Intelligent Communication

In today’s world, there is a slang word for just about any word or phrase that you can think of. People will use “crib” in place of house, “fam” in place of friend, “mad” in place of very, “bomb” in place of cool, and so on.

In addition to just slang, people are abbreviating everything. Some examples are:

“you” to “ya”

“love” to “luv”

“talk to you later” to “ttyl”

“by the way” to “btw”

“I don’t know” to “idk”

Unfortunately, these slang words and abbreviations would not be as appropriate in a business setting as they would be in your personal life. Since slang words and abbreviations are so commonly and frequently used, it is important to be aware of what you are saying when you enter into a business situation where this type of language would make you come across as uneducated and unprofessional.

Since texting and emailing are extremely similar, it’s important to recognize the difference between them. Text conversations often take place between friends and family members. They often reflect each person’s personality and feelings, while remaining very casual. On the other hand, email is a completely different story. Emails tend to be a more formal type of communication. They are often between coworkers, an employee and their boss, a student and their professor, and other more professional situations. In these situations, it is important to remember who your audience is.

For example, if you are emailing a potential employer, you want to come across as intelligent and professional. Ending your email with “Thx! TTYL:)” is going to make you look childish and immature. This will automatically give your potential employer a bad impression of you, decreasing your chances of getting a job. nearbuy (by Groupon) wrote blog post titled “A quick and easy guide to effective business communication.” This blog’s purpose was to inform on how to communicate professionally, most specifically through email. nearbuy’s blog post agrees with my opinion that slang and abbreviation should be avoided in business communication, and that a person should try their best to come across as professional in these situations.

nearbuy lists these three items as the most important rules when sending a business email:

“a. Respect: Every problem will get the importance it deserves. Do not throw in names (especially of seniors) or exert authority to get a quick fix.
b. Ownership: Stand by your analysis and recommendations. If you are stuck, try to explain roadblocks and how to get past them.
c. Performance: Ensure you have a metric to measure your performance at each stage,” (nearbuy).

In other words, a person should always keep respect, ownership, and performance in mind when communicating in a business situation. Respect is always desired by everyone and should be given especially in business. Ownership is important so that you come across as clear, prepared, and responsible. Performance should be measured so that you can make sure you are progressing and staying on track.

After reading this blog, I considered how I could use nearbuy’s important rules for writing an email in my own life. I decided to practice this skill when writing an email to one of my professors today. After sending this email, I felt as though this was a very effective way of communicating and it felt more professional. I will continue to use these skills in the future as they definitely made a positive difference.

The most important thing that I came across in nearbuy’s blog said this:

“Don’t communicate to be understood; rather, communicate so as not to be misunderstood.”

I think this is something that every person should always consider both in their business life and in their personal life as well.

Groupon), N. (. (2016, March 30). A quick and easy guide to effective business communication. Retrieved September 28, 2017, from https://medium.com/@nearbuy/a-quick-and-easy-guide-to-effective-business-communication-8e4ae0d7a297