Effective Communication at Work Place

Effective
Communications
At Work
By
Subroto Ghosh
OVERVIEW OF SESSION
 TYPESOF
COMMUNICATIONS
 TIPSON HOW TO BE
EFFECTIVE WHEN
COMMUNICATING
25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 2

“Communication is not a mysterious
process.
It takes place when the ideas from your

mind are transferred to another’s and
arrive intact, complete, and coherent”
“Make Presentations with Confidence,”

Barron’s

FACTOID
The average employee receives about

190 communications a day by paper,
voicemail, email, phone, etc.
from a Pitney-Bowes survey

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
WRITTEN
FACE-TO-FACE
ELECTRONIC
MEETINGS (EMAIL)
TELEPHONE
(VOICEMAIL)

FACE-TO-FACE
Most people prefer to

get information face-
to-face, especially
from their immediate
supervisor

The Benefits (face-to-face)
Opens two-way communication
Allows for immediate response to
questions, misinterpretations, feedback,
etc.
Takes advantage of voice and body
language

The Challenges (face-to-face)
Use in-person communication when you have
to share information that will affect the
audience
Use for performance evaluations and
feedback
Use when the information being
communicated needs immediate attention
Be prepared to answer questions directly and
immediately

The Do’s and Don’ts (face-to-face)
DO -- give people your undivided attention
-- listen, really listen, give full attention
DO -- give people honest, direct and
comprehensive information
DO -- treat people’s ideas and concerns as
critical and serious - EMPOWER THEM

Face-to-Face cont…..
DON’T -- tell people “what”, tell them

“why, how, and the larger picture”
DON’T -- make the conversation one-
way. Invite responses -- discuss and
debate
DON’T -- answer the phone or take a
call when someone is in your office

Face-to-Face cont...
DON’T -- wait too long to ask for (or to give)

feedback, gather information immediately
DON’T -- hold back bad news. Treat people

as intelligent adults, they want to hear the
truth

Communication is not over
when you finish delivering
your message

Types of Meetings
 Executive Briefing
 Informational
 Meeting with a Sponsor
(e.g. Site Visit)
 Staff Meeting
Let’s Meet
 Team-building
 Informal
 Others...

Why Meet?
The primary reason for meetings are to

share or brainstorm information or to
develop action steps toward
accomplishing a goal

Making Meetings Work
1. Make an agenda and stick to it. Send it
out before the meeting, if possible
2. Be clear about the reasons for and goals
of the meeting
3. Have a facilitator -- either a professional
or ask someone at the meeting to step
into this role

Making Meetings Work cont.…
4. Watch the time -- do not overrun -- keep

the agenda flowing
5. Add humor, allow for laughter, have fun -- it
makes for a much more productive
meeting
6. Allow for conflict but deal with it
immediately

Making Meetings Work cont….
7. Maintain control of the meeting at all
times. Don’t get off track
8. Eliminate attendees’ behaviors that are
disruptive
9. Allow for questions, be prepared to answer
them
10. Wrap the meeting up with what was
accomplished and action items

Meeting “Killers” -- why they fail
 Poor Preparation
 Ignored agenda
 Poor time management
 Lack of participation
 Strong personalities
 Lack of leadership
 Lack of humor and fun
 No/poor closing

The only thing worse than a bad meeting
is a great presentation that could have
been sent as a memo

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
MEMOS
REPORTS
BULLETINS
LETTERS
NEWSLETTERS
HANDWRITTEN
NOTES

The Benefits (written)
Creates a permanent record
Allows you to store information for future
reference
Easily distributed
All recipients receive the same information
Necessary for legal and binding
documentation

The Challenges (written)
May seem extremely formal -- use

handwritten notes when it is to be
personalized
Must be well written, straightforward and
concise
Written communications are usually not read
right away

DO’s and DON’Ts (written)
DO -- realize it is not read as soon as it is
received
DO -- make sure that there is enough time to
prepare and send, and for the recipient to
receive and digest
DO -- assess writing skills, if poor -- get help

Do’s and Don’ts… (written) cont...
DO -- outline key points before producing a
draft
DO -- always draft a written piece and then
reduce all unnecessary language -- be brief
DO -- proof-read very carefully before any
document is distributed

Do’s and Don’ts (written) cont...
DON’T -- use this form of communication if
writing is full of errors -- this reflects poorly on
the writer
DON’T -- use if communication is time

sensitive. If immediate feedback is
necessary -- use email

Is it clear? Have you hit your target?
In written communication
most confusion &
frustration are caused
by failing to be specific
…..
Make it clear, brief and

concise…..

THE PROBLEM
WITH COMMUNICATION
IS “the illusion that it has been
accomplished”
George Bernard Shaw

EMAIL
Email is now the
dominant method of
communicating in
business. It is
quick, inexpensive,
flexible and
convenient

But it could be a time-bomb
USE WITH CARE….

