Verbal Communication

Verbal Communication

Overview

From quick conversations to phone calls, meetings, formal presentations, and sales pitches, you must employ effective verbal communication skills at all times. While verbal interactions are extremely common, they can also be stressful. Every interaction contains the potential for success…and the danger of failure. To be “on your game” at all times requires purposeful practice, reflection, and adjustment based on input and feedback. No matter what your verbal communication skills are, you can improve them.

Instructions

Reflect on your presentation, and document your preparation and how you used feedback to refine your verbal communication.

Reflection and Feedback (Written)

Reflect on your presentation preparation.

Describe the approach you took to plan for your presentation.

Explain how you rehearsed for the presentation.

Offer suggestions for how you might better prepare in the future.

Use feedback to refine your communication.

Describe or list the feedback you received on your verbal communication from the Week 9 discussion.

Explain how you used the feedback to revise and improve your message and/or delivery.

RUNNING HEAD: STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION PLAN 1

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION PLAN 8

Strategic Communications Plan

Eric Brown

Strayer University

COM510: Business Communications

Professor Kelly Mitchell

Description

A. What is your challenge or opportunity?

To get promoted to the position of Operations Manager of a bank’s branch. This position is the second most authoritative position in the whole office next to the Branch Manager. The operations manager overlooks all the affairs of the department, and it is a great opportunity. The challenge is to float the idea entirely in such a way that it gets accepted.

B. Why is this professionally important to you?

This is an opportunity to get to experience from the management side of the bank’s branch for the first time. It will be professionally essential for me as this will be a chance to portray the skills acquired after years of working on the lower staff. It may lead to future openings as senior administrative personnel.

Goal

A. What goals or outcomes do you want to achieve with this communication?

The goal is to convince the higher management personnel to consider my past work experience and achievements in light of getting the promotion as an operations manager in the same brand where I am an employee. 

Audience

A. Who is your target audience?

The target audience that will influence my decision to get the position or not is the Branch Manager of the branch I am currently working with, along with the Area Manager of the area in which my branch lies and the Regional Manager of the regional office falls. The person that will primarily be taking the interview will be in charge of the human resources department.

I. What are the professional positions of the audience members?

· Branch Manager BM

· Area Manager AM

· Regional Manager RM

· In charge of Human Resources

II. What demographic characteristics will the audience comprise?

The demographics will be quite different from all the audience members. Some of them might be administrative or managerial employees, but all of them will have vast experience on the job.

III. What is your relationship with the audience?

I have worked in four different branches at various posts with all audience members at different times. I have had prolonged contact with all of them regarding the work of the departments where the interaction had taken place. I have worked under all of them at least once.

IV. What background knowledge and expertise does the audience have?

All of the audience members have more than twenty-five years of experience working at the bank, and all of them have worked their way up to the ranks they currently have. All of them are aware of the requirements of the job position. They know the key responsibilities of an operations manager. 

I refer to the experience of the skills I possess and will bring to the table for the job.

V. What does the audience know, feel about, and expect concerning this communication?

The Branch Manager of the bank has a much positive view of this opportunity. However, the deciding committee, the other members of higher management, must scout for personnel from other branches or external banks. There might be other eligible candidates trying to get the job. 

VI. What preconceptions or biases do you possess that might prevent you from building rapport with your audience?

Not having any prior experience in the administrative side of the work at the bank will hinder me from getting the position. Another person from a smaller branch with supervisory experience might be approaching the management.

B. What information is available about your audience?

There is a lot of information, such as personal preferences and working styles of the audience members.

· Preferred methods of communication

All of them prefer electronic mail in the intranet system as a means of communication. In contrast, the branch manager prefers in-person conversations with the employees working in the same branch.

· Typical time-off patterns

This information has not been made clear. 

· Types of humor they like

None of them is slightly humorous or easy-going, so all must be dealt with very professionally.

I. What research or sources will you use to obtain information about the audience?

The personal experience of working under each of them along a period of fifteen years will be the primary source of information to use along the whole process.

II. What conclusions have you been able to draw about the audience?

All of them will be looking at the situation from very different perspectives, so this will be the challenge to align their aims in favor of my objective.

C. What tone will you use to convey your message?

I. Is the setting casual or formal?

The setting will be formal with all of them either in-person or over the email. It is a business-related matter. Therefore, the best choice of environment is official. The tone can be informal, depending upon the amount of convincing needed by the managers. A face-to-face meeting will probably be in the vicinity of the office. Or I will invite the group to my home or a pleasant outdoor setting for dinner where I can present my case well.

II. Is the communication personal or impersonal?

It is a personal communication as I will be meeting.

