Workplace Communication Skills

• Communication skills are critical for job placement, performance, career advancement, and organizational success.
• Businesses today generate a wide range of messages in a variety of media.
• Major trends in today's work environment include increased emphasis on self-directed work groups, virtual teams, heightened global competition, innovative communication technologies, new work environments, and a focus on business ethics.
• Many employees no longer need an office and can work anytime and anywhere.
• Ethics is a priority for many businesses.
• Communication is defined as the transmission of information and meaning.
• The crucial element of communication is meaning.
• Encoding is converting ideas into words or gestures.
• The communication process begins when the sender has an idea.
• Decoding translates the message from its symbol form into meaning.
• Feedback can include both nonverbal and verbal responses.
• The communication channel is the medium through which the message is transmitted.
• People are often poor listeners because the brain processes information faster than people talk, they tune out speakers with opposing ideas, and they prefer talking to listening.
• Most people are not very good listeners.
• Most North Americans speak at approximately 125 words per minute.
• "Layoff" is the best word to inform employees of job losses.
• Active listening involves keeping an open mind, establishing a receptive mind-set, and listening between the lines.
• Experiencing psychological barriers is a barrier to effective listening.
• A listener who nods and makes eye contact is likely actively listening.
• Increased comprehension can occur by keeping an open mind, listening for main points, taking selective notes, and judging ideas, not appearances.
• Controlling surroundings can improve listening.
• Meanings of nonverbal behaviors are often influenced by one's culture.
• Facial expressions, eye contact, and the use of time are forms of nonverbal communication.
• Most people converse with friends and family in the intimate spatial zone.
• Proofreading all correspondence helps improve your nonverbal communication skills.
• Nonverbal communication includes all unwritten and unspoken messages.
• Eyes are thought to be the best predictor of a speaker's true feelings.
• Culture teaches members how to behave and conditions their reactions.
• Communicators in low-context cultures depend little on the context and tend to be logical, analytical, and action-oriented.
• Business people from low-context cultures value keeping business and social relationships separate.
• North Americans value straightforwardness, indicating a cultural dimension of communication style.
• Germany likely views a business contract as a binding document.
• Tolerance means learning about and appreciating different beliefs and practices.
• Stereotyping is thinking all members of a group share the same traits.
• Ethnocentrism is the belief in the superiority of one's own culture.
• Practicing empathy is the best way to become more tolerant.
• One should graciously accept blame for not making their meaning clear when communicating with someone from another culture.
• When speaking with someone for whom English is a second language, follow up important messages in writing.
• When writing for a multicultural audience, use short sentences, short paragraphs, and action-specific verbs.
• When writing a contract with a Mexican company, use the metric system
• A diverse work environment leads to a better ability to create products desired by consumers, fewer discrimination lawsuits, and improved employee relationships/productivity.
• Workforce diversity can be improved by providing diversity training for employees.
• Workers communicating with diverse audiences must make few assumptions, learn about their own and other cultures, and seek common ground.
• Successful communication only occurs when the receiver understands the intended meaning.
• Psychological barriers to listening do not include hearing disabilities, poor acoustics, and noisy surroundings.
• Openness and tolerance are crucial in cross-cultural communication, not ethnocentrism.
• Business messages should get the audience to believe and accept the ideas.
• Audience-oriented writing means concentrating on the receiver's perspective.
• Purposeful business writing solves problems and conveys information.
• Economical business writing presents ideas clearly and concisely.
• Persuasive writing is about getting your audience to believe and accept your message.
• The first phase of writing involves analyzing the audience, your purpose, and anticipating reactions, adapting the message to the audience.
• Adapting your message involves thinking of the right words and tone.
• The second phase includes research, organizing ideas, and composing the message.
• The final phase involves checking for clarity and readability, proofreading, and evaluating effectiveness.
• Writers should spend the most time in the revising stage.
• A common secondary purpose of business writing is to promote goodwill.
• Before composing a message, ask: "Why am I sending this message?" and "What do I hope to achieve?".
• Channel refers to the medium through which the message is sent.
• Channel selection considers feedback, cost, and confidentiality.
• Face-to-face communication is best to inform someone about job changes that require retraining or risk of job loss.
• Use email to tell team members of date change.
• A letter is most appropriate when a written record or formality is required.
• Anticipating your audience means considering how readers will react to the message.
• Profiling the audience helps the writer choose the appropriate tone, language, and channel.
• Visualizing the audience requires asking questions of what position does the person hold in the organization? Do I need to include more background information? and should I expect a neutral, positive, or negative response to my message?
• Tone is primarily conveyed through language choice.
• Empathy is putting yourself in the receiver's shoes to adapt the message.
• Conversational business messages should be professional, positive, and courteous.
• Create a conversational tone using familiar words, contractions, and pronouns.
• Effective business writing uses proper grammar and vocabulary.
• Focus on what the audience can do rather than on what is not possible.
• Courteous messages avoid demanding or preachy language.
• Avoid gender-biased terms in business communication.
• Plain English means using active-voice verbs, personal pronouns, short sentences, and familiar words.
• Business writers should avoid unfamiliar language.
• Collect research, then formulate a message that is audience-centric.
• The best way to achieve the goal of persuasive writing is that you have made your audience believe and accept your message.
• After completing the prewriting phase you should start composing the report.
• The most effective communication method is to meet target market need

