Speak loud and clear, but don't end statements with upspeak, as if it were a question, suggests psychologist and business consultant Denise Dudley. It's also effective to get comfortable with short pauses in speech, rather than resorting to "um" or "like," Dudley adds.

Visualizing yourself achieving a specific goal is a strategy that tricks your brain into acting on the desired steps to achieve the goal, writes Deanna deBara. It's like a jigsaw puzzle, explains leadership coach Cynthia Corsetti, where it's difficult to complete it without having the picture on the box to help visualize the end result.

A new Facebook feature, Learn with Facebook, is similar to LinkedIn Learning in that it's an education portal where workers can go to learn new skills. All the courses are free and are part of Facebook's mission to train 1 million US business owners by 2020 on the latest digital skills needed in today's workplace.

Starbucks plans to lay off 5%, or about 350 people, of its corporate workforce, with employees in marketing, creative, product technology and store development affected. The layoff applies to work that has been eliminated or deprioritized, CEO Kevin Johnson says.

Don't get too specific about a previous firing on a job application unless it specifically asks for an explanation, in which case you should be honest about it and briefly explain how you've fixed the issue that caused your being let go. Never mention a firing on your resume; stick to positive aspects of your career and education, writes Andrea Moran.

Job recruiters were more than twice as likely to prefer a two-page resume over a one-page resume in a recent study of 20,000 resumes conducted by ResumeGo. The results show that a two-page resume, even for entry-level workers, may be the acceptable or even preferable approach over a one-page resume, suggests ResumeGo CEO Peter Yang.

Simple mindfulness techniques are beneficial, such as focusing on your breath as you walk throughout the office or turning your phone off for a length of time at work, suggests Christine Bedalow. The benefits of practicing mindfulness include increased productivity, lowered stress, and more happiness, points out Bedalow.

In Vladivostok, Russia, a group of four people tried to cross a bridge that does not permit access to pedestrians -- inside of a cardboard costume of a bus. They were quickly prevented from crossing Zolotoy Bridge by police and escorted off.