The Various Skills and Responsibilities of Executive Secretaries After observing the daily activities of three different executive secretaries, I have come to realize that these secretaries must possess a wide variety of skills to do their jobs effectively. Among their most essential skills are the ability to communicate, an acute sense of organization, and an intimate knowledge of different types of office equipment. Communication skills include both oral and written communication, for executive secretaries must represent their supervisors in many different business situations. Orally, they are required to speak effectively on the telephone, which means using proper words and an effective tone. They must also be able to greet and converse intelligently with each of their supervisor's clients and transmit his or her instructions accurately and concisely. Their written skills comprise a detailed knowledge of the rules of grammar and a familiarization with sentence structure. Duties in this area would include taking notes at meetings and translating rough notes into accurate and readable prose. It is obvious, then, that executive secretaries must master a broad range of oral and written communication skills before they can represent their supervisors properly. Another important skill that executive secretaries must have is a keen sense of organization. The day-to-day responsibilities that test this skill would be arranging transportation and accommodations for their supervisor's out-of-town visitors, keeping his or her appointment calendar up to date, and arranging staff meetings and conferences, both inside and outside the building. But perhaps their most important skill, which comes under the general heading of organization, is the ability to set priorities. Since they are given a number of various duties, some requiring immediate action, they must make judgments that provide for their supervisors' time restrictions. In this way they ensure that their supervisors do not waste time dealing with unessential information. Finally, because modern business offices use the latest audio-visual and electronic equipment, executive secretaries must have "hands-on" knowledge of this equipment. Making overheads, setting up projectors, and using photocopiers are some obvious examples, but they must also be familiar with video display equipment and word processors. Their skills in accessing and transmitting information effectively will depend on their keeping up with the latest information technology which, in turn, will increase productivity and lower costs.
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【参考答案】All in all, in order to be a qualified executive secretary to properly represent his or her supervisor, one has to first acquire a broad range of oral and written communication skills; second have a very keen sense of organization to better arrange appointments, conferences, transportation and accommodation and also the ability to set priority of which should be done first, and third have "hands-on" knowledge of different types of office equipment , such as the latest audio-visual and electronic equipment, to effectively access and transmit information to increase productivity and lower costs. These are the most important three skills to effectively fulfill one’s job as an executive secretary.