The Benefits (email)
Can be sent and received any time
Very time effective, can be sent and received
within seconds
Cost effective -- no paper, no stamps, no
costs -- yet(?)
Allows for direct access to others
Messages can be saved and stored

The Benefits (email) cont...
Convenient for communicating with people
in different places and different time zones
Easier to communicate with people who
understand written English but don’t speak
it well
Excellent mechanism for follow-up or action
items after a meeting

The Challenges (email)
Not everyone has an email account or
access to email at all times
Email etiquette -- no standards --
people make up own styles, can be
very confusing
Email is not confidential -- emails can
be obtained from central network even
if deleted from personal computers

The Challenges (email)
cont...
Email is too often used to distribute
inappropriate material, such as racial and
gender jokes
Email is too often used to avoid

confrontation and can be easily
misinterpreted

The Challenges (email) cont...
Email is often sent out without re-reading,

proof-reading and other standards applied to
written communications. We press the send
button too soon…
Emails can be forwarded and sent to others

without the author’s approval or knowledge

The Challenges (email) cont...
Emails are often casual and informal -- this

can create a potential hazard
Senders often assume that email is read

immediately which can create problems

Do’s and Don’ts (email)
DO -- always begin your email with a
salutation and the person’s name -- a date
is a good idea as well
DO -- always close the email with a closing
sentence and your name
DO -- in the subject line write a brief and
clear reference to your topic

Do’s and Don’ts (email) cont...
DO -- consider the order of the recipients --
be sensitive to organizational hierarchy
 DO -- limit the number of attachments
DO -- consider the purpose of the email --
why is it being written in the first place?
DO -- consider alternatives -- phone, voice
mail, note, etc. can be more appropriate

DON’T -- Send the entire email when
replying. Only send the part that is
essential
DON’T -- Be too blunt -- email is the
coldest form of communications. Watch
the tone. Be friendly but polite
DON’T -- Write an email longer than
two screens -- it probably won’t be read

DON’T -- use “CAPS” for emphasis in the
body of the email. It looks and “sounds”
angry
DON’T -- use an automatic signature with
every email. Use only in your initial email,
not when replying to a message

The biggest difference in the
quality of your email messages
is made by you

Telephone and Voicemail
Most employees
have access to a
phone (and
voicemail)
Using a telephone
can be spontaneous
and often friendly

Benefits (telephone/voicemail)
Immediate access to audience
Communication is direct and timely
Takes advantage of tone of voice and
language
Allows for immediate response to
questions, feedback, etc.

Challenges (telephone/voicemail)
Too spontaneous, might not be ready
to have a conversation
Not prepared when a call is received
but take it anyway
Can’t reach party in time to relay
information
Not everyone has voicemail

Tips for telephone & voicemail
Let your voicemail speak for you (don’t have

someone else record your message)
Record a daily greeting - let callers know
when you are available
When leaving a voicemail message tell the
person what you want and how they should
reply to you

Tips (telephone/voicemail) cont...
Leave your name and phone number at
the beginning of the voicemail message
not at the end
Before placing a call write down key
points you want to cover
Give undivided attention when
speaking on the phone

Tips (telephone/voicemail) cont...
Try to return calls immediately, if
someone is calling -- it must be
important to them
Avoid calling when angry, be friendly
and helpful

FACTOID
55% of what people perceive of others
comes from body language and facial
expressions
38% comes from tone of voice
7% is based on the actual words people
use

Final Thoughts
A person’s competence and a person’s

effectiveness are based on their ability to
communicate effectively
Competence isn’t the problem --

How you Communicate is

Resources
 Seymoure & Shervington,  “Writing Professional E-Mail
“Essential Managers, Messages”, compositioncafe.
Maximizing Performance”, http://www.compositioncafe.com
DK Publishing, Inc.  Vivian Buchan, “Make
 Boylan, “What’s Your Presentations with Confidence,”
Point?”, Adams Media Barron’s
Corporation  Maureen Bauer, “Learning Tips
for Effective Communication at
 Ivy Sea Online,
Work”, Click10.com
“Interpersonal
Communication Quick Tips”
http://www.Ivysea.com

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Effective

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 2

It takes place when the ideas from your

“Make Presentations with Confidence,”

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 3

The average employee receives about

from a Pitney-Bowes survey

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 5

Most people prefer to

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 6

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 7

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 8

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 9

DON’T -- tell people “what”, tell them

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 10

DON’T -- wait too long to ask for (or to give)

DON’T -- hold back bad news. Treat people

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 11

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 12

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 13

The primary reason for meetings are to

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 14

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 15

4. Watch the time -- do not overrun -- keep

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 16

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 17

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 18

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 19

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 20

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 21

May seem extremely formal -- use

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 22

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 23

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 24

DON’T -- use if communication is time

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 25

Make it clear, brief and

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 26

George Bernard Shaw

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 27

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 28

USE WITH CARE….

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 29

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 30

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 31

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 32

Email is too often used to avoid

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 33

Email is often sent out without re-reading,

Emails can be forwarded and sent to others

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 34

Emails are often casual and informal -- this

Senders often assume that email is read

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 35

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 36

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 37

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 38

25 august 2009 Subroto Ghosh 39

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Let your voicemail speak for you (don’t have