General Articles

Listening

E-mail

Intranet

Company Profiles

Exercise:
Listening Skills

General Articles

Linking Communications with Strategy to Achieve Business Goals by International Association of Business Communicators, Survey results of the "1999 Communications Study" identifying the current status of communications in a variety of organizations. Among the questions asked:

• "Do you have a formal employee communications strategy?"
• "Are your communications objectives linked directly to your business objectives?"
• Another question has respondents rate both the popularity and effectiveness of e-mail, ongoing employee publications and group meetings.

The study also analyzes the communication patterns of the organizations rated excellent in financial performance. For example: "High-performing organizations provide channels for upward communication and listen to what employees say" is one of the four trends discussed. The survey results are further summarized into "The Ten Characteristics of Effective Communications."

Engaging Your Employees for Long-Term Employment Goals by Anne Kreidler, Boston Business Journal, October 17, 1997. Steps a small business can take to build an effective employee communication system. The author focuses on regular meetings as a core approach, including why they are important and how to get the best results from them.

Using Positive Language by the Institute for Conflict Resolution. Practical advice on how to communicate to "elicit cooperation rather than argument or confrontation." The strength of this article is that it provides many examples of positive versus negative language. For example, negative language may start with such phrases as "We must insist..." or "We fail to understand..." while a positive approach would be, "Might we suggest that you [suggestion]" or "We can help you to [whatever] if you can send us [whatever]." For additional examples of how to positively communicate, go to Organization Improvement: Cooperative Communication and scroll down to the section, "What is cooperative communication?"

Listening

Effective Listening Skills by Kenneth R. Johnson, Vice President,
R. J. Associates. Discussion of nine blocks to effective listening, such as:

• Rehearsing “Your whole attention is on designing and preparing your next comment. You look interested, but your mind is going a mile a minute because you are thinking about what to say next.”
• Advising “You are the great problem solver. You don't have to hear more than a few sentences before you begin searching for the right advice. However, while you are coming up with suggestions and convincing someone to just try it, you may miss what is most important.”

Listening Skills Are Required To Work by Maureen Bauer. This brief article reminds us how easy it is not to listen to others and how this causes problems at work. It also includes a few tips for better listening.

Summarizing by Brian Bell. People often come out of meetings with different perceptions of what was said, and they may only remember those things that match their viewpoint or position on issues. To minimize this unintended consequence, the author recommends summarizing, where you review what was covered and agreed upon at the conclusion of the meeting.

Office Politics Five practical tips for managers to stay tuned to the employee grapevine, such as "Listen to whatever is being said without getting too emotional or losing your temper. You don't know what message will get sent back through the grapevine."

E-mail

Tips for Effective E-mail by Workforce Online (Workforce requires that you complete a free registration before gaining access to its articles). “Here are ten tips that will help you and your employees deliver effective e-mail—and avoid being fired.” For example, “Never assume that e-mail is confidential. Employers generally have the right to review their employees' e-mail.”

The Morality Metaphysics of E-mail by Michael Kinsley, published in Forbes ASAP . At a time when e-mail has already become an integral part of organizational communications in business, this article may at first appear out-of-date. However, it provides a broad perspective on e-mail: how it has revolutionized organizational communications and its advantages and disadvantages. Also, it offers an inside look at the role of e-mail at Microsoft and the online magazine, Slate, where the author is editor.

Intranet

The Intranet Wave by Brian Croft, 1997. The author first defines an Intranet and how it differs from the Internet. Then, he proceeds to illustrate how an Intranet can benefit organizational communications through a couple of brief examples from the insurance industry.

Intranet Expert Panel Sponsored by the Association of Business Communicators. Extensive interview of four experts on Intranets that covers such topics as:

• The value of Intranets.
• How to identify if an Intranet is effective.
• Challenges in creating and maintaining an Intranet.
• Role of Intranets in organizational communication.
• The impact of Intranets on supervisory roles.
• How Intranets relate to knowledge management.
• Measuring the success of Intranets.
• Forecasts on the evolving role of Intranets.