Organizing and Drafting Business Messages

• Research is the first step in developing a proposal for a cost-saving automated call center.
• Begin communications by addressing what the receiver needs to do.
• Formal research methods are required for long reports and complex business problems.
• Organizing a focus group is a formal research method.
• To obtain firsthand information, use interviews.
• Stephanie is preparing a market analysis for her business plan and she should conduct interviews and surveys or organize a focus group.
• Scientific experimentation will create the data needed to determine the price point at which builders would switch to this new product
• Employee surveys produce firsthand data.
• Employee Questionnaires and surveys are most appropriate to persuade her staff to participate
• Routine tasks require informal information collection, like looking in the files.
• Brainstorming involves recording ideas without judgment.
• Messages are clearer when similar items are grouped and important ideas are emphasized.
• Organizing data includes grouping and strategizing.
• Outlines are helpful when developing a complex project.

Direct vs Indirect Strategies

• Use the direct strategy for an email reminding staff of an upcoming meeting.
• The direct strategy saves the reader time.
• "Our new telecommuting program will begin on August 1" is the most direct opening for an e-mail
• Beginning with background information before announcing a reduction in health insurance coverage follows the indirect strategy.
• The indirect strategy respects the feelings of the audience.
• Starting with background information first is best suited for an unwilling, uninterested, displeased, or hostile audience.
• Sensitive messages typically use the indirect strategy.

Sentences and How to Use Them

• A simple sentence contains one independent clause.
• A complex sentence contains an independent clause and a dependent clause.
• A compound-complex sentence contains at least two independent clauses and a dependent clause.
• A maximum of 20 words is recommended for a sentence.
• A sentence fragment is a broken-off part of a complex sentence.
• A comma splice is two independent clauses joined by a comma without a conjunction.
• A run-on sentence is two independent clauses run together without punctuation or a conjunction.
• Boldface will emphasize an idea through mechanics.
• A simple sentence will emphasize an idea through style.
• In emphazing ideas through style, use a simple sentence.
• Active-voice sentences place the subject as the doer of the action.
• Effective sentences use both active and passive voice when appropriate.
• When you want to de-emphasize negative news, that is best time to use the passive voice.
• To achieve parallel construction, use similar structure to express ideas.
• Modifiers must be close to the words they describe.

Using Paragraphs Effecitvely

• The main idea, coherence, and supporting sentences make effective paragraphs.
• Most writers use Topic sentence first in the paragraph
• Paragraphs are coherent when ideas are linked.
• Transition expressions such as next, first, and finally indicate time association.
• Paragraphs contain eight or fewer printed lines.
• Writer's block is an inability to produce a first draft because of poor preparation.
• Quiet environments help for composing business messages.

