Communication Flashcards
Before you put together a presentation, send an e-mail, or any other kind of communication, what should you think about?
- who your audience is
- what they already know
- what they need to know
- how you can communicate that effectively to them.
The people you communicate with will notice and appreciate you communicating the precise information they need.
How can you build better relationships and trust with your team members and stakeholders?
By communicating thoughtfully and thinking about your audience first,
What is good to do when writing emails?
- Think about what your team member needs to know and get to the point instead of overwhelming them with a wall of text.
- You’ll want to make sure that your emails are clear and concise so they don’t get lost in the shuffle.
Poorly written email example
The amount of text makes it hard to see where the important information is. It’s casual. There are typos.
Well written email example
Its less overwhelming, to the point, only a few sentences, clearly organized with a polite greeting and sign off.
What should you do if there is too much information to put in an email?
It is time to request a meeting instead.
How quickly should you respond to emails?
- Within 24-48 hours
- Even if it’s just to give them a timeline for when you can get them the answers
What should you include in an email request you send out?
- Be clear about what you need and when you need it so that they can get back to you.
- Include a date in the subject line and bold dates in the body of the email, so it’s really clear.
- Being clear about your needs is a big part of being a good communicator.
Communicating your theory of the case when the data doesn’t give you a firm answer.
Communicate your theory to the stakeholders and the data points that led you in that direction. Then you can get buy in if there is additional information that needs to be gathered. For example, by creating a survey.
Before leading a meeting what should you do?
- Identify your objective. Establish the purpose, goals, and desired outcomes of the meeting, including any questions or requests that need to be addressed.
- Acknowledge participants and keep them involved with different points of view and experiences with the data, the project, or the business.
- Organize the data to be presented. You might need to turn raw data into accessible formats or create data visualizations.
- Prepare and distribute an agenda ahead of time
Sample meeting agenda
Share the meeting agenda ahead of the meeting
What should you do during a meeting?
- Make introductions (if necessary) and review key messages
- Present the subject for the meeting
- Discuss observations, interpretations, and implications of the data
- Take notes during the meeting
- Determine and summarize next steps for the group
What should you do after a meeting?
- Distribute any notes
- Confirm next steps and timeline for additional actions
- Ask for feedback
What should you do if conflicts arise?
While it can be easy to take conflict personally, it’s important to try and be objective and stay focused on the team’s goals.
How can you leverage conflict to improve the project?
- You can re-frame the problem.
- Instead of focusing on what went wrong or who to blame, change the question you’re starting with.
- Try asking, how can I help you reach your goal? This creates an opportunity for you and your team members to work together to find a solution instead of feeling frustrated by the problem.
