Busiest of People When you are job hunting, sometimes the most frustrating part is just getting your foot through the door to let the right people know that you are out there and available for work. Companies can be like members-only clubs; they tend to be a little distrustful of cold callers and most executives advise their assistants to run interference for them on the phone so they do not get stuck having a protracted conversation with someone they just aren’t interested in doing business with. The thing is that to get an interview, these people can be the very same people you need to talk to. How do you get these busy people to clear some time off in their busy schedule to speak to you? First things first – you have to get the right attitude. If you want busy people to make time to talk to you, you have to present yourself in a way that makes them feel like you are worth the time investment. The trick here is that you have to do this by phone, and often, you have to first convince an operator or personal assistant that your call is one worth putting through to the boss. Your phone etiquette and vocal confidence will be the key here. Consider you basic phone manners first. Instead of launching right into what you want, respond to the greeting of the person who answers the phone with a hello of your own. Animate your voice and always remember that simply saying “please” and “thank you” can go a long way. Be the kind of caller that you would want to talk to if your job was answering the phone all day. People will respond to your positive attitude with a positive attitude of their own. Next, consider your confidence level on the phone. Do you tend to get tongue-tied and stumble over your words? That kind of delivery from you will set all the warning bells ringing on the other end of the phone, and you will find the person with whom you wish to speak always “out of the office.” Instead, work on sounding like you are confident that it is a forgone conclusion that you will get to speak that busy person you want to talk to. Be confident that what you have to say is something that is worth hearing. It may help to write out a framework of what you will say and practice a few times so you sound relaxed and composed when you make that call. Once your attitude is right to make the call, you can then employ a few tricks of the trade for getting through to those busy people. Instead of giving away too much up front, start your call by asking if the person with whom you need to speak is in. If the answer is yes, then you can remove on potential “excuse” for not putting your call through. If your call can’t be taken at that time, skip the message. Let the PA or operator know that you will call back again. That way you have a legitimate reason to keep calling. Of course, you might have to keep calling and calling, and that assistant might start knowing the sound of your voice. If you keep speaking to the same person, it’s time to open up with some person details. Let them know your name, why you’re calling, and if someone referred you, who that person is. Developing that personal relationship can help you get your call through to the boss. Last but not least, don’t give up. Busy people are, well, busy, and not necessarily avoiding your call. Persistence pays off, so keep on calling until you get through.