Professional Communication in the Workplace

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Professional Communication in the Workplace

• Lance Kissler,Marketing Communications

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Outcomes

• Overview of basic communication theory
• Understanding phone etiquette
• Learning the principles of proper email
  correspondence

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Basic Communication Theory
Image http//www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/
wp-content/uploads/2007/09/comm_process.jpg
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Basic Communication Theory
Image http//www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2007/
08/images/rediscovering-figure2.gif
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Email vs. Phone

• Convenience stop/start as needed
• Review the message
• Focus the conversation
• Attachments links
• Mulitple recipients
• Written record
• Prior contacts

• Quick questions immediacy
• Clarify points immediately
• Everyone participating at the same time
• Initial contact for new people follow-up with
  email

Source http//www.indywebshop.com/bestpractices/
2006/10/25/talking-to-clients-phone-vs-email/
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Appropriate Response Time

• Same day if possible
• If a reply requires research or more information,
  follow up to confirm youve received the message
  and that you are working on a complete reply

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Answering Phone Calls

• Be polite and courteous
• Remember the tone of your voice conveys its own
  message
• Provide your name, office and organization
• Speak slowly and clearly
• Ask for clarification of details take notes if
  needed

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Transferring Phone Calls

• Inform the person you are going to transfer them
  shortly
• Call the person you are transferring to
• If the person is there, provide a summary
• If the person is not there, return to caller ask
  if they would like to be transferred to voice
  mail
• Provide the caller with the persons

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Leaving Messages

• Repeat detailed information, such as
• Name
• Organization/office
• Contact info (alternative contact methods)
• Purpose of the call
• Speak slowly and clearly
• Spell out email addresses
• Be concise dont leave long messages

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Taking Messages

• Ensure accuracy
• Record date/time, caller, contact info,
  organization/office, purpose of call, specific
  details
• Tip use a checklist to keep track of messages
  that require follow-up

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Voicemail Greetings

• Have a professional greeting
• Provide your name, organization, office, etc.
• State how long you will be out of the office
• Provide multiple contact information options or
  emergency contact info

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Forwarding Voicemessages

• Record a summary/intro about the message
• Inform the recipient if you have responded to the
  caller

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Email Composing Replying

• Greet new contacts (formal)
• Greetings,
• Dear Name,
• To Whom It May Concern (only if you dont know
  the recipients name)
• Greet known contacts (casual)
• Name,
• Good time of day,
• Resource
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salutation_(greeting)

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Email Composing Replying

• Use a signature
• Name, title
• Organization, office
• Contact info
• Other relevant info
• May require a confidentiality disclaimer
• Use concise subject lines with keywords
• Gives recipients a quick summary before opening
• Allows for quicker searching in email inbox
• If email topic changes, rename the subject line

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Email CC, BCC Forwarding

• CC carbon copy
• include additional recipients as an FYI
• seen by TO and BCC recipients
• BCC blind carbon copy
• TO and CC recipients do not see these people
• these people see TO and CC recipients
• Forward
• Usually better than BCC

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Email Emoticons

• Symbols that express emotion
• Happy Face -)
• Sad Face -(
• Etc.
• Not appropriate for formal communication
• Best for casual communication, if you think it
  enhances or clarifies the tone

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Email Attachments

• Reference attachments in the message body
• File types
• avoid sending .EXE, .EPS
• 1-2MB file size per attachment
• no more than 5-10MB total
• use .ZIP to compress individual or multiple files
• Use service such as www.yousendit.com to send
  large file attachments separately

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Email Assigning Priority

• Priority settings
• Highest, High, Normal, Low, Lowest
• Tip generally send Normal and reserve
  Highest for messages that require an immediate
  response or attention
• Not all email clients offer this function

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Email Grammar, Style, Etc.

• Use appropriate grammar avoid jargon explain
  acronyms
• Use punctuation
• Double-check spelling
• Formatting
• CAPS Lock, bullets, numbering, bold italics,
  font size, type color, background
• HTML vs. text-only
• Refer to editorial style guide

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Email Out of Office Messages

• State how long you will be out of the office
• Will you be checking email while you are out?
• Provide emergency/alternative contact info
• Turn off when you return

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Email Your Email Address

• Select one that is easy to remember and
  identifies you
• Pacific provides an alias option as an
  alternative to your PUNetID
• Appropriate and professional words
• Examples
• lancekissler_at_pacificu.edu
• lance.kissler_at_pacificu.edu
• lkissler_at_pacificu.edu

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Email Additional Resources

• www.thewritemarket.com/mcnn/index.php?mcnnkeelti
  tle1520Top20Tips20for20Effective20Email20Co
  mmunication
• http//careerplanning.about.com/od/communication/a
  /email_tips.htm

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Questions?

• Lance Kissler
• Director of Marketing
• Marketing Communications, University Relations
• Pacific University
• 503-352-2007
• lkissler_at_pacificu.edu