Communication In The Professional Space — It’s beyond just talking here
There is a lot of pressure associated with getting settled at your first job after school. Now, these pressures are there for some good cause, one is to ensure your commitment to the steep learning curve essential to a successful career. Whether it’s with a 1st class or 3rd class, there’s that innate desire to prove something. If it’s for no personal reason, at least to whoever believes you’re worth the hire.
Stripped down to the basics, any job role will require communicating with superiors, subordinates, and most time customers (the lifeblood of any business). So, it’s not only impossible to ditch this skill, but also imperative to building a successful career.
WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?
Communication is beyond just speaking or an exchange of knowledge. It involves nuances like understanding the receiver, picking the right medium of sharing, in other to impart or elicit a desired response.
Though the framework of communication remains unchanged, the tools used in disseminating information has since evolved from the several innovations and technological breakthrough experienced in recent times. Selecting the right tool, and using it effectively can be an herculean task for a beginner. Relax, this article will help you demystify the choice process.
To aid your understanding, the tools shall be discussed in two parts i call: Communication transmitters and Communication aiders
COMMUNICATION TRANSMITTERS are tools that ensure a two or multiple-way system of sharing information while providing a means of feedback.
- EMAIL: Electronic mail pave the way to sending and receiving messages across the Internet. Every mail has four components: (i) The subject which should be short and descriptive. (ii) A salutation or brief greeting at the beginning. (iii) The body of the email; this is the reason for the mail, go straight to the point. If you need a specific response you can state this expectation or include a call to action. Also if you have attached a file to your email, be sure to mention it here. (iv) Close with a quick farewell. Then give your name and contact information or job designation. Note that, it is ethical to acknowledge your email on time, and when you’re listed in bcc (blind carbon copy), follow this one rule, don’t reply except stated in the mail.
2. SLACK: is more like a chat room for the whole company which enables you to share different types of files including spreadsheet, video, audio, etc all in one place. Slack workspace is divided into channels and direct messages. Public channels are open to the entire team, while Private channels have some restrictions, requiring an invitation for team members to participate. Direct messages are best for quick messages among individual team member. Few tips to help you navigate slack efficiently: To bold text use *asterisk* and _underscores_ for italics. Another functionality worthy of note are the @Mentions. @username — sends a notification to the person you’ve mentioned specifically, @here — sends a notification to everyone currently active in the channel, @channel — sends a notification to every member of a channel, active or not, @everyone — sends a notification to every member of your Slack workspace and must be posted in the General channel.
3. Trello: Trello is a collaboration and task management tool, and a great fit for handling most projects as a team. It provides a guide for planning and executing the tasks of a project. To get started, set up your Trello project board by making a board list(they are simply the steps to complete in the project). Then plan out your project by creating the task cards. A task card allows you to fill in the project details like due dates, users, description, task comments, attachments, etc. It is advisable, to make a checklist in the card that will display the percentage of completion. Finally, add the team members responsible for these tasks to the card, to ensure the users receive all project notifications, including comments, changes, and when a card is moved along the steps to completion. Always move the Trello cards along the board as steps are completed, and close out the project upon completion.
4. Zoom: is an online video conferencing platform. It allows you to schedule meetings(video or audio), inform participants via email, whatsapp, or slack, and also record your web conferencing calls as videos that can be shared. It affords you a screen share option, as well as a co-host feature i.e. you can have more than one person presiding. For coordination in meetings, it has a unique raise or lower hand feature, and a chat room for general discussions or direct messaging to individual participant. Be aware that Zoom has an “Attention Tracking.” feature that when enabled, alerts the meeting host when a participant has had Zoom minimized or hidden behind other tabs for more than 30 seconds. When interacting at a video meeting, look straight into the camera. Also staying muted until it’s your turn to speak, will reduce interference of background noise and brand you as a professional.
5. SOCIAL MEDIA: is that platform you can use to showcase your personal brand. This has never been more important as it is now, when the line between professionalism and personal space has been blurred out. There are different social media platforms, and your best bet for excelling here is understanding the dynamics of each platform and structuring your content to suit them differently. Two simple precautions to publishing content here are ‘not everything has to be posted on social media, it is not your venting tool’. Secondly, find a way to make yourself stand out. One sure way to achieve this is by being authentic. How? Connect with your inner self, your experiences, your passion and every other thing that makes you your unique self, then share that story. I can’t tell you that the whole world will agree with your perspective, but one thing’s sure, those who resonate with your story, your own tribe, will come to you.
COMMUNICATION AIDERS are tools that enhance your entire message. They work hand in hand with the transmitters to give that finesse to any content shared.
6. CANVA: Do you need to create social media graphics, presentations, posters and other visual content? Then canva is your best option at no cost. It is a simple online platform for graphics design that combines editing and publishing tools, plus a comprehensive image library. It is available on web and mobile. It also integrates millions of images, fonts, illustrations and is equipped with a collection of templates that can be applied to a number of different industries. To use canva with ease: Have a content plan, browse the templates library to find and create the right content. Then find the right visuals to go with your post using Canva’s built-in photo library. Synchronize image and text through typography by filing in the right details in the placeholder text. You can also change the tone of an image, by completely enhancing it with a filter. Lastly, resize your whole design to fit the platform(s) you’ve created it for.
7. POWER POINT: is a software that helps you to create and display content in slides to support a presentation. It allows you to combine text, graphic and multimedia content to create professional presentations. If you have experience of using Microsoft Word, you may find Powerpoint easy to use. Simple guide to follow when using PowerPoint: Ensure your slides have the same or similar background images and colour schemes. Avoid using too much text, and be sure text is visible and can be read on screen. Use bold for a clear and simple form of emphasis and headings rather than UPPER CASE, italics or underlining. Graphics are not for decoration, so use relevant graphics. Also beware of images from the internet, as they are likely to pixelate when projected. Lastly, format your document by using the left alignment. Images and figures used in PowerPoint are known as plate.
Content is the message you’re trying to pass across during communication. Regardless of the tool used, revision is a key ingredient for any good content. So express yourself clearly, never use a passive sentence where you can use an active sentence. Never use too many words where a short one will do. Organise the structure until everything flows in a logical sequence. As part of your revision process, after you finish your first draft, read it over and figure out what works and what doesn’t. You can try reading it out loud as well or asking someone to give you feedback.
Remember, effective professional communication is a skill that takes a lot of practice to develop, but as you improve you will possess an incredibly valuable job skill. Keep trying!
As a fellow at the StudentBuild Incubator, I have been exposed to critical aspects of communication by top, fast-rising industry experts. This has not only helped me understand the importance of proper communication, but has also helped me decipher the right tools to communicating effectively.
The good news is that you can still join the StudentBuild community today, Visit bit.ly/sb_learn
