How to escape a talkative person when you're busy

We've all had that experience of needing to urgently complete a task but another person just won't stop talking. However, there are ways to subtly shift back to your work without being rude. Before they get going on a long-winded speech, try to squeeze in telling them how much time you have. This will communicate to them that you're in a hurry.

A new problem may crop up though: you may be interrupted when trying to explain that you're in a hurry. In this case, Coaching for Leaders suggests saying something like "Let me interrupt for a moment since I didn't expect our conversation/meeting to go this long. I need to wrap up in five minutes to return to what I was doing." When people are aware that they have limited air time, they tend to be more concise.

Should you still find yourself up against a talkative person who is particularly persistent, you'll eventually just need to interject, according to The Muse. Sometimes it helps to politely say "I'm definitely looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this! But I have to go right now. Tell me later?"

No matter your frustrations, it's important to maintain a good relationship with people in the office, especially if they're your boss. Knowing these key phrases will help you excuse yourself while remaining friendly.

How do you know what mode of communication to use at work?

It's important to know when is the right time to communicate by email, and when it's not. While emailing, texting and all other forms of digital communication are convenient, they're definitely not ideal if you're trying to communicate something that comes with high stakes. It can lead to misunderstandings and serious damage to your relationships with your work colleagues.

Mind Body Green gives great advice on this subject: "Match the communication method to the level of importance of your conversation - and you'll pick the perfect method every time." This is a great guide. If what you have to say is a major game changer in any way, it's best to use good old fashioned, face to face communication. It will help for your listener to see your facial expressions and tone when delivering this message. This prevents any misinterpretation of you having a cross or annoyed tone.

Sometimes you should just talk to someone in person simply because it's the more courageous thing to do, writes Margie Warrell, an author, speaker and Ambassador for Women in Global Business in a Forbes article. It will put you in the good books, for example, if you ask for vacation time in person. It's not an easy thing to do, so it shows you're willing to have hard and awkward conversations. Using email to have difficult conversations, on the other hand, can appear cowardly.

To conclude, it's tempting in today's digital world to relay complex questions or statements over the Internet, but you'll get more respect and increase understanding if you're able to say it in person.

What is the best way to have a one on one meeting?

A one on one with your boss is an important time for you to do two things:

1) Address problems that are interfering with you doing your job. 2) Show your boss how you are succeeding and what progress you've made since you last met.

You should come to a meeting prepared with what you want to say, according to Ben Horowitz, a co-founder and general partner of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and The New York Times bestselling author of The Hard Thing About Hard Things. Horowitz says that the best one on ones are led by the employee rather than the manager or boss. Take this opportunity to say things that are not so easily said in email and drive the conversation.

However, also let the manager or boss guide the meeting when the time is right. If you have nothing left to say, give them room to ask any questions they've been meaning to ask you. But you should remember that one on ones are mostly intended to help you.

Also make sure that these meetings are productive. Don't bring up problems without an aim of solving them. This is why M. Nora Bouchard of Ellevate, a global professional women's network, writes in a Forbes article that you should see these meetings as development opportunities. Ask yourself the question, "How can I use this time to learn something?" For this reason, you'll want to limit asking your boss questions that aren't immediately applicable to helping you develop as an employee.

Why you should update your technical skills as an EA

In any job in today's marketplace, it's important that you have technological skills of some sort. At the bare minimum, technological skills are needed to effectively communicate with your co-workers and to organise your work life.

More Executive Assistants are realising that they need to update their computer and software knowledge for these reasons, according to Hays, a global specialist recruiting group that interviewed 500 Executive Assistants across Australia and New Zealand. Hays also stated that with the constantly changing technological landscape, the ability to quickly grasp the latest technology is a must.

The skills can't just be limited to word processing and spreadsheets either. More so than ever, Executive Assistants are being asked to use technology to file records and manage daily operations. Even more complex technical skills require doing market research, maintaining databases and putting statistical reports together, The Balance reports. Plus, Executive Assistants need to have good research skills in case the Executive wants more information about a given topic or person.

Beyond those requirements, there are the more obvious tech skills you need such as helping your Executive make presentations and newsletters.

If you get all of these skills under your belt, you'll be far more valuable to your boss. Take classes, online or in-person, so that you can be an Executive Assistant with the ability to update the office's technological capabilities.

Learn how to perform well under pressure

There will be times when your Executive turns to you and says "We need to get this done now," and you will need to take immediate action. However, there's no need to fret. This can be counterproductive and cause you to make mistakes. Great Executive Assistants work well under time pressure.

One way that you can perform well in a high-pressure situation is to practice tasks that you are likely to be asked to perform quickly. For example, pretend like your boss just asked you to send out an informative email to the entire company requesting immediate action from employees. In your off-time, practice writing emails quickly and clearly and check over it.

After practising, you'll find that when this situation actually does arise, you'll not be so flustered about where to start. You'll go straight into action mode because you will have anticipated the problem.

Researchers Sian Beilock and Thomas Carr describe the effects of stress in high-pressure situations in the following way:

"Pressure raises self-consciousness and anxiety about performing correctly, which increases the attention paid to skill processes and their step-by-step control. Attention to execution at this step-by-step level is thought to disrupt well-learned or proceduralised performances."

If you don't have to worry so much about each step in the process because you already have an idea of the drill, you'll be better at reacting to your stress. You won't get stuck on an individual step in the process, so you'll shift into a "challenge mindset", rather than a threatened one, Martin Turner, a lecturer at Staffordshire University and expert on human performance explains.

How to wrap up a day at work

How you end your day is crucial for two reasons.

First of all, you should learn how to gradually wind down. A Forbes article quotes Michael Woodward, PhD organisational psychologist who said that it's important to remember that "just as it's never a good idea to hard crash your computer, you shouldn't hard crash your day." Slowly shutting down will help you make a smooth transition from your work life to your personal life.

Secondly, you want to feel at ease by creating an action plan for the following day. Envisioning the future will not only help you feel less stressed, but it also makes you better organised. You'll feel less stressed because you'll feel prepared and won't be totally caught off guard by an important call or meeting come tomorrow.

Lastly, Tim Hird, executive director of Robert Half Management Resources told Business Insider that it can be useful to reflect on the positive aspects of your day. Even if you feel like you didn't perform as well you should have, at least you'll have a plan so that you can be more efficient in the future.

"While it's obviously important to acknowledge what might not have gone as planned, reflecting on the positive provides a sense of accomplishment and confidence heading into the next workday," Hird says.