True/False

• Effective writing is critical for promotions.
• Failing to do research may end in reorganizing.
• "What does the receiver need to know about this topic?" is a research question to consider
• Running scientific experiments is a method to gather formal research.
• Good organization is the greatest failing of business writers.
• Outlines can help to organize ideas and information.
• Another name for the direct method is frontloading.
• Messages containing bad news, ideas that require persuasion, and sensitive news are all best suited for the indirect approach.
• In passive voice, the subject is acted upon/is the doer of the action in active voice.
• Long sentences are NOT more compelling and effective.
• There must be variety when drafting sentences.
• Good writers avoid labeling main ideas
• All support sentences in a paragraph must relate to the topic sentence.
• Most routine business writing tasks allow you to use informal research techniques to gather sufficient information.
• Many communication experts regard poor organization as the greatest failing of business writers.
• Using a hierarchy such as an outline can help you to organize ideas and information.
• Experts say that the best way an author can put his point across is to avoid a pattern of repeated sentences.
• All 3 elements must be in sequence in the writing process to be effective.
• Don't assume the target market understands the subject matter.
• Looking in company files is a useful method to collect informal.
• Many communication experts regard poor organization as the greatest failing of business writers.
• It also saves time and encourages a fair hearing.
• There is more credibility by showing empathy for the audience

Chapter 4: Communicating Electronically

• Today's workplaces exchange information electronically and "on the go".
• Cloud computing is storing data and software in remote network clusters.
• Web 2.0 allows users to create content, review products, and edit/share information.
• VPNs (virtual private networks) offer businesses secure access to company information from any worldwide location via the Internet.
• The technological revolution has resulted in amazing productivity gains.
• Twitter is the best channel for always-on connectedness.
• Salery and benefits proposals should be delivered via interoffice memos
• Email is an appropriate way to message a change in a meeting date. rather than something sensitive.
• "Please Attend Staff Meeting August 15" is the most relevant subject to send
• Numbered/bulleted lists is an okay method for emailing.
• Most e-mail messages and memos have non-sensitive topics and begin directly.
• The body of an e-mail message should discuss only one idea, to help the receiver act on the subject.
• Email messages shoudl have action information, dates, a summary, or a closing though at the end.
• Guide words are e-mail "TO", "FROM", "DATE."
• Begin with a greeting as a visual cue.
• Do not use company computers for personal matters.
• Attach a document to the e-mail message, including identifying information in the body of the e-mail if messaging a long document.
• Your name should be at the very end of the e-mail to represent you.
• Don't justify the right margin when formatting a hard-copy interoffice memorandum.
• E-mail messages may become evidence in court is a problem with email
• Netiquette guidelines for email include considering the receiver.
• Use the "top-of-screen" test to indicate the relevance of the subject line on the initial email.
• Don't use e-mail to deliver bad news or to resolve arguments
• Demonstrate good netiquette in e-mail by asking permission before forwarding messages.
• if you can't reply immediately, acknowledge receipt of the message and tell the sender when you'll be able to reply.
• Instant messaging (IM) saves time by allowing coworkers to locate each other online via "presence functionality".
• Some employers forbid instant messaging (IM) due to distractions with emails.
• The new user-centered virtual environment called Web 2.0 includes podcasts, blogs, and wikis.

Podcasts, Blogs & Wiki's

• Web has dangerous such as misinformation.
• Digital audio or video files are known as podcasts
• Podcasts can offer a friendly human face without requiring a live presence.
• Select digital recorded is the best tip for recording a podcast. Recorders need to be high-end to ensure quality, rehearse your delivery.
• Blogs have the potential to reach a vast, far-flung audience.
• Companies use Twitter and other social media to monitor feedback.
• With blogs, one should be part of an effort to communicate information regarding the business's emergency.
• Blogs have several internal uses, providing information about benefits or featuring profiles on key employees.
• For craft a message for your corporate blog; offer a professional perspective on subjects you care about.
• Blogrolling mean you provide links to other sites or blogs on the Web, is essential to be effective in the new internet market.
• Global companies use wikis to share information between headquarters and satellite offices.
• Corporate teams use social networking to respond to internal and external customers in rapid-fire posts to emergencies and other high-pressure.
• Don´t critize other contributors when being part of a departmental wiki.
• Companies struggle with finding the right balance between permitting access to the Web and protecting security as well as ensuring productivity.
• Don't jeopardize workplace relations between work relationships
• Establish boundaries, and don't share information online that you wouldn't share openly in the office.

True and False

• E-mail is more professional than hard-copy memos in business.
• Refuse to accept "friends" to reduce jeopardizing the workplace relationship.
• Buzz is more important than truth in todays world.

Things that remain valuable in the technological age

• The biggest skill in the electronic age is to create content, evaluate products, and revise and share information.