1. Professional Communication 8.31.16
ACCA WEBINAR SERIES
Professional Communication
© 2016 Alabama Community College Association

2. Professional Communication
OUR PRESENTER
Kristen Holmes,
Director of Marketing and Communication –
Wallace State Community College
Professional Communication

3. Professional Communication
OVERVIEW
What is professional communication and why is it needed? For the past decade, employers surveyed for the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ Job Outlook Survey consistently rated “communication” among the most valuable soft skills.
Professional Communication

4. Professional Communication

5. Professional Communication
Professional communication includes such areas as:
Letter writing
Phone etiquette
Social media
Personal appearance
Interpersonal, face-to-face communications
Other general principles
Professional Communication

6. Professional Communication
LETTERS / APPEARANCE
First impressions matter!
Physical appearance:
Be clean and tidy
Avoid ill-fitting clothes
Dress for the setting
Avoid clothes with writing/slang
When casual dress is warranted, college logoed “teamwear” is often appropriate
Letters:
Formatting is a first impression.
Professional Communication

7. LETTER WRITING

8. Professional Communication
MEMOS AND LETTERS
State point early
Be clear and concise
Avoid jargon and slang
Proof, edit, and repeat
Professional Communication

9. Professional Communication
MEMOS AND LETTERS
George Orwell’s famous six rules for writing, from Politics and the English Language (1946):
Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. (avoid being trite or clichés)
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
Professional Communication

10. Professional Communication
MEMOS AND LETTERS
Memoranda:
For internal communications
Similar rules as letter writing
Professional Communication

11. Professional Communication
MEMOS AND LETTERS
Professional Communication

12. Professional Communication
Format and Content:
s are not texts
Check recipient lists
Use care when forwarding/copying
Avoid using personal addresses
Brief and substantive
Proof, edit, repeat
Professional Communication

13. Professional Communication
Professional Communication
Don’t be afraid to call.

14. Professional Communication
Signatures and Flourishes
Disclaimers
Timing of Responses
Professional Communication

15. Professional Communication
PHONE ETIQUETTE
Be clear
Be polite, patient, smile, don’t seem frustrated - LISTEN.
Professional Communication

16. Professional Communication
PHONE ETIQUETTE
Transferring calls
Leaving out of office messages
Leaving voice mails
Use of cell phones
Professional Communication

17. Professional Communication
SOCIAL MEDIA
Consider setting up a separate professional account
Check your college’s social media policy
Think before you post!
One post can cost you a job, promotion
Social media posts last forever
Professional Communication

18. Professional Communication
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Know your college’s policies and procedures regarding:
Responding to media requests or sudden appearance on campus
Emergency/crisis communication
Professional Communication

19. Professional Communication
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Conversations and interpersonal communication:
Avoid slang
Look people in the eye
Shake hands firmly
Smile
Listen more than you talk
Honor confidentiality
Professional Communication

20. Professional Communication
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Avoid gossip, negativity, assumptions
Do not tolerate disparaging remarks
Employed to work, not chat
Respect the position
Do not speak when angry – make rational arguments, not emotional ones
Practice compassion, be encouraging!
Professional Communication

21. ACCA WEBINAR SERIES September 14 – Retirement Systems of Alabama
September 21 – ADA in the Classroom
October 5 – Generations in the Workplace
October 19 - Preparing a Career-Ready Workforce

22. ACCA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
November 20 – 22, 2016
Montgomery Renaissance Hotel and Spa