Effective Workplace
Communication:
Think Before You Click and Chat
Commission on the Status of Women Annual Conference
October 6, 2010 Judy Grace, Ph.D.
480-965-2495
Tell Me Your Email Story
• On the blank 3x5 card, write a brief
description of an issue you have with email or
communication in your office
• You can describe a situation or ask a question
• Do not put your name on these
Objectives
• Print vs. electronic (vs. voice)
• Plan, write, review, send • Effective subject lines • Mail-equette
• Common sense • Channels of
Scriptor caveo
• Be careful the next time you hit "send" on a business e-mail because your message could wind up in your boss's hands, in front of a judge, or plastered in the newspaper.
• Nancy Flynn, executive director, ePolicy Institute
• Emails send messages about your unit and your own performance—impression management
Which Medium to Use
>Does your receiver have a preference?
– Formal impression, for the record correspondence – Legally required – Distinguishing method • Email – Quick – Free – Record of exchange • Voice – Personal – Informal – No real record
• Facilitates fast, convenient flow of information
among users at various locations and across
time zones
• Increases efficiency
• Reduces costs
• Reduces paper waste
Suitable for an Email from Work?
• That health insurance rates are going up next
year
• That your supervisor is being replaced
• That your performance wasn’t very good last
year
• That you want your friend to meet you after
work at P.F. Chang’s
Subject Lines
• Never leave blank-deleted
• Can be sorted into folders in Outlook
• Tells recipient which messages to read and when • Captures attention (hook)
• Builds interest
– September requests for services
– September Requests for Services: Good News and Bad News
Which Subject Line?
• United Way Drive Launched
• Kitchen Duty • Email Request • What Ya’ Think? • DNO: Out of Office
• Annual Fund Raising Effort
• Your Turn
• Request for Data File on Account #xxxx
• Opinion on Handling Complaint
• Judy- Whereabouts Tuesday Afternoon
Message Body
• Use a greeting—convention and sets tone • Titles? Names? Formal or informal?
• Pay attention to quality of writing
• Keep emotions under control—never write when angry or upset with sender or message content
– Studies show that many employees do not want co-workers to show any emotion, positive or negative (http://tinyurl.com/y8995nf)
• Remember to meet the needs of your audience/recipient • Use a “you” attitude
Reader’s POV (You Attitude)
• What will be accomplished by reading this
email?
• Focus on one main idea usually
• Sequence points based on anticipated reader
reaction (buffers)
• Careful use of jargon and technical terms
• Graphic (font, bulleting) highlighting
Email Message Errors
This is an invitation to arrange your schedule
to attend a day-long meeting to discuss and
finalize the 2011 budget on Friday, May 19
that
the Memorial Union, Alumni Room. Don’t
forget to bring your summary sheets. The
BOM has reviewed your preliminary sheets
and let you know what additional information
is needed. Bring that to the meeting. We meet
at 9 am in the Alumni Room.
Organizing the Body without
Spandex
• AIDA – Attention – Interest – Details – Action • Organization – Beginning – Middle – End• Bullets and other organizational clues
In response to your order dated November 2, 2010, I am pleased to inform you that we now have configured your electronic business card and you can link to our website to download it to your computer system at your convenience.
• Your electronic business card is ready for you to install.
Don’t bury main idea in long, wordy sentence.
• When the 30 days have expired, the
information will be deleted from our
system, so do not delay.
• Please install your card prior to the expiration date to be sure you
safely retrieve it before the information is
deleted from our system.
– Excellence in Business
Revised Email
We need your help in completing our 2011 budget request due to the administration.
On Friday, Feb. 19, 2010, I ask you to attend an all-day working meeting on the budget.
You will help us in this meeting if you can provide Lynn, our BOM, with the missing information identified in her email last week by that Wednesday, Feb. 17th.
We will meet in the Memorial Union, Alumni Room, at 9 am with pastries provided. Lunch will be on your own from 12 noon until 1 pm. I am hopeful we can conclude by 3 pm. Thank you for helping us complete this task.
Conversations and Oral
Communication
• You’ve chosen to respond (or initiate) a
conversation
• A little planning will help
• Your needs
Framing Your Conversation
• Know your audience/colleague – Conventions – Preferences – Timeliness• Find a hook, motivator for listening
– POV – WIIFM
– Prepares for requested action
Balancing Needs
• All communication is persuasion
• Meets their needs and time constraints
– “Would it be better if I came back later?” • Close down the meeting if you lose control
• Be clear about request and ask for follow up at a reasonable time
• Be accountable
– State that you will check in before that time if there are last minute questions or follow up if not replied
Communication Annoyances
• Sending emails that are not necessary• Requesting return receipt
• Sending jokes, websites, etc. that are not relevant and then asking if you got the email
• Forwarding on an email without comment
• Forwarding an entire message that may contain inappropriate information/identification/commentary
• Pre-judging or misjudging the recipient's reaction • Turn around time
• Reply to all
• Lack of context for email
• Lack of purpose for response--What am I supposed to do? • Talking about others’ emails with colleagues
Good Luck
• Litigation is the No. 1 risk that employees face with employee e-mail," said Nancy Flynn, executive director at the ePolicy Institute in Columbus, Ohio. "People make inadvertent mistakes, and the opposing counsel is hoping there are smoking-gun e-mails they can use against you."
• Fourteen percent of workplace e-mail is subpoenaed in lawsuits, she said. Drafting and enforcing an e-mail policy -- one that includes specifics on how long a
company should keep e-mail -- is the best way to prevent employee e-mail from causing a problem, Flynn advised.
• http://searchdomino.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid4_gci9634 33,00.html
• Do you have a personal policy on email? • Does your unit?
