Professional Organizations

Becoming a better presenter never hurt anyone in the workplace.  Check out these national organizations geared towards public speaking, networking and developing communications skills.

American of Professional Communication Consultants- The non-profit group has a marketing focus and is “committed to raising public awareness of the value of effective communication” (APCC, n.d.). Members are encouraged to network and use the tools and resources available to grow their business. If I were promoting or marketing a business, I would strongly consider joining this group.

The American Communication Association- The purpose of the group is to improve human communications through use of a universal “communication law and policy” (The American Communication Association, 2010). The group has an academic and professional focus and the site points out that the organization uses evolving forms of technology. This caught my attention and I would consider joining the organization.

The Association for Women in Communications- The association’s mission is to promote the leadership skills of women in the workplace through use of modern communication skills (The Association for Women in Communications, 2012). While I understand the significance of the group, I would prefer to join a group that was diverse like the workplace.

The International Association of Business Communicators- The group promotes networking on global scales and members use “the world’s most effective communication practices” (IABC, 2012). My current career path requires no intercultural communication, but if my role was to change, I would consider joining.

Toastmasters International- The organization works to develop presenting and leadership skills by using a “learn-by-doing” approach. Members present in front of other members and provide each other with feedback (Toastmasters International, 2012). I have considered joining the organization. I know several people who have participated and all have credited the organization with improving their speaking skills in the workplace.

Resources

The American Communication Association. (2010). About ACA. Retrieved from: http://www.americancomm.org/about/

The Association for Women in Communications. (2012). AWC Overview. Retrieved from: http://www.womcom.org/About_Us/AWC-New-Overview.asp

APCC. (n.d.) .About APCC. Retrieved from: http://consultingsuccess.org/wp/?page_id=83

IABC. (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.iabc.com/

Toastmasters International. (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.toastmasters.org/

Delivering Bad News Tactfully and Effectively

      

     Occasionally in management, you run into an employee who is toxic to a team. If those employees are dealing with customers, it reflects badly on the entire company. In this scenario, a department manager oversees a team of ten. The team is expected to uphold to a high level of technical expertise and deliver excellent customer service. One particular employee is not performing to expectations and has received complaints from both co-workers and customers. The employee has been known to be confrontational and creating a hostile work environment.

     As his supervisor, I would open up dialogue by reviewing expectations with the employees and why that is important to the company and to the employee. For instance, in this case, I would explain how the technology industry is such a competitive market. It is important that we offer a positive customer service experience to each one of our customers or we run the risk of losing them to one of our many competitors. I would explain to the employee that he or she was put into their current position not only because of the expertise, but also because we felt that they could offer a consistently strong customer experience.

     Assuming I have done my due diligence as a manager, I should have been prepared for such an occurrence based on the employee’s track record. Following the previous meeting, would d have scheduled a follow-up meeting. That way, the employee has the expectation that we would be sitting down again and following up on the items discussed on the previous meeting. As a manager, this would help provide guidance for an employee looking to sincerely correct their behavior or act as documentation for an employee who failed to meet expectations.

     For someone like myself who prefers to avoid confrontations, it is important to remember that as uncomfortable the situation may be, it is necessary. As a supervisor, I have an obligation to company, the rest of the team and to my family to address any toxic employees. If not, the behaviors of that one employee can impact several people (Ethics Scoreboard, 2005). Plus, I would never allow someone else’s poor performance cost me my job.

     I would hope the employee would be open to feedback; however based on history, I would expect and be prepared for the employee to become defensive. The employee may choose to point fingers and blame others for his actions or as the “The Ethic of Confrontation” blog points out, I can also expect the “everybody does it” rationale (Ethics Scoreboard, 2005). If so, I would need to remain firm that we are currently addressing these particular complaints.

     I would finalize our meeting by clearly outlining the expectations and again, aligning them with the vision of the company. I would directly ask the employee if he or she felt they could commit to what was expected of them. If I gained agreement, I would schedule another follow-up meeting. I would thank them for their commitment and build confidence by reinforcing that they are in their current role because we know they are capable of doing a good job. If the employee felt they could not act as expected, I would notify them immediately that would be terminating their services. Going into the meeting, I should have been prepared for the possibility and reached out to my own supervisor and Human Recourse partner to fill them in and make sure I adhered to company procedure.