Key Message

A. What is the primary message you must convey to your audience?

The key message will be the credibility of me working for fifteen years for the branch to the point where I qualify to be working as the new operations manager of the department I am currently working in.

I. Is the message compelling and memorable?

The message is compelling because there is a lot I am bringing to the post I am hopeful of getting. It will ultimately result in the betterment of the bank.

II. Is the message clear and concise?

The message is made as bright as possible without any hidden aspect or motive.

III. Is the message aligned with your audience’s goals and needs?

Yes, the audience members are also in the lookout for an eligible candidate for the position while presenting myself for the job. My goal of getting the position of Operations Manager is in alignment with the audience’s purpose of filling the position.

Supporting Points

A. What three to four points, reasons, or justifications support your message?

· I have ample experience of more than fifteen years that will be beneficial for the bank if I get the position. I have the trust of the customers, and I can positively influence the operations of the bank. 

· All of the audience members have first-hand experience of working with me at the office. Therefore, there will be no introductory, get-to-know, or evaluation of the compatibility of working with the team.

· My skills and techniques can help the branch to grow. As I am aware of all the operations already and am well-aware of the flaws, I can strategically make improvements with the help of my new role. 

I. What research or sources will you use to obtain facts and data about your message?

I will be using my own experience and insight on all that.

Channel Selection

A. What communication style will you employ (tell/sell or consult/join), and why?

The communication style that will be used is telling/selling rather than consulting/joining. I have to convince all of them to consider me an eligible person to get the position. The power of persuasion is an essential tool that will be utilized here.

B. What channels will you use to deliver your message, and why will they be the most effective?

The channels I will be using are face-to-face meetings/interaction with the branch manager and human resource in charge. At the same time, I will communicate with the regional manager via electronic mails. It is crucial to communicate well with all the parties to lay a positive impression, show my motivation, and show my capability. 

B. What purpose is served by each style and channel you have selected?

· The personal meeting will be done with the branch manager as they are present in the branch, and they prefer to be met in person with their branch members. Personal meetings impact the view of the person to a great deal. Face-to-face meetings are more productive. 

· Meeting the human resource department in charge is essential as they have called to respond in an email. 

· As they are neither in the branch nor have, they asked to be met in person, emailing will be the method of choice for communicating with the area and regional manager. A well-written email can convey a compelling message to the reader.

Action Request

1. What is your action request?

My action request is to be given the position of the Operations Manager OM of my branch.

1. Is the action request you are making to your audience clear, concise, and easily actionable?

The call to action for communicating and convincing about the internal promotion for the Operations Manager position is clear and easily actionable. 

References

Clampitt, P. G. (2012). Communicating for managerial effectiveness. Sage.

Running Head: WRITTEN COMMUNICATION 1

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION 2

Written Communication

Eric Brown

Strayer University

COM510: Business Communications

Professor Kelly Mitchell

Introduction

Written communication involves interactions through the use of the written word. In any business organization communication is the key to success. However, in the modern world, written communication has become very important and reliable for business organizations. Businesses now communicate through what is commonly known as the information age which is mostly done through the written word (Lacity khan, 3). Most businesses prefer using written communication than other forms of communication. This is because it is most convenient and can be retrieved at any time of need. Small business owners and managers need to develop good communication skills (Lacity khan, 3). This aims at encouraging the employees to also develop effective communication skills. The information age has completely changed the way people communicate and focuses more on written communication than oral communication. The increased use of computer systems and networks in communication calls for the need to develop effective communication skills (Lacity khan, 3). An example of written communication includes the use of E-mails and memos. The need to have competent writing skills involves creating good relationships with suppliers and customers (Lacity khan, 3). These relationships can only be maintained through good written communication. This paper is a composition of a written communication based on a strategic communication plan for business organizations. The following is the scenario from which the written communication is developed.

Scenario

Imagine you are a human resource manager at SciTech Company that deals with software development. As the head of the human resource department, you are assigned the task of informing the employees of the company’s unexpected downtown profits. As a result, it will be unable to pay the employees the holiday bonuses. This is the first time the company is facing this challenge since the creation of the bonus program ten years ago. This is a very sensitive message that probably disappoints the employees and makes them lose confidence with the company. As the human resource manager, your duty to make the employees feel positive after receiving the message. This is a big challenge that needs to be a good written communication to encourage their commitment to SciTech Company.

Part 1

From the scenario above, the main message that is to be communicated to the employees is the new challenge faced by SciTech Company. The aim of communicating this message to the employees is to give details of the current situation of the SciTech Company. The company is facing difficulties in distributing its holiday bonuses because it has recorded a huge downtown in its profits. The employees are required to read the business memorandum, not for pleasure but to try and understand the current situation of their employer company. The following is a memo that is used to pass the information to the employees regarding the distribution of holiday bonuses this financial year.

