Tips on professionally handling customers - 5 Oct 2015

We start off with an exclusive from Louise Marsland...The Mail & Guardian has appointed seasoned journalist, editor and digital strategist Verashni Pillay as its new Editor-in-Chief. It's hoped that Pilllay will reinvigorate the brand and steer the publication "back to its roots", following a raft of retrenchments, recent cutbacks and falling circulation.

On the topic of professionalism, Marion Scher shares tips that'll make the difference between a brilliant or boring speech, especially with today's ever-distracted audience, such as keeping the speech short, keeping it personal and using humour - but not starting with a joke.

Aki Kalliatakis writes about the importance of saving your business from difficult customers - the unfortunate subset some call customers from hell - because even though we may not always like their behaviour, we need them more than they need us. He offers six choices in dealing with irrational and emotional customers.

Daniel Munslow adds his views on the evolution of business communication, with feedback from the recent International Association of Public Relations' Congress, where he was one of a handful of speakers at the largest PR conference of its kind hosted in Africa. Key changes are the need for in-house communication development, as well as more strategic planning and thinking training.