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Effective Communications

What if . . .

Rhetorical TriangleMessageAudienceSpeaker

What Happens Here?AudienceMessageSpeaker

And Here?MessageAudienceSpeaker

Audience What do they need to know? How much do they alreadyknow about your subject? What do they expect to see? What prejudices/preconceptionsmight they have? What’s on their agenda?

Speaker What do you want the audienceto remember? How will you show yourcredibility? How will you demonstrate youare an authority on the subject? What do you have in commonwith your audience to create abond?

Message What are you trying to achieve? Inform Express Persuade (that’s always the case) Is it necessary?

Effective Communication . Most powerful tool for personal and/orprofessional success. Empowers you to influence others. Is challenging day-to-day with coworkers, family and friends. One of the quickest ways to alienate yourselffrom other people is to communicateunsuccessfully.80% of problems in the workplace arecommunication related.

What is Communication?Communication is the givingand receiving of feedbackbetween individuals and/orgroups for the purpose ofexchanging information.

What is Business Communication?Business communication is thegiving and receiving offeedback between individualsand/or groups for the purposeof exchanging informationand altering performance inthe workplace.

FactoidThe average employee receivesabout 190 communications a dayby paper, voicemail, email, phone,etc.--from Pitney-Bowes survey

Factoid2 hours and 10 minutes amount of time people waste eachday at work of which 1 hour and 38 minutes wasdue to ineffective communicationpractices.

Process Model of CommunicationPrinciples of Management, Carpenter, Bauer, Erdgon

Communication Flow in an OrganizationPrinciples of Management, Carpenter, Bauer, Erdgon

Who Managers Spend Time with at WorkPrinciples of Management, Carpenter, Bauer, Erdgon

FactoidStudies have shown that up to90% of a manager’s time isspent on some form ofcommunication.

Types of Communication Face-to-Face Meetings (In-person, Video) Written Electronic Email, Texting, IM Telephone Voicemail

Information Channel RichnessSource: Based on R. H. Lengel and R. L. Daft, “The Selection of Communication Media as an Executive Skill,” Academy of Management Executive, August 1988, pp.225-232; and R. L. Daft and R. H. Lengel, “Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness, and Structural Design,” Managerial Science, May 1996, pp. 554572. Reproduced from R. L. Daft and R. A. Noe, Organizational Behavior (Forth Worth, TX: Harcourt, 2001), p. 311.

Face-to-FaceMost people prefer to getinformation face-to-face, especiallyfrom their immediate supervisor.

Benefits Face-to-Face Opens two-way communication. Allows for immediate response toquestions, misinterpretations,feedback, etc. Takes advantage of voice andbody language.

Guidelines Face-to-Face Use in-person communication whenyou have to share information that willaffect the audience. Use for performance evaluations andfeedback. Use when the information beingcommunicated needs immediateattention. Be prepared to answer questionsdirectly and immediately.

Effective Face-to-FaceSpeaker Credibility DO give people honest, direct, andcomprehensive information. DON‟T answer phone or take callwhen someone is in your office. DON‟T wait too long to ask for (or togive) feedback, gather informationimmediately.

Effective Face-to-FaceAudience Consideration DO give people your undividedattention: listen, really listen, give fullattention. DO treat people‟s ideas and concernsas critical and serious: EMPOWERTHEM. DON‟T make the conversation oneway. Invite responses, discuss anddebate.

Communication is not overwhen you finish deliveringyour message.

Types of Meetings Executive BriefingInformationalMeeting with a StakeholderStaff MeetingTeam BuildingInformalOthers.

Why Meet?The primary reason for meetings isto share or brainstorm informationor to develop action steps towardaccomplishing a goal.

Effective MeetingsSpeaker Credibility Make an agenda and stick to it. Sendit out before the meeting, if possible. Be clear about the reasons for andgoals of the meeting. Have a facilitator – ask someone atthe meeting to step into this role.

Effective MeetingsAudience Consideration DO add humor, allow for laughter,have fun. Makes for a much more productivemeeting. DO allow for conflict but deal with itimmediately.

Meeting “Killers” Poor PreparationIgnored agendaPoor time managementLack of participationStrong personalitiesLack of leadershipLack of humor and funNo/poor closing

The only thing worse thana bad meeting is a greatpresentation that couldhave been sent as amemo.

Written Communication MemosReportsBulletinsLettersPolicyEmailHandwritten notesPowerPoint

Snow Flake?

Information Channel RichnessSource: Based on R. H. Lengel and R. L. Daft, “The Selection of Communication Media as an Executive Skill,” Academy of Management Executive, August 1988, pp.225-232; and R. L. Daft and R. H. Lengel, “Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness, and Structural Design,” Managerial Science, May 1996, pp. 554572. Reproduced from R. L. Daft and R. A. Noe, Organizational Behavior (Forth Worth, TX: Harcourt, 2001), p. 311.

Benefits WrittenSpeaker Credibility Creates a permanent record. Allows you to store information forfuture reference. Easily distributed. Consistency is quality – All recipientsreceive the same information. Necessary for legal and bindingdocumentation.

Challenges of Written Written communications areusually not read right away. May seem extremely formal. Use handwritten notes whenpersonal touch is needed. Must be well-written,straightforward, and concise.

FactoidMany people use 10 wordswhen they could use 3.

For ExampleHe gave 25,000 of his ownmoney to charity.How about .He gave 25,000 to charity.

