Module One: Exceptional Communication in the Workplace

Module One: Exceptional Communication in the Workplace

Exceptional communication in the workplace: words, in email, on the phone, online, in social media, video calls and face to face interaction

In this first module, you will learn:

  1. How to communicate highly effectively in a variety of online spoken and written forms 
  2. How to communicate highly effectively when delivering presentations or in person meetings
  3. What common communication errors you should avoid and not do 
Not knowing how others will respond
Response 43%
Not being able to get your point across clearly
Point 31%
Being in a confrontational situation
Confront 29%
Getting upset or emotional
Emotion 29%
Other person getting upset
21%

TEXTS

Value

The value in a text is that it is a chance to exchange information is a more personal way. They can often be quicker to send, so you can expect a quicker reply.

What to do

Begin by separating out your texts into different groups of people- customers, clients, team mates, office workers, managers and personal life.
Make sure to consider your audience and match your communication for each one
For professional/work texts, use the same format as an email, but keep it even shorter. You can still be formal by using more full words rather than text abbreviations
Match your tone to the person that you are communicating with- eg if they use an emoji or send a gif, then you knew that it is appropriate for you to do so too.
Consider keeping sensible hours for when you send texts- eg do not send them late at night.
Like with email communication, make sure that there is always a clear reason for texting someone for work purposes.
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What not to do

Be aware that leaving work WhatsApp groups can be tricky, so if you want to leave one, make sure to give a reason before doing so.
Never send anything hostile or malicious- as like email, texts are permanent.
Do not send texts for work purposes at random hours of the day or night- consider the other person who will receive it
Be aware that context can often be misinterpreted when communicating using technology, so if you are unsure about sending something, then don’t.
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Action point for you

  1. Write a list of all the different types of people whom you text for work and for personal.

  2. Put them in groups and use these guidelines so you know how you are going to communicate through text appropriately with each one.

Social Media

Value

Social media can hold huge value for you and your business, if you remain focused on how you use it to communicate. 

Social media can hold huge value for you and your business, if you remain focused on how you use it to communicate. Here is some of the value that it can provide for you:

  1. You can share your company story, culture and values
  2. You can build relationships
  3. You can build your visibility and credibility
  4. You can create and share valuable content
  5. You can create marketing and sales campaigns

What to do

  1. The most important aspects to consider when communicating on social media are:
    1. Who is talking- you or the business?
    2. Which platform are you on?
    3. And who is your audience?

If you keep these 3 questions in mind when you communicate on social media, then you will do well.

  1. Who is talking- if it is you, then you are representing your personal brand- how you want to come across. Make sure you are authentic and consistent, and you will be fine.
  2. If you are representing the business, then you must think, write and post as the business, not as yourself. Make sure to write using words like we and our, not me, my or I.
  3. Make sure what you post reflects the values of the business and what is most important to you.

What not to do

  1. Never include content that is malicious, aggressive, negative or that does not either reflect the brand and values of your company, or that aims to cause harm to others.
  2. If in doubt, check with someone at your company.
  3. If still in doubt, don’t post it and consider posting something else.

Which platform are you on?

Your communication will and should vary depending on which platform you are communicating with people on. The technology and algorithms are changing constantly, and feel free to express yourself and your company in your own way but here are some quick tips to get you started.

Remember with all social media, you are demonstrating that you understand your clients problems, and your company has the solution. If you focus your content and communications around that, you will do brilliantly.

Linkedin

A combination of written, visual and video posts do well. No need to include lots of hash tags, just relevant ones. You are setting yourself/your business up to be an authority in your field.

Facebook

Can be great for communicating with local businesses. Emojis can be used here. Short videos 1-2 minutes are well received here. Tagging your location can be useful here. Posting stories can help people to stay interested in your posts.

Instagram

Pictures and videos perform here. More specifically, reels (very short 10-30 second videos) perform the best. Instagram is moving away from being an image platform, and is focusing more on promoting videos. Include hashtags that are appropriate for your business. Stories help people to be interested and visit your profile.

Twitter

Short 1-2 minute videos do well here. Find appropriate hashtags for your industry and include those in your posts, so they get seen by more of the right kind of people.

Google My Business

Get into the habit of regularly posting your content on a business google my business page too. It is a fantastic way of making sure your content gets seen and ranked by google, and is some of the first content that you potential clients and customers will see when they google search your company name.

Blogs & Podcasts

For extra value, consider starting and maintaining a company blog and or a podcast.

  • Lots of people like to take their time digesting content over a longer period, and blogs allow this in written form and podcasts allow you to share on relevant topics over longer periods of time verbally.

They are also great for credibility and can improve your moral and positional authority, which as we have learned before, can boost the credibility of your communications.

Action point for you

  1. Look at your company’s current communications through social media. Do they reflect your values and your brand?

  2. Do they add value to the people reading if or watching it?

  3. Create a social media checklist using suggestions from the do and do not do list to ensure your posts are top quality and reflect your company well.

Phone Communication

Value

As with the other forms of communication mentioned so far, phone calls are great for quickly exchanging information, providing updates and scheduling calls to action. They also have the added benefit of letting you hear the other person’s voice, and their intonation, which can help the communication to feel more personal.

