Professional Communication

1
Professional Communication

• Essential interaction
• Ch 8 Hoffman

2
LLL reading assignment

• Date for presentations and reports

3
Objectives

• Professional vs. Casual communications
• Essential for career
• Principles
• Issues (traps)
• Examples

4
Intro

• Fawlty Towers clip
• Communication Problems 107-331
• Faulty communication channels
• Deaf (bad phone line, poor writing, illegible fax
  etc.)
• Language/culture problems
• I dont care (Amer.) vs,. I dont mind
  (Brit.)
• Other international culture bombs?)
• Personality issues create antagonism
• Techie problems arrogance, perceived
  superiority, superciliousness, Direct commands
  from employer to employee are phrased as polite
  requests

5
Intro 2

• Sense and sesibility (Emma Thompson production)
  110-400 minutes
• Clear verbal agreements cane be distorted
• Lack of clarity
• Greed

6
Master Key to professional communication

• Profound respect for others plus
• Desire to promote aims of organization
• Not simple
• emotion, culture, recognition of differences
• Strict transmitter, tolerant accepter

7
Communication Types

• Verbal, Written, Implied
• Face-to-face, remote, delayed (eg email)
• Formal, to informal
• Instructions, Greetings, Information, Requests

8
Exercise

• Exercise to try this out.
• Requires paper or word processor
• (smartphone too slow)
• Time limit 5 Mins
• Submit on Gradebook before next class
• Will discuss in next class
• See next slide for scenario
• Note time constraints

9
Writing Exercise Scenario

• The servers are failing periodically. They are
  overloaded They really should be replaced.
  Replacement will cost 10-50K and the economy is
  tight. The servers overheat, although the problem
  might be relieved by cooling the NOC. They failed
  last night and a lot of emails important to the
  business were lost (perhaps they can be
  recovered). If you shut the servers down for
  several hours you may be able to reconfigure them
  to alleviate the problems, perhaps even solve the
  problems, you wont know without digging into
  several things. People are very upset at the loss
  of communications. The sales staff and legal are
  both very concerned and need their data asap. In
  addition to this problem you have several other
  fairly urgent tasks to take care of, one of
  which is meeting with a major customer (Dr. Selma
  Smedhurst of GongaCorp) in 45 minutes, which will
  take several hours.
• Your boss, Mr. Sefton Blake, emails you
• What happens to the network last night? Let me
  know asap, I have to take a response into a board
  meeting in 20 mins!
• Time Constraints You watched a movie last night
  instead of preparing for your meeting w. Dr.
  Smedhurst. You need 30-40 minutes to put the
  documents together.
• Your Boss is waiting for your reply (20 minutes
  to board meeting)
• Write a memo reply. You have 5 minutes.
• Your reply will probably be shown or read to the
  board.
• Your name for this exercise is Kelly Frankton
• Memos always have FROM, TO. DATE and SUBJECT
  at the top. Since this is an email address the
  person you are sending it to at the top, include
  SUBJECT line and sign it with your name.

10
Memo (Email) Analysis/grading

• Points awarded deducted in the following areas
• Formality
• must be formal, this will be shared with your
  boss boss bosses
• Heading, subject and signature
• Politeness
• MUST be polite in all professional communication
• Standard English, no jargon or slang
• Avoid cultural references
• Strict Transmitter Tolerant receiver
• State situation
• Give readers an understanding
• Background and current status
• Avoid technical jargon, consider your audience
• Ask for (or propose) action
• What should happen? YOU are the expert!
• Correctness
• Correct English. Spelling, grammar and style
• Ambiguity
• Cultural issues

11
Analyze submitted emails

• Analyze emails submitted by class

12
A reprieve

• Mr. Blake contacts you again the board meeting
  was postponed and due to the problem on the
  servers your previous email was lost. But the
  postponed board meeting is now in 20 minutes.
  Please send your email.
• Re-write your email
• 5 minutes again
• But now you have had time to think!
• Submit on Gradebook
• Will be graded according to rubric
• See next slide for rubric

13
Grade Rubric (Draft)
14
Hoffman Table 8-1
15
Characteristics analysis

• Synchronous/Asynchronous
• Synch EG. phone, face-to-face
• Fast negotiation
• Typically higher bandwidth (emotional/contextual,
  body language)
• Actually a range from instantaneous to very
  long (days to years)
• Asynch EG. Email, letter blog,
• Dont assume its synchronous
• Confirm receipt?
• Take time to respond, think, re-read, analyze

16
Characteristics analysis (contd)

• One-directional or two-directional
• One General Conference (or business equivalent
  (keynote, seminar etc), website
• Recorded
• If recorded remember the Internet never forgets
• EG. Stuff deleted on Facebook is not deleted
• If not recorded send a confirming email?
• Bandwidth

17
Characteristics analysis (contd)

• Bandwidth How much contextual information?
• EG. Bare text?graphics?face-to-face
• Why we do business travel
• Body language, emotional (enthusiasm, sarcasm,
  pleasure, distaste etc.)
• Good writing skills can convey these

18
Example

• Non-verbal communication
• Good Omens A nods as good as a wink
• P 16 (intro) and p23 (the wink)

19
Common Factors

• Always courteous
• Commands stated as polite requests
• Say what you mean
• No more and no less
• Avoid ambiguity (Hoffman fig 8-2)
• Say what you want
• Listen/read
• Major cause of grade loss!

20
Landmines

• Ad hominem issues
• Political Correctness is based in real respect
  for all people
• Address the problem not the person
• Balance
• trusting, cooperative, friendly vs.
  non-judgmental, non-personality
• Style/grammar/spelling
• You will be judged on your writing/speaking
• Errors distract from your message

21
Cultural Issues

• Blunt direct vs. tactful
• Utah-speak vs. west/east coast
• Sunday School, Thank your for that contribution
  
• Japanese cant say no. How do I take a bus from
  X to Y, I think a train is a better option for
  you
• Use standard English
• Fundraiser, Need to flog those tickets
• Never use sarcasm (or irony) in business
  communication
• does not communicate by email/blog/sms
• Examples from your international experience?
• Local interpretations (see grocery story)

22
E.G. Cultural/language barriers

• Real experience
• Grocery store supervisor (anglo), Worker
  (latino). Conversation in Spanish
• W Can I go to parent-teacher conference?
• S Ill have to check with senior management
• S Go home!
• INTENT(S) You can go to your school conference
• PERCEPTION(W) Youre fired!

23
MeetingsUseful vs. time-sinks

• Agendas and minutes
• What was actually agreed to, who is going to do
  it, focused discussion etc.
• Changes a meeting from a social hour (albeit an
  incredibly boring social hour) to a productive
  part of your day
• Asst 2 Sample Project Mtg. agenda
• What needs to be included?
• What should be excluded?
• Discuss next time

24
Meetingsvery formal

• Roberts Rules of order why?
• Motion, second, vote etc.
• Robert's Rules of Order is this country's
  recognized guide to smooth, orderly, and fairly
  conducted meetings. (see website)

25
Activity

• Line drawing
• Verbal instructions