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Chapter 2 Professionalism: Team, Meeting, Listening, Nonverbal, and Etiquette Skills
Business Communication:
Process and Product, 8e
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy

2. Adding Value to Professional Teams
What Do Digital-Age Employers Want?
Education
Experience
Hard skills: Technical expertise in your field
Soft skills: Communication and interpersonal abilities

3. Why Form Teams? Better decisions Faster response
Increased productivity
Greater buy-in
Less resistance to change
Improved employee morale
Reduced risk

4. Collaborating in Virtual Teams
Collaborate with coworkers in other cities and countries.
Coordinate tasks across time and geographic zones.
Participate and collaborate locally.
Accomplish shared tasks without face-to-face contact.
Pool expertise from various, diverse contributors.

5. The Four Phases of Team Development
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing

6. Positive Team Behavior
Setting rules and abiding by them
Analyzing tasks and defining problems
Contributing information and ideas
Showing interest and listening actively
Encouraging members to participate
Synthesizing points of agreement

7. Negative Team Behavior
Blocking the ideas of others
Insulting and criticizing others
Wasting the group’s time
Making improper jokes and comments
Failing to stay on task
Withdrawing, failing to participate

8. Reaching Group Decisions
Majority
Consensus
Minority
Averaging
Authority rule with discussion

9. Six Steps for Dealing with Conflict
Listen to ensure you understand the problem.
Understand the other’s position.
Show a concern for the relationship.
Look for areas of mutual agreement.
Invent new problem-solving options.
Reach a fair agreement; choose the best option.

10. Planning a Productive Meeting
Meet only when the topic demands a rich medium because it is important and requires an exchange of ideas.
Invite the right people.
Distribute an agenda.
Use a digital calendar for scheduling.
Train participants on technology.

11. Running the Meeting Start on time and introduce the agenda.
Appoint a secretary and a recorder.
Encourage participation.
Confront conflict frankly.
Summarize along the way.

12. Ending the Meeting and Following Up
Review meeting decisions.
Distribute minutes of meetings.
Remind people of action items.

13. Being a Productive Participant
Arrive early and come prepared.
Have a positive attitude.
Contribute respectfully.
Wait for others to finish.
Keep your voice calm and pleasant, yet energetic.

14. Being a Productive Participant
Give credit to others.
Use electronic devices only for meeting-related tasks.
Help summarize.
Express your views in the meeting, not later.
Follow up by completing assigned tasks.

15. Virtual Meetings: Audioconferencing
Simple and effective
Most commonly used collaborative tool in business
Tools include enhanced speakerphone, telephone, and mobile phone.
Also known as voice conferencing, teleconferencing, conference calling, and phone conferencing.

16. Virtual Meetings: Videoconferencing
Participants see each other and small product details.
Collaborators connect in real time.
Expensive telepresence rooms are extremely life-like.
Organizations reduce travel expenses, travel time, greenhouse gases, and worker fatigue.
Tools include video, audio, and software.

17. Virtual Meetings: Web Conferencing
Inexpensive and easily accessible
Used to share electronic documents and demonstrate products
Participants interact in real time
Tools include computer, Internet access, software, and (optional) camera

18. Forms of Nonverbal Communication
Eye Contact
Facial Expression
Posture and gestures
Time

19. Forms of Nonverbal Communication
Space
Territory
Appearance of business documents
Personal appearance

20. Showing Professionalism When Communicating
Establish and maintain eye contact.
Use posture to show interest.
Reduce or eliminate physical barriers.
Improve your decoding skills.
Probe for more information.

21. Showing Professionalism When Communicating
Interpret nonverbal meanings in context.
Associate with people from diverse cultures.
Appreciate the power of appearance.
Observe yourself on video.
Enlist friends and family.

22. Gaining an Etiquette Edge
Use polite words.
Express sincere appreciation and praise.
Be selective in sharing personal information.
Don’t put people down.
Respect coworkers’ space.

23. Gaining an Etiquette Edge
Rise above others’ rudeness.
Be considerate when sharing space and equipment.
Choose the high road in conflict.
Disagree agreeably.