This page is a compilation of the customer service and communication resources I created while at Automattic.

Internal Training

Since the majority of communications with WordPress.com users is via email and instant messaging, the writings and videos below focus on how to convey warmth and friendliness when confined to text-based communication. These documents were published internally, but I have copied them here for reference.

• Building Rapport – Admit That We’re Human
• Building Rapport – Educate and Empower
• Building Rapport – Gentle Reassurance Snippets
• Building Rapport – Helping the Helpless
• Building Rapport – Mirroring
• Building Rapport – Mirroring an Angry User
• Building Rapport – Offer Choices to Empower and Motivate
• Building Rapport – Teaching Fishing
• Building Rapport – The Callback
• Building Rapport – The Power of Because
• Building Rapport – The user isn’t wrong. They’re just not right … yet.
• Building Rapport – Use More Words
• Building Rapport in Live Chat
• How We Fail Each Other in Our Communication
• Presentation: Finding the Right Tone in Live Chat
• Presentation: Productive Live Chatting

External Presentations

Here are the talks I’ve given at various conferences:

• Elevate Summit 2017: “How We Fail Each Other In Our Communication”
• WordCamp Orange County 2017, WordCamp US 2016: “The Dark Side of Democratization”
• WordCamp US 2015: “What I Learned When My Blog Post Went Viral”
• UserConf 2014: “Dealing With a Combative User”

Here are three examples of the webinars I’ve hosted:

• Bloguettes: “How to Start a Successful Blog”
• WeAllGrow Latina: “Enhancing Your Online Presence with a Professional Website”
• Bloguettes: “Blogging Best Practices”