Internal Memo for SciTech Company

Date: 9th August 2020

To: All personnel

From: Head of Human resource department, SciTech Company,

Subject: Distribution of Company’s Holiday Bonuses

This memo provides information concerning the decision the company has taken due to the current difficulties. As the head human resource department, I would like to urge our employees to stay calm and bar with the current situation. This is the time a company can prove that it cares for its employees. We understand that the holiday season helps our employees to relax their minds. It brings out the new refreshment no matter the people involved in holiday celebrations. We also understand that the holiday season is more enjoyable if people have money in their pockets. However, we wish we could make up for our employees’ expectations as we always o every year. As a company, we know holiday bonuses are very important to our employees and our company due to the following reasons.

· Distributing holiday bonuses help in strengthening the relationship between the management and the employees

· Performance-based bonuses help in motivating the employees to meet their performance goals and standards.

· Since our company measures employees’ performance throughout the year, its bonuses are very powerful in keeping the employees’ performance high. We, therefore, wish to encourage our employees to be patient with us. We promise to handle the situation and with time we shall overcome.

· As SciTech Company, we know that distributing bonuses increases the employees’ morale. However, we anticipate a big change in our operations that would ease the situation and our employees will eventually receive their holiday bonuses.

Since we have been giving our employees holiday bonuses every year, all of you had the same expectations this year. Therefore, our decision not to distribute the bonuses this year has greatly affected your plans. We regret it but still urge you to remain focused and maintain job performance. This is not a long-lasting situation and should not affect your performance in the workplace.

Our performance-based has created some negative feelings for most of our employees. For example, those who think the bonuses they receive deserve more on their efforts in the workplace. However, the inability of the company to give them these bonuses has created a negative feeling about it. The performance-based holiday bonuses have also created unhealthy competition among our workers. Therefore we advise you to work remain calm as the company is actively engaged in serious conversations with the stakeholders to address the issue.

Techniques Used to arrive at the decision

Due to the evolving world and businesses, we as the management chose to use a consult and agree on this decision. We decided to involve the specialists in the financial sector of the economy and the company’s shareholders to help us address the issue accordingly. Usually, expert consultants face a lot of challenges, especially when deciding on complicated concepts. However, held a meeting in our conference center and succeeded to come up with this definitive decision. The decision was arrived at after considering the future of the company which is at stake now. Therefore, we preferred not to distribute the holiday bonuses this year and use the funds to fund the company’s operations. The unpaid bonuses shall be paid to the respective employees in the next financial year after the company picks up to its initial status. Interpersonal communication is the basis of the consultations. It, however, helps the company’s management to gain important information on how to handle the situation by connecting with the clients. Through consultation, it was easy to understand the needs of the clients and the company-client relationships. However, consultations have given the management the final word on the distribution of the company’s holiday bonuses.

Part 2

Channel and Style of communication

Communication is the key to organizational teamwork and employee collaborations. It keeps the organizations’ operations moving. However, business organizations use different ways or channels to communicate important issues to their employees. These channels may include written communication, verbal and no-verbal communication, and visual communication (Roy Peter Clark, 4). As a business organization, it is important to choose an appropriate communication channel depending on the nature of the issue at hand and the target audience or recipients. This helps business organizations to convey the information to the target population more effectively. Generally, the medium or modes through which information is communicated to the employees within the business organizations is referred to as communication channels.

In this scenario, SciTech Company chose to use the memo as the channel of communication. A memo is a written communication that is used to communicate official messages of the organization. It is a formal communication channel that can be used to send important messages to the employees such as organizational policies and procedures (William Stanek, 5). It is also used to update the employees of any changes made on the normal operations of the organization. Messages in the memos follow a chain of command meaning that the message must flow from the managers to the subordinates. In this case, SciTech information should flow from the human resource manager to update the employees of the new changes in the company. This is the reason why the use of a memo has been preferred to other communication channels. This scenario raises a problem that needs to be solved. Therefore, the memo was used because it has twofold purposes which include bringing attention to a problem and solving the problem. The memo is used in this scenario to accomplish the goal of solving a problem regarding the bonus distribution (William Stanek, 5). It is meant to persuade the employees that the problem shall be addressed as soon as possible and it should not kill their morale to work.

