Tips from Secretaries to Managers: Enhancing the Relationship


1. Whenever possible, please keep us late. We have no homes to go to
and are only too thankful to spend the evening here.

2. Send us out to cash your checks and buy stamps in all weather.
Walking is exhilarating and as we sit down all day, the exercise does
us good.

3. Do walk out of the office without telling us where you are going or
how long you might be. We enjoy telling people who wish to contact you
urgently that we have no idea where you are or when you will return.

4. When dictating, please parade up and down the room and practice
your golf strokes, or better still, walk out of the room. We can
understand what is said more distinctly.

5. Please lower your voice to a whisper when dictating names of
people and places. Under no circumstances spell them to us. We are
sure to hit the right way sooner or later.

6. Should a letter require a slight alteration after it is typed,
score the word heavily through about four times and write the correct
word beside it, preferably in ink or felt-tip pen. Always make the
alteration on the top copy.

7. Please dictate a paragraph and change your mind, with the
corrected version following, particularly when using dictating
equipment. It adds variety to our typing.

8. Hours for dictation: during the lunch hour, or any time after
4:30 p.m.

9. Should you wish to write out a letter or report, please write
with a blunt pencil using the left hand, and use plenty of arrows,
balloons and other diagrams.

10. Remember when asking us to place a long distance call, you must be
very fast on your feet to get out of the office before the call comes
through.

11. If possible, always pick up your calls on your secretary's
phone. This ensures that we cannot pick up calls for any other
people on our own phones. It also helps keep us company. We miss you
during the day.

12. When you have given us a rush project, be sure to use your
intercom line frequently, or call us at regular intervals of 60
seconds to ask us to get minor items and to go for coffee.

13. If you are being paged, please ignore it. We usually have no
particular reason for wanting to locate you and enjoy hunting you down
or taking messages.

14. Please do interrupt us while we are speaking on the telephone. We
have two ears, so we might as well use both of them at the same time.