Comm Course 4_e.museanu

Etiquette in business can come in a

variety of forms

Etiquette can mean the difference betweena company gaining or losing thousands ofpounds in a meeting setting.

There are different types of meetings: They can be both formal and informal andcan be held with clients, customers or fellowcolleagues but the one thing they all have incommon is that they usually result in successor failure.

Formal meetings can take many forms:

board meetings

management meetings

team or departmental meetings

business negotiations

Theyll usually have a similar structureoverall:

-a chairperson (often referred to simplyas chair who will preside over themeeting).

-minutes to attend to which will ofteninclude a record of whos present andperhaps apologies for any absences.

-a set-out agenda which will include the topics to be discussed.

If you are conducting a meeting which will include references to reports, statisticsor any other information, you should make sure that everybody who is going to be attending the meeting each has a copy of all the necessary facts and figures which may be referred to at the meeting 3 or 4 days before it takes place, if possible.

You should dress appropriately for the meeting

You should be punctual

You should switch off your mobile phone

You might also find that youre faced with an established, pre-determined seating arrangement so if youre unsure about where to sit, ask dont just sit down anywhere.

Acknowledge the chair and once discussions are under way, if there is no set speaking order, its good etiquette to allow the most senior members at the meeting to have their say first.

When you are invited to speak, you should usually address the chair unless those who have gone before you have done otherwise and take your cues from their speeches. i.e. If its necessary to condense your points because of time restrictions, make sure your comments are succinct but that you include all of your major points

Informal meetings can consist of many styles andsome are more informal than others.

Often you will still have a chair who will usually bethe person who called the meeting but youll notnecessarily have to follow the protocol of havingminutes or a rigid, pre determined fixed agenda.

Its also good etiquette that if somebody cannotattend the meeting, they are still provided with allthe relevant details as to what has been discussed ata later point.

The key elements of etiquette to rememberare:

be there on time dress appropriately know when to speak and when to listen be courteous keep and treat the meeting as confidential

Youre inevitably going to encounter a great numberof people whom youll have never previously metbefore either face to face or over the phone. But

formality is often very necessary, given that youreunlikely to know the different types of personalities

youre going to be dealing with until youve actuallymet them. Using Mr. Mrs. or Miss will always getyou off to a good start, until youre actuallyproffered a first name the person might prefer to be

called. Once youve got over that hurdle, if youregiven a first name, use it and, more importantly,

REMEMBER it.

- develop the skills of being a good listener and of showing an interest (whether genuine or not) in what the other person has to say

- by making eye contact, nodding your head from time to time and making other facial expressions, e.g. smiling, will inevitably give off the impression that you have listened to what the other person is saying to you and indicates to them that you have been interested in what theyve had to say.

ending with a repeat of the persons name

a closing handshake (if its face to face)

thanking them for their time (where appropriate)

exchange of business cards

Empathy is an Emotional Intelligence (EI)competency. In the field of EmotionalIntelligence, there are four clusters ofcompetencies and eighteen competencies.

The four clusters are: Self-Awareness Self-Management Social Awareness Relationship Management

Empathy falls under Social Awareness. This skill reflects a person's ability to connect with others and to relate to them which is an essential skill in building and managing healthy relationships. Without the ability to understand what another is going through, our relationships remain superficial and without the depth and richness that occurs when we share an emotional connection.

1. For one thing, it requires we pay attention. Too often we are in our own heads; we have our own agenda. We are busy. So we don't pay attention to what others are thinking or feeling. In order to improve, we need to be more self-aware and more aware of others. For example, the next time you ask someone how they are doing, listen to their response. Do you believe them? Are they really okay? Ask yourself if you care to learn more. If so, then ask them a question or share your observation.

2. It takes time. In our fast paced world, people just keep moving. Empathy requires that we stop and take the time to care. "What is going on for you; you look like you have something on your mind?"

