However, sometimes way we or others choose is not most appropriate for recipient or message. We are all incredibly busy, after all.

So here's my quick'n'dirty philosophy for how I communicate with others in business, in descending order of use and ascending order of priority or urgency. Please feel free to adapt or ridicule it at your leisure...

1. Email Used for transferring files before a face-to-face meeting. For example, I want my client to see latest additions to manual we're working on, or changes to a newsletter.

It's also great for non-urgent communication, as it allows recipient to get on with work that is currently occupying them without disturbing them. If I phone them, I break their train of thought and interrupt their work. Or I get frustrated because 'they are in a meeting'. It's a great way of allowing them to attend to my email and its demands at a more suitable and convenient time.

Using email is a great way of neither interrupting my recipient nor getting into that horribly wasteful game of 'phone tag'.

Do you think that headlines are only used by advertisers trying to sell something?

Well, forget myth that people are only interested in information and if you have great information then they will read you. They won't if you don't give them a reason to. Which is where headlines come in...

You have seven seconds ('seven' is a magic number for brain) to grab their attention, otherwise they move on. If you don't give them a compelling reason to pay attention to your communication then they won't. They'll move on and you would have missed a great opportunity.

Even if you think you are not selling them anything, in reality you are. You are selling them on you and your company; your abilities, your experience, your knowledge, your potential to help them solve their problems.

Make sure that you always offer your audience (be that audience there 'in person', or being communicated to via written word) a compelling reason to pay attention. Otherwise they won't. It doesn't have to be a 'highly charged' sales message. But it does have to be enticing enough to get them to want to pay more attention.

Don't use trickery, such as a headline about 'sex' that has absolutely nothing to do with your content. This will only annoy your guests (quite rightly so) and you'll never see them again.

Give them a reason to read and you'll find that majority will. Those that don't are probably not interested in subject anyway and you'd be unlikely to be doing business with them at moment.

40 great headlines ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here's a collection of great published headlines that have garnered for their authors considerable success.

* How would you spend an extra $200,000 - starting tomorrow?

* A good reason not to settle for a 10% return.

* Maintenance problems giving you a headache? (Aspirin attached)

* Toxic People: 10 ways to handle people who make your life miserable.

* Supposed this happened to your car.

* Take one day to learn how to read men's minds.

* How to literally write any size pay cheque you like, as often as you like.

* How to print all money you want - legally!

* Advise and profit - how to create exceptional income as a consultant.

* I know 97 specific 'tricks' to creating ads that reach out and suck money right out of peoples' wallets like an out-of-control vacuum cleaner 'monster' - how many of my tricks would you like to know?

* What to write on a simple postcard mailing that will make people flood into your business.