Professional and Social Communication Notes

PROFESSIONAL AND SOCIAL COMMUNICATION NOTES Chapter 5

Character is the most effective means of persuasion …Aristotle

1.  What are people skills

·  You know protocol

·  You respect the chain-of-command

·  You know how to get people to work together

2.  What can you do to show respect

·  Look people in the eye

·  Offer a firm handshake

·  Introduce people

·  Quit talking when boss or teacher is ready

3.  What to do when someone enteres a conversation

·  Address people by name

·  State what you are doing

·  Introduce others

·  Make connections

·  Make people feel included

4.  What are conversation blockers

·  Talking too much

·  Talking too little

·  Interrupting

5.  What are tones?

·  AGGRESSIVE TONE—wants to win at all costs…my way or highway

·  NONASSERTIVE TONE—doesn’t talk much, backs down, hard to read

·  ASSERTIVE TONE—direct, but tactful, considers location, timing, intensity, relationships, solves problems, win/win

6.  How do you offer criticism? The word means evaluation or judgment

·  CONSTRUCTIVE VS DESTRUCTIVE

·  Destructive languages puts the person down…you’re always late, you’re lazy, or you mess everything up

·  Constructive language…name the offending “action” kindly, in a friendly manner, offer suggestions for improvement…I know you could show more intensity, you’d help yourself by showing more attention to detail, you are missing a lot

7.  How to receive criticism

·  Maintain composure

·  Listen – let others finish

·  Ask questions

LANGUAGE AND DRESS—How should you make adjustments

·  Language

·  Informal Language –for friends, includes slang and inside information

·  Standard—commonly accepted speech, used in school and on the job and uses proper grammar and sentence structure

·  Technical—used on the job in specific areas “jargon” or “lingo”, uses abbreviations and terms

·  Dress

·  Adapt to the occasion

·  Be as dressed as those around you

·  Shows respect for your employer

·  Maintains professionalism

·  Be neat and well groomed

DIVERSITY AND TOLERANCE—Respect differences in people

1. Age…some don’t like old people (be nice, if you live long enough you will be old, too, someday)

2. Gender…many don’t like doing business with women

3. Ethnicity…prejudice has no place in business

WHY???

1.  Women spend 85% if the consumer dollar

2.  Older Americans spend more than $600 BILLION each year

3.  32 million people in the U.S., speak a language other than English

PROMOTE DIVERSITY

1.  be open-minded

2.  be tolerant

3.  be empathetic