What to do

Always make an effort to sound positive, and most importantly sound interested in the other person. They can always tell if your are not.
Make sure there is not loud background noise, so they can hear you properly
Consider going into a separate room, if the call includes sensitive information
Make sure to keep your diction clear and sharp- pronounce the ends of words clearly- as strong accents and muffled phone lines can mean people are sometimes misunderstood.
Be aware that a person may have been on hold, and thank them for waiting.
Include the phrase, is there anything else I can help you with? towards the end of each call, to leave the door open for further value exchange.
Always keep in mind that you are a professional problem solver, there to help the person
Use techniques such as the fence to deal effectively with complaints, rudeness and hostility from people on the phone.
Always thank the person at the end of the conversation, no matter how it has gone.
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What not to do

Do not over use rising intonation at the end of everything that you say, otherwise each statement can sound like ongoing questions for the other person- which can be very annoying for some people.
Use techniques such as separation to stay calm when dealing with awkward behaviour on the phone- never allow yourself to lose your cool and never shout at someone, no matter what they do.
Do not deviate from an agenda during phone calls, remember they exist for a purpose.
Do not use slang or overly familiar language with people whom you do not know
And never swear.
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Action point for you

  1. Revisit the techniques of the fence and separation to help remind you of how to deal with challenging behaviour during phone calls.

  2. Use the to do and not to do lists to keep your communications of the highest quality.

Video Communication

Value

Video calls are one step closer to real human communication. And as you can often see the person, it helps a lot in building rapport and building relationships. The technology is also so good now, that you can share your screen with others, and so can now share and exchange information in an incredibly effective way. Video calls can also be brilliant for bringing together large groups of people and/or those living far away from each other.

What to do

Familiarise yourself with video calling programmes. Learn the basics of how to share your screen, how to mute people, how to create breakout rooms, how to upload video and music. There are many free tutorials you can view online to do this.
Keep video calls as short as possible- they can be quite fatiguing as there is a performative element to them, as people can see you.
Leave spaces in your calendar in between video calls- they can take some getting used to, if you are not familiar with their format.
Make sure to follow the usual good etiquette that you do in email and phone calls.
Be patient and expect that there can be delays and connection issues with people’s internet connectivity. Plan for this and allow some extra time in your meeting for it.
Have a smart, professional background.
Make sure that your full face and shoulders can be seen in the picture.
Consider recording the meeting, and sending it to participants, if they consent to it.
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What not to do

Do not leave your camera off and yourself muted unless asked to do so- it sends a signal that you are disengaged and uninterested.
Never login late, no matter what others are doing- it communicates a poor message to others.
Do not leave yourself unmuted if you have a lot of background noise, which could disturb others.
Do not stray from the agenda- stay focused.
Never take pictures of people or record a meeting without the consent of the participants.
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Action point for you

  1. Pick 5 best practise key points for you for video calls.

  2. Put them on your desk and use them regularly to help you to grow in confidence and effectiveness with them.

Face-to-Face Communication

Value

When we meet with people face to face, feel good chemicals called endorphins fire in our brains and help us to feel good. Our bodies and brains are wired for social connection and being with others.

When you meet face to face with others, for many it is the ideal form of communication. You can read the person’s expressions and body language and have a great chance of building or maintaining a great professional relationship.

What to do

Shake hands, hug, or fist bump where appropriate and safe. Think ahead how you would feel comfortable greeting someone, and if needs be, express your preference.
Keep good eye contact with the person when talking and listening. Unless looking away helps you to focus and listen intently, as it can with many people. If this is the case for you, make sure to tell the other person this.
Make sure to use communication frameworks such as golden conversations and VIP to structure and guide your meeting.
Like emails, make sure all meetings or face to face catch ups have a reason for happening, and end with a clear action for what is going to happen next.
Maintain a positive, interested expression on your face and with your body. Show the person that you want to be there with them and that you are interested.
Try using the 8 suggested rapport techniques to help to take the interaction to a higher level.
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What not to do

Never be late. Always show respect for the person, by respecting their time. Always factor in time for disruptions and traffic.
Be well prepared-make sure that your have all the notes and resources that you will need.
Do not monopolise the conversation. Actively listen to the other person or people and give them chance to talk.
Do not drag out the meeting- if all points are covered and the next action set up in 25 minutes, then that’s great for all concerned!
Do not deviate from your agenda- if a valid point is raised, make a note to answer it outside of the meeting.
Do not do anything that is going to zap the energy of the other person- moaning, complaining or gossiping. These things are not good investments of their time or yours.
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Action point for you

  1. Pay attention at your next face to face meeting.

  2. Evaluate it and yourself based on the do and do not do criteria and look for areas where you can improve

  3. Then implement these in you next meeting.

Presentations

Action point for you

  1. Create an imaginary 10 minute presentation to deliver on a topic of your choice.

  2. Create a structure, script and slides using the top tips learned in this section and deliver it to someone whom you trust.

  3. Ask for feedback from them and use it to make the presentation even better.

  4. Then use this practice presentation as your template, which you can use to create as many future real deliverable presentations as you would like.

  5. Also, commit to making each of your presentations better than your previous one, and you are really thinking and acting as an exceptional communicator!

Upon completion of this module’s material above, select the “mark complete” or “next module” button below to record your progress to proceed to the next module. This will save your place and your work on the course thus far and will enable you to complete the assessment at the end of the course.

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