3. Your self-esteem gets in the way. When your mind is so busy with negative thoughts about you, then you don't have the space to really be present for another person. Often people think they are empathetic but when you consider what are you thinking about when you are listening to the person, you may find that you are busy thinking about you - how the person thinks about you, if they like you.

4. The longer you know a person, the more history you have with them, the harder it is to put that aside and simply be with them. You have developed a preconditioned response which you will need to be aware of and stop in order to truly open the connection with this person. Look at them with new eyes.

5. You are a professional problem-solver. You believe that if someone shares something that you automatically need to fix it for them. This is not empathy. This is about you, not them, and your need to impress or be right. It removes the responsibility for solving their problem and places it in your lap. It diminishes the person and makes them feel devalued.

Empathy is a choice. We have to choose, to improve, to care, to get out of our own way, and to bridge the gaps between us - generations, cultures, religions, socioeconomics, etc. Empathy allows us to be fully human and gives others permission to do the same.

If having a voicemail facility is a fundamental

component in your ability to do your job

effectively, you should ensure that you set it

up correctly in order for it to work as

efficiently as possible for you.

When formulating an outgoing message, youneed to identify your name, company nameif necessary and telephone number. Youneed to state that you are presentlyunavailable and if you are going to be awayfrom the office for more than a day, youshould state the date upon which you will bereturning. If youre also not going to be ableto retrieve your voicemail until the date youreturn, you should also mention that onyour outgoing message too so that callerswill not think you are ignoring them orfailing to get back to them.

Hi. Youve reached the voicemail of Pam Tordon. Im currently overseas on business and will not be returning to the office until 10th December. During this time I will not have access to voicemail but will sporadically be checking e-mail at [email protected] . If your call is urgent, please contact my colleague, David Smith on 0000 111 2222. Alternatively, please leave a brief message after the tone with your name, company name and phone number and I will get back to you upon my return. Thank you.

Videoconferencing is becoming far morecommon these days at work sincecommunication technology has got ever moresophisticated and with the global nature oftodays business world. Allowing people tohold virtual meetings anywhere in the world,they enable important discussions to takeplace without the need for each attendee tobe physically present.

In videoconferencing, the person who is in charge is

usually referred to as the moderator. It is their job to

make sure that all of the equipment has been set up

prior to the start of the videoconference and that it

all works.

The moderators role:

set the standards which are expected send each participant a copy of the

agenda (including start and finish times) set out the rules of etiquette regarding

how each participant should interact within the videoconference itself

introduce all of the speakers in the room in which the videoconference is taking place to all of the people who are watching or participating remotely.

You should dress for a videoconference asyou would for a similar face to facemeeting at work so thats likely to meanbusiness attire. Neutral and pastel coloursare best. Also remember the backgroundyoure standing in front of. If thebackgrounds dark, wear something lighterand vice versa otherwise it may be difficultfor people to see you.

When speaking to camera, make direct eye contact

with the camera lens and speak clearly and slowly.

This is a particularly important aspect of etiquette

if youre holding a videoconference with attendeeswho are linking in from different parts of the world

where English may not be their first language so

also ensure that you only use verbal terminologies

which everybody will understand. Also be aware

that microphones will pick up other sounds too

apart from your voice so avoid things like rustling

papers, for example. Its also good etiquette for allparticipants to switch off their microphones when

somebody else is speaking.

If youre in a remote location from thevirtual meeting room and have been askedto speak at the videoconference, make sureyou follow good etiquette by identifyingyourself before you begin. A good examplewould be:Good afternoon. Im James Marsh from theAcquisitions Team based in Bucharest. Myquestion is.And, subsequently, each time youre askedto speak, you should identify yourself.

BUSINESS NETIQUETTE

1.E-mail to an External Company

E-mail takes far longer to read than the printed page and, in the

busy world of global communications and the thousands of e

mails that are sent each day, keep it concise and to the point

without using long rambling sentences. Check for spelling and

grammatical errors too. Use short paragraphs and leave a spare

line between paragraphs. Use numbers or bullet points to

highlight any key information but dont write whole words usingcapital letters as it will appear that YOURE SHOUTING! Try tocome up with a succinct subject title which conveys exactly what

the e-mail alludes to. For example, if youre writing about aproduct an external company has ordered, include the actual

product as well as the order number i.e. Ref: Your Order

45326/FG Laptops.

Its also important to read over the e-mail before sending it to check it makes sense and that there are no errors or inaccuracies which you are aware of.

E-mail can save you considerable time and there are many useful widgets contained within most e-mail programs to enable you to save you time and to maximise your communication effectively.

Mail Merges bcc and cc

Be very careful when using cc and bcc for copying in

the same e-mail to multiple e-mail addresses. When

you send an e-mail using the cc function, everybody

can gain access to all of the addresses you have

inputted as cc. In many instances, people do not like

their e-mail addresses being on public show for

everybody else without their explicit permission so

you should avoid that wherever possible. Its far

better to use bcc and nobody is aware who the other

recipients are.

internal e-mails are less formal

information should be conveyed in a clear and concise manner

Remember that many companies will still keep every single e-mail which every employee has sent or received on an internal company mail server, even if youve deleted them from your own mailbox.

For example, if youre arranging a meeting,make sure the time, date and location areclearly indicated on the e-mail. Youll beonly too aware of the vast amount of emailsthat come into your inbox each day so youcan be certain that your colleagues, andespecially your boss, will get just as manyand, perhaps, even more, so keep theemails short and to the point and put anappropriate subject title.

No matter that youll always respond toe-mail the second it lands in your inbox,not all people are the same andcolleagues may be out of the office orsimply busy when you send them an email and you should not get annoyed ifyou dont get a response straight away. Ifyou prefer, in response to an e-mail thatneeds a reply, you can always get back tothe person in a brief message and tellthem youve received it and that youre abit busy but will get back to them later.

Also, be very careful if you are angered orupset by an e-mail. In fact, its goodpractice to always leave an e-mail youreceive a good half-hour at least before yourespond to it if its of a serious nature orits something thats upset or annoyed you.An angry written response can often comeacross far worse to the recipient than youmight have intended. And, a hasty reply toa complex issue might indicate to thesender that you havent really given theirmessage that much thought.

Instant Messaging Etiquette In Business

Whilst instant messaging has been around for quite some time and is more popular with teenagers, it is also used in business too. Many business men and women find its a useful tool for keeping in touch with both clients and colleagues when theyre working remotely and need to find out information or want to ask a question quickly.

Dont type long winded paragraphs when using instant messaging.

What you need to say should be concise and to the point.

On the other hand, dont revert to text speak either. Abbreviations like LOL (laugh out loud) or BRB (be right back) might be perfectly acceptable within an instant messaging conversation youre having with your best friend but might not be understood or thought appropriate by a colleague or client.

There is a danger in thinking that an instant messaging conversation is supposed to be between two people and that, therefore, whatever you say is private and confidential. However, thats far from the truth. Just as an email can be sent around the office so too can instant messenger conversations be saved and then redistributed. Therefore, dont include anything that you wouldnt be prepared to write in an email or typed letter.

Emoticons are more the domain of people whoare using instant messaging in more of a socialsetting but if theyre used within theorganisation youre working in, use themsparingly. For example, a smiley face toindicate your pleasure at something somebodyhas told you is probably fine but dont pepperyour instant messaging conversations withthem as it can become confusing and isn'tgood etiquette.

Instant messenger should only be usedsparingly at work anyway as it can distractyou from the business in hand but yourboss will not be at all pleased if theyrepaying you to work when youre chattingaway to your friends about what yourewearing in the pub tonight.

Instant messaging can be a usefulnetworking tool for people who work fromhome in a self-employed capacity. Itdoesn't harm to put your IM identity onyour virtual business card or as a signatureat the bottom of your emails as it may be auseful way of networking and establishingnew business contacts.

THANK YOU!