Consult/Join

Organizational leadership behavior can be expressed in different ways. In the case of SciTech Company, the human resource manager used to consult/join techniques to find the solution to the problem. This is a boss centered technique in which a task is set by the organization led to the subordinates. This is done to help in strengthening the relationship between the employees and the company’s management so that the problem does not tear things apart (Karen Hertzberg, 2). Here, the human resource manager had to adapt the process of incorporating different parties in the problem. The consultation between the human resource departments and all the stakeholders helped in finding the best solution to the problem. However, the final decision was made by the human resource manager after consulting. This is the reason this technique is known as a boss centered technique. Although the responsibility to share knowledge to find the solution was jointly shared by all stakeholders, the final decision was left to the human resource managers.

Communication Feedback

Feedback is very important in the communication process. Feedback refers to the response given to the communicator by the receiver of the information. Feedback is aimed to give the communicator an idea of how his message was received. It helps the communicator to determine whether the message should be modified and in what ways is it supposed to be modified (Anya Kamenetz, 1). In the case of SciTech Company, employees’ feedback is very important because it would help the management take necessary adjustments on the decisions taken. Both managers and employees in the SciTech Company lay the main problem faced by the company. Therefore, they have institutionalized the process of receiving and giving feedback. The employees in this company saved their comments concerning the performance. The human resource manager urges the employees to keep the spirit of working and minimize the reactions on the issues. Since the employees were involved in the discussion that arrive at the decision. After the consultation, the employees agreed that they will wait until the next financial year for the company to pay for their holiday bonuses. Although most of the employees had agreed with the decision, a few of them were not comfortable with it. They felt that the management was provoking. According to them, such a message was meant to kill their morale and wanted the management to change the decision.

How the Management used the Feedback

The company’s communication process is very unnerving and fears provoking. To respond to the employees’ feedback, the management introduced suggestions for improvement. Employees were asked to give suggestions of what they thought was the best decision for the company to make. The management requested the employees to consider the goals and the future of the company before they could give their suggestions. The process was meant to engage the employees because they were the most affected parties by the decision (Roy Peter Clark, 4). However, this process was done with the right intentions to enable the employees to feel appreciated by their employer. The feedback was expected to help the management come up with strategies to improve the employees’ performance. Since giving feedback is a skill, it took the practice by the management to get it right like any other skill. The management employed the following four steps to effectively use the feedback from the employees.

Steps Employed

Develop a plan to improve

After receiving feedback, the company had to assess the employees’ behaviors and actions towards job performances. This was meant to determine whether there were changes in terms of performance and how the change affected the overall performance of the company. This is the main reason that companies need to take feedback seriously because it can adversely affect performance (William Stanek, 5). Listening to the employees’ views helped the SciTech company do things differently and improve its performance despite a huge downturn in profits. Maybe, if it had failed to give the employees’ feedback full attention it could have dissolved.

Coaching Practice

The management employed coaching on the areas of inexperience as a way of using the feedback to build good organizational culture. The coaching practice helps the management observe the employees’ behavior (Karen Hertzberg, 2). However, the SciTech management used the coaching practice feedback to monitor the employees’ behavior. This was after the company realized the employees needed to be trained on the new ways of operation to deal with the situation. The management could monitor the behaviors of employees based on the given suggestions. This allowed it to make the necessary adjustments for the benefit of the company.

Practice the actions

The practice of actions allows the company decides on the new ways of operation based on the employees’ feedback. Due to the changes made by the company, the feedback was used to help the employees practice new working behaviors to keep the company moving. By using the feedback the company could easily take conscious control over the operations under the new changes.

Reflect on the outcomes

Due to the new changes made in an organization, the management may reflect on the feedback to effectively apply the new skills. The effective use of the feedback may be highly successful if the management has effectively employed new skills under the new changes in the organization (Anya Kamenetz, 1). For SciTech, using feedback required enough practice and a reflection on the company’s performance in the previous years. However, the company used the suggestions given by the employees to improve its performance and growth.

Conclusion

In my conclusion, written communication very important in any business organization. It means a mixture of thoughts and good writing skills to convey the correct message to the audience. It is usually advised for the communicator to establish the best writing skills. This allows the communicator to minimize the ambiguity in his message which also allows for correct feedback from the audience. However, in written communication, human experience is very important because it helps to communicate professionally.

References

1. Anya Kamenetz, July 10, 2015, The Writing Assignment That Changes Lives, https://www.npr.org/sections/ ed/2015/07/10/419202925/the-writing-assignment

2. Karen Hertzberg, June 15, 2017, How to Improve Writing and communication Skills in 15 Easy Steps,

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/

how-to-improve-writing-skills/

3. Lacity khan, 2018, Index to Written Communication. 21(4), 420-422. https://doi.org/10.1177/074108830402100407

4. Roy Peter Clark, 2018, Writing Tools: 55 Essential communication skills for Every Writer

5. William Stanek, 2017, Storyboarding Techniques chapter in Effective communication and Writing for Business, College and Life, http:// libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct