10 Most Common Communication Mistakes Made By IT

10 Most Common Communication Mistakes Made By IT Professionals PADLA – Nov. 13, 2013 Hedy Baker Communications Consultant

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10 Most Common Email Mistakes 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Not knowing your audience Too long, dense Unnecessary words “Ask” is unclear Use of jargon, acronyms, and technical phrases Bad grammar Spelling errors/wrong word Complicated copy Unprofessional formatting One-way communication

#1. Not Knowing Your Audience “I’ll tweet, I’ll chirp, I’ll make whatever noise you want. Just give me the job. ”

#2. Too long/Dense “If I Had More Time, I Would Have Written a Shorter Letter. ”

Subject: “Communication In IT Project” A failure to communicate effectively is often the greatest threat to the positive outcome of the project as effectiveness of this facet can be the determinative factor for many project successes. Key aspects discussed include the dissemination of project overviews, management of conflict and implications for team dynamics, and the management of meetings and how this can promote team dynamics in a project team.

#3. Unnecessary Words FROM: In order that TO: So FROM: In my opinion TO: I FROM: Due to the fact TO: Because, Since FROM: At this point TO: Now FROM: The reason is due to TO: Since FROM: With regard to TO: Regarding FROM: On the grounds that TO: Because

#4. Unclear “ask” Subject Line: November Report 1 st sentence: You have been involved with managing costs in your department. These costs are listed below. 3 rd paragraph: I need to submit the budget by Nov. 1. Please get back to me with changes.

#5. Using jargon, acronyms, and technical phrases ABORT SERVER FARM Source error Dev server

#6. Bad Grammar WRONG: There’s too many emails RIGHT: There are too many emails WRONG: My trip to NYC is RIGHT: I’ll always remember my trip to one I will always remember WRONG: If a student parks on RIGHT: If a student parks on campus, they have to buy campus, he/she has to buy WRONG: In 2010, the VP said he is fed up RIGHT: In 2010, the VP said he was fed up

#7. Spelling Errors/Wrong Word �Their/there �Effect/affect �Its/it’s �Ensure/insure �Than/then �Advice/advise �Accept/except

#8. Unprofessional Formatting Fonts Theme, size, color, underline, bold, CASE, Wordart Email signatures Personalized: Harry Smith, your digital guru Quotes: “Change Your Thoughts – Change the World” §Punctuation Let’s eat Grandma. § Let’s eat, Grandma. § Let’s eat Grandma? § Let’s eat, Grandma! • Emoticons/Photos, Clip Art, Graphics

# 9. Complicated Subject: Release Weekend There is a major release taking place this coming weekend. If needed, we must be able to contact any IT associate. Make sure Dawn has all your contact info, including your cell phone number. You must be accessible 24/7 until the end of next week. You may be asked at a moment’s notice to come into the office. You also need to dial into a conference call, if needed, that will be held each day between 3 p. m. -4 p. m. When you call in, make sure to have the problem, server impacted, users affected, how long it’s been going on, and what you have done to correct the issue. If you are aware of any incident, you must report it to the Help Desk. Please update the portal site in a timely manner. Make sure you follow the process; it is the most efficient way for incidents to be addressed in a timely manner. You can call the Help Desk at any time, even after normal business hours. It is setup to take calls at any time and will escalate issues to the appropriate resolver groups. To ensure we capture and report all issues to senior management, it is imperative that the Help Desk is the single point of contact for all incidents. Thank you for your cooperation.

#10. One-way communication

Before Hitting Send Button… �Write to Your Audience, Not to Yourself �Ask Yourself: What Type of Impression am I Making �Take Time to Do it Right �KISS �Check Your Grammar/Spelling �Write, Read, Edit, Reread, Edit �Read it Out Loud �Provide Contact Information

THANK YOU Hedy Baker Communications Consultant hedybaker@msn. com 267 -240 -5476