When faced with answering a tough question, lead with empathy for the questioner and be as honest as possible in your reply, especially if there are things you don't know, writes Allison Shapira, founder and CEO of Global Public Speaking. Prepare for tough questions during meetings by reviewing the agenda, role-playing a scenario with others and pausing before answering when the questions arise.

Leaders have plenty of opportunities to work on their executive presence by conveying their confidence and skill in everyday meetings, at trade shows and events, during presentations and when crises arise, writes Joel Garfinkle. "You can also think of these situations as dozens of micro-opportunities to tweak your reputation and others' perception of you," Garfinkle writes.

Leaders' end-of-the-year messages to employees should be consistent with themes expressed throughout the year, mention plans for the coming year, show appreciation for loyalty and share information about financial wellness benefits, HR leaders say. "Leaders can seamlessly tie company culture into end of year messaging by leaning on purpose," says Burgette White, vice president of HR at Adecco North America.

Thirty-one percent of US workers are worried about potential layoffs and budget cuts, per LinkedIn research. The most worried employees are those working in product management, quality assurance, marketing, finance and IT.

The number of jobs that are suitable for older employees has increased, but many of those age-friendly jobs are being taken by women and college graduates, according to research by MIT Sloan School of Management. "[There is] a need for policies focused in particular on older male nongraduates and supporting improvements in the age-friendliness of existing occupations or aiding transitions to more age-friendly occupations," the researchers wrote.

By now, you've probably heard how Tom Cruise likes to do a lot of his own stunts. However, did you knew he did this much to prepare for all of those amazing stunts? Of course, all this behind-the-scenes footage leaves one question: Why didn't Cruise invite James Corden to join him for this training?!?!

Choose an answer to see how many other readers agree with you, then check your guess.

This episode is primarily about five questions organizations should ask before they buy carbon emissions offsets. However, during SmartBrief finance editor Sean McMahon's conversation with Blake Lawrence from Cool Effect, Lawrence revealed people are starting to give carbon emissions offsets as holiday gifts. Who knew?