Best Practices for Effective Communication in Virtual Worlds, Essays (university) of Communication

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Communication

Welcome!

Facilitator: Tracy Laycock

Trainer and instructional designer for

Briljent

Facilitating classroom training and

webinars for 20 years.

Communicating in a Virtual

World

Best Practices

We have entered

an age of

Virtual

Communication.

Best Practices

Telephone

Answer your own phone whenever possible.

Return calls the same day.

Do not eat or drink while on the phone.

Do not type while talking.

Ask, “Is now a good time to talk about…”

Schedule phone calls just like a meeting.

Avoid cell phones and pagers in meetings.

Do not mumble.

Determine your greeting.

Cell Phones

Turn off your cell phone while in common

areas.

Use the vibrate feature if you are expecting a

critical call.

When possible, leave public places when

answering a call.

Respect other people’s rights not to hear

your conversation.

Notify others at the beginning of a meeting

when expecting a critical call.

Best Practices

Identify Your Audience

Supervisors

Consumer

Employers

Coworkers

Consumers

Written Communication

Reasons for effective written

communications

• To provide information
• To request or persuade
• To document

Advantages

• Establish a permanent record
• For proof of agreements
• Encourage accuracy and logic
• Convenience

E-mail Etiquette

E-Mail

• Written communication
• Grammar, spelling, and punctuation are important
• Confidentiality concerns
• Be mindful of content
• Use “out-of-office rules”
• Alternate contact
• Short and sweet

E-mail Etiquette

Other E-mail

Considerations

Not secure

Sometimes unreliable

Good e-mail habits

Think before you send

Blue Red Green Yellow

Daring Enthusiastic Satisfied Diplomatic

Determined Convincing Good-natured Cautious

Outspoken Friendly Conventional Accurate

Decisive Talkative Moderate Controlled

Adventurous Outgoing Gentle Insightful

Dominant Persuasive Modest Conscientious

Impatient Expressive Agreeable Observant

Insistent Inspiring Kind Tactful

Strong-Willed Cheerful Obliging Reserved

Independent Joyful Considerate Private

Firm Playful Obedient Introspective

Stubborn Charming Loyal Logical

Persistent Animated Even-Tempered Well-Disciplined

Argumentative Optimistic Sympathetic Precise

Direct Extroverted Easygoing Systematic

Assertive Impulsive Helpful Introverted

Understand Communication Styles

Style Strategies

May want personal autonomy,

opportunity for careful planning,

exact job descriptions, precise

expectations.

• Take time to prepare your case in

advance.

• Provide straight pros and cons of

ideas.

• Support ideas with accurate data.
• Provide reassurance that no

surprises will occur.

• Provide exact job description with

precise explanation of how it fits into

the big picture.

• Review recommendations to them in

a systematic manner.

• If agreeing, be specific. If

disagreeing, disagree with the facts

rather than the person.

• Be prepared to provide explanations

in a patient, persistent, diplomatic

manner.

Style Limitations

Under pressure, people with strong

characteristics of this style may:

• Seek feedback and direction from

coaches.

• Be hesitant to act without precedent.
• Be bound by key procedures and

methods.

• Get bogged down in the decision-

making process.

• Resist delegating tasks.
• Want full explanation before changes

are made.

• Yield their position to avoid controversy.
• Avoid involvement when threatened.
• Focus exclusively on their own tasks and

accomplishments.

Style Strategies

May want security of the

situation, time to adjust to

change, appreciation,

identification with group, limited

territory, and areas of

specialization.

• Provide sincere interest in them as a

person; provide a sincere, personal,

and agreeable environment.

• Focus on answers to “how”

questions to provide them with

clarification.

• Be patient in drawing out their

goals.

• Present ideas or departures from

current practices in a nonthreatening

manner; give them a chance to

adjust.

• Clearly define goals, roles, or

procedures and their place in the

overall plan.

• Provide personal assurances of

follow-up support.

Style Limitations

Under pressure, people with strong

characteristics of this style may:

• Insist on maintaining status quo.
• Take a long time to adjust.
• Have trouble meeting multiple

deadlines.

• Need help getting started on new,

unstructured assignments.

• Have difficulty with innovation.
• Be content with things as they are.
• Continue to do things the way they were

always done.

• Hold onto past experiences and feelings.
• Wait for orders before acting.

Style Strategies

May want social recognition,

popularity, people to talk to,

freedom from control and detail,

favorable working conditions,

recognition of abilities, a chance

to motivate people, and

inclusion by others.

• Provide favorable, friendly

environment.

• Provide chance for them to verbalize

about ideas, people, and their

intuition.

• Offer them ideas for transferring

talk into action.

• Provide testimonials.
• Provide time for stimulating,

sociable activities.

• Provide details in writing, but do not

dwell on these.

• Provide a participative relationship.

Style Limitations

Under pressure, people with strong

characteristics of this style may:

• Be more concerned with popularity than

tangible results.

• Oversell.
• Act impulsively–heart over mind.
• Reach inconsistent conclusions.
• Make decisions solely on gut feelings.
• Be unrealistic in appraising people; trust

people indiscriminately.

• Be inattentive to detail.
• Have difficulty planning and estimating

time expenditure.

• Perform superficial analysis.