     It is never easy to let someone go, but an employee can only get so many chances to do their job in the way that expected. In the long run, letting an uncooperative employee go is in the best interest of the others in the team.

Reference

The Ethics Scoreboard. (2005, August). The Ethics of Confrontation Retrieved from: http://www.ethicsscoreboard.com/list/confrontation.html

Media Technology

Social media, such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram have become an important source of media technology for many companies. Updates allow companies to share make announcements, advertise sales and make finding company information easy for their customers. It is one of the easiest ways to stay relevant at little to no cost. Plus using the internet as opposed to traditional forms of advertising saves time. For instance, many small restaurants encourage patrons to “check-in” and receive a discount. By checking in, they are advertising their business to “friends or followers” of that patron. While social media may appear to be geared at a younger demographic, its demographics continue to grow to include other groups. Aside from social aspect of social media, there are also professional social media site that allow for networking and career growth such as Linked-In. With social media, the rule of thumb is not to post anything you would not want your parents or your boss to see. People often forget that once something has been posted online, it could potentially stay out there for a very long time and in extreme cases, ruin a person’s reputation.

Text messaging has become increasingly popular over the last several years as a form of media. Companies can now advertise themselves and promotions through a text message by obtaining a customer’s mobile number. In my opinion, text messages create a bigger sense of urgency since most people check their text immediately after receiving them as opposed to an email that may sit in an inbox and just get deleted before it is even read. The danger of using text as a form of media comes in the form of unexpected charges to the consumer. It is not uncommon for consumers to share their phone numbers and once. Parents could still be held financially responsible if their child unknowing responded back to a marketing scam via text message.

A Rich Site Summary (better known as an RSS Feed), allow for their audience, or subscribers, to stay updated through either their computer or Smartphone. The advantage of a RSS Fees is a subscriber stays current without a need to look for the updates on the newest news through a continuous stream of information... Since followers sign up for updates, their audiences tend to be people already interested in the site and its contents. RSS Feeds are available for almost any type of news you can imagine such as local, technology, business or entertainment. For the reader, it can save time from having to check out each of their favorite sites individually (Mossberg, 2005). RSS Feeds come with some disadvantages. As with any web site, the validity and trustworthiness of the creator should be researched. Sometime information can be skewed to the creator’s advantage. For instance, a blogger may fail to disclose he or she received a merchandise or monetary compensation for their reviews or portrayals (Lannon, 2008).

Web sites remain the most relevant and common of the different media technology sources. Web sites tend to be full of information and if created in a user-friendly form, they are the easiest way for potential customers to get the information they need. The beauty of websites is a business can use other forms of media such as radio or television to grab its audience attention and direct them to their website for further information. For a web site creator, it is vital that their site is trustworthy, easy to navigate and visually appealing to its readers. For web site users it important that they protect personal information, including credit card and bank information. Sites should be trusted site, free of viruses, and free of phishing information.

Reference

Lannon, J. M. (2008). Technical Communication (11th Ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Learning Solutions.

Mossberg, W. S. (2005, May). A Guide to Using RSS, Which Helps You Scan Vast Array of Web Sites. Retrieved from ProQuest: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=832738751&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1338263889&clientId=74379

The Power of Positivity

About once a decade I have what I like to call a major “Aha!” moment.  My last one was about six years ago when I was going through a difficult time financially.  My dad, who has gone through his share of ups and downs but has been overall successful and happy, gave me a book.  The book was about the power of thinking positive and within a few pages, I understood the message- good or bad, life is what you make of it.
Just like life, communications is what you make of it and attitude plays a major role on both ends of an interaction.  As the sender, you should be aware of how your message will be interrupted and you should have good intentions.  As the receiver, you interrupt the message in the way you choose to.  As a communicator, I like to be aware of other’s feelings.  As a receiver, I like to process the information and try to understand where the person is coming from before I jump to conclusions.
I know that everyone is different.  Some may say it takes too much time or work to put that much thought in to communication, but I believe it is worth it.  Not everyone will understand, but I will tell you this, in general, others respond well to my positive attitude.