Paramedic Method(Richard Lanham)1.2.3.4.5.6.Circle the prepositions (of, in, about, for, onto, into).Draw a box around the "is" verb forms.Ask, "Where's the action?"Change the "action" into a simple verb.Move the doer into the subject (Who's kicking whom).Eliminate any unnecessary slow wind-ups.7.Eliminate any redundancies.http://owl.english.purdue.edu

Effective WrittenSpeaker Credibility DO assess writing skills, if poor, gethelp. DO make sure that there is enough timeto draft, even email (fill send later). DO proofread very carefully, evenemail.

Effective WrittenAudience Consideration DO make sure there is enough time toreceive and digest. DO reduce unnecessary language. DON‟T use, if time sensitive. If immediate feedback is necessary – faceto-face or phone. If written record desired, follow-up withemail.

What‟s your target?In written communication, mostproblems are caused by thespeaker failing to be specific.Always think of audience.Make it clear, brief, and concise.

The problem with communication is “theillusion that it has been accomplished.”George Bernard Shaw

EmailEmail is now the dominant methodof communicating in business.It is quick, inexpensive, flexible andconvenient.

But it could be overload

Daily Corporate EmailRadaciti, Sara, “Email Statistics Report, 2010

Benefits Email Messages can be saved andstored. Convenient for communicatingwith people in different placesand different time zones. Excellent mechanism for followup or action items after ameeting.

Challenges of EmailStyle Etiquette -- no standards -- peoplemake up own styles, can be veryconfusing. Tone is difficult to control. Sent without proofreading and otherstandards applied to writtencommunications. We press the sendbutton too soon

Challenges of EmailContent Lack of confidentiality. Time management. Strictly budget time spent on email overall,and on specific types of emails –newsletters, quick response emails, emailsthat call for elaborate replies, etc. Turn notifications off. Incorrectly used to avoid confrontation. DON‟T put anything in an email that youdon‟t want the WORLD to read.

Effective EmailSpeaker Credibility DO write clearly and briefly. DO end your email with brief sign-offsuch as “Thank you,” followed by yourname and contact information. DO pick up phone after two rounds ofproblem-solving on email.

Effective EmailSpeaker Credibility DON‟T be blunt. Email is the coldestform of communication. Watch thetone. Be friendly, but polite. DON‟T use CAPS for emphasis in thebody of the email. It looks and„sounds‟ angry.

Effective EmailAudience Consideration DO write brief, clear reference to yourtopic in subject line. Use subject line for whole message Meet10:00 10/30 Okay? END. DO use subject-line protocols tospeed communication. No reply needed – NRN. Need response by date and time – NRB10/30 3:00 pm.

Effective EmailAudience Consideration DO make your request in the first lineof email and if that‟s all you need tosay, STOP. Limit email to 1-10sentences. DO copy emails to others BUT only ifthey really need the information. DO let others know if you received anemail in error.

Effective EmailAudience Consideration DO consider the purpose of the email:why is it being written in the firstplace? DO consider the order of therecipients : be sensitive toorganizational hierarchy. DO limit the number of attachments. DON‟T deliver bad news in an emailmessage. If it's urgent, pick up phone.

The biggest difference in thequality of your emailmessages is made by you.

Information Channel RichnessSource: Based on R. H. Lengel and R. L. Daft, “The Selection of Communication Media as an Executive Skill,” Academy of Management Executive, August 1988, pp.225-232; and R. L. Daft and R. H. Lengel, “Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness, and Structural Design,” Managerial Science, May 1996, pp. 554572. Reproduced from R. L. Daft and R. A. Noe, Organizational Behavior (Forth Worth, TX: Harcourt, 2001), p. 311.

Instant Messaging (IM) and TextMessaging (TM)Instant Messaging (IM) and Text Messaging(TM) Rapidly gaining popularity in business. Fast and inexpensive way for managers to stay intouch with employees and peers with each other. IM is better for short messages that will be quicklydeleted.Despite exponential growth in usage, IM andTM are not likely to replace email. Email is better for long messages that need to besaved. There are additional security fears in using IM/TM More easily intercepted.

Telephone and Voicemail Medium that allows feedback butneeds to be concise like written. Don‟t forget FOIA with Voicemail

Benefits Telephone and Voicemail Immediate access to audience. Communication is direct andtimely. Takes advantage of tone of voiceand language. Allows for immediate response toquestions, feedback, etc.

Challenges Telephone and Voicemail Too spontaneous, might not beready to have a conversation. Not prepared when a call isreceived but take it anyway. Can‟t reach party in time to relayinformation. Not everyone has voicemail.

Effective Telephone and VoicemailSpeaker Credibility Let your voicemail speak for you. Don‟t have someone else record yourmessage. Record a daily or out-of-office greeting. Let callers know when you are available. Before placing a call, write key pointsyou want to cover. Return calls immediately. Avoid calling when angry, be friendlyand helpful.

Effective Telephone and VoicemailAudience Consideration Leave your name and phone numberat the beginning of the voicemail, notat the end. When leaving a voicemail, tell theperson what you want and how theyshould reply to you. Give undivided attention whenspeaking on the phone.

Rhetorical TriangleMessageAudienceSpeaker

Self Appraisal

Final ThoughtsA person‟s competence and aperson‟s effectiveness are based ontheir ability to communicateeffectively.Competence isn‟t the problem -how you Communicate is.

Questions