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4/7/2014
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Effective Writing & Communication
Matt X. Ryan, CFE, MBA
Francis X. Ryan, CPA, MBA
Last Update: March 2014
Introduction – Matt X. Ryan
Financial Services & Risk Analysis
Public Accounting/Internal Audit
Alternative Investment (Hedge Fund) Accounting
Strategic & Operational Risk analysis (manufacturing, start-ups, financially-troubled companies, etc.)
Pennsylvania Army National Guard
Captain, Company Commander for Distribution/Logistics Company
Operation Iraqi Freedom (2008-2009), Executive Officer & Medical Logistics Officer
Operations/Strategic planning for battalion of 750+ soldiers
Non-profit Board experience
PICPA – Education Committee
Political Committees & State Senate Candidate Treasurer
Education & Certifications
MBA – The Wharton School
B.S. Finance – Penn State University
Certified Fraud Examiner 2
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Introduction – Frank Ryan Turnaround/Crisis Manager
Author, series “Rebuilding America”
Marine Colonel (Retired)
Iraq & Afghanistan
Civil Affairs & Economic Warfare
Board Experience
Public & Non-profit boards
Former Chairman, Audit Committee
Chairman, Non-profit board
Former Congressional Candidate
Education & Certifications
MBA
CPA, CGMA
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Agenda
Why study effective communication & writing?
Best Practices
Listening
Writing
Emails (and smartphones)
Presentations
Social Media
Employee Engagement Trends – Appendix A
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Why Study Effective Communication? The Cost of Poor Communication
Employees become less engaged (Appendix A)
Top performers become even less engaged
Employee – Client conflicts
Lost opportunities/future sales?
Contract cancellations
Employee – Employer conflicts
Hostile work environment?
Affects productivity
Employee – Employee conflicts
Affects productivity, teamwork
Estimates: 6 hours of every 40-hour workweek (15%) are wasted due to poor communication between managers and staff
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Why Study Effective Communication?
Causes of Poor Communication
Fragmented thoughts/directions
Poorly thought-out comments
Personal experiences: perception
Misinterpretation
Misunderstandings
Integrity issues
Poor listening skills
Constant complaining
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Why Study Effective Communication?
Perception
What color is a stop sign?
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Why Study Effective Communication?
Perception
What color is a yield sign?
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Why Study Effective Communication?
Conflict from Communication
Miscommunication often leads to conflict
Two or more people view the same situation differently
BUT not all conflict is bad
“Good” conflict can produce stronger results as long as there is an attempt to resolve the problem
Forces us to make a stronger case for our own idea/point-of-view
Avoiding “bad” conflict
Keep people continuously informed
Ask questions and LISTEN
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Listening 40% of all communication
is LISTENING
Most communication problems occur because of listening issues.
Selective hearing/listening?
Selective attention?
Distracted/other things on the mind
Have you forgotten the name(s) of someone you were introduced to just a few minutes (or seconds) ago?
Why all the problems with listening?
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Listening Why all the problems with listening?
Speed: Thought speed is greater than speaking speed
Most individuals speak at a rate of 125 words/minute
Mental capacity: up to 400 words/minute
We are inefficient listeners
Listening skills deteriorate with age
Ralph Nichols, author of Are You Listening?:
“If we define the good listener as one giving full attention to the speaker, first-grade children are the best listeners of all.”
Listening is hard!
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Listening Bad Listening Habits
Assume subject matter “uninteresting”
Criticize the delivery and/or appearance of the speaker
Become too stimulated
Submit to emotional words: politically-charged
LUNA:
Listen to
Understand
Not to
Agree
Listen only for facts
Fake attention
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Listening Improve Listening Skills
Anticipate the speaker’s next point
See if you’re following his/her train of thought correctly
Make mental summaries as you listen
Ask for clarification if confused
Admit if you weren’t paying attention and/or were distracted, and then PAY ATTENTION
Practice, Practice, Practice
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Writing How you write says a great deal about your
professionalism.
Careers are made AND broken by poor writing skills.
Some careers never begin!
What kind of writer are you?
Methodical
Brainstorm
Combination?
STICK TO YOUR STYLE
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Writing The Writing Process
Preparation Time
Composition
Review
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Writing Preparation Time
Planning
What is your purpose for writing?
Informing
Requesting
Persuading
Thanking
Research & compiling information
Reliable sources?
Maintain list of sources
Analysis – reasoning
Reflection
Outline structure
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Writing
Composition Drafting the idea
Revising the structure
BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Level of expertise
Role and level in the organization
When in doubt, simplicity counts
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Writing Review
Revising
Reorganizing
Editing
Proofreading
Take a break before proofreading
Finalizing
Font selection, document size, margins, etc.
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Writing - Emails
___% of CFOs surveyed (2,100) start their day by checking emails
E-mail etiquette
Keep it short & sweet
Subject lines are Headlines
Send one email per main topic
Helps in getting faster responses
Keeps thoughts/topics more organized
If a response is required, be specific about what is required in the response
Use speel chek
Internal emails: can be less formal, but assume they could be shared with individuals outside the firm
Avoid using slang
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Writing - Emails Time Management Ninja: Top 10 Bad
Emails Being Sent at Your Company The One to Everyone: “REPLY ALL”
The Broadcast: Usually from senior leadership, 4-5 paragraphs, could be 1 sentence
The Paper Push: “It’s not my job”, delegation
The Look Busy: “Hey, I’m working! Really.”
The Typo Email: You need a decoder wheel to read it. Often sent from smartphones.
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Writing - Emails Time Management Ninja (con’t)
The Email Novel: If you’re re-writing Moby Dick, put it in an attachment
The Flame Mail: Writing something you’d never say in person
The Signature Email: Signatures containing more information than the email (quotes, propaganda, disclaimers, etc.)
The Large Attachment: The 20MB file that doesn’t reach half your intended recipients. And then you resend. Four times.
The Email Virus
BONUS: The One That Should Have Been BCC: When you don’t want people “Replying All”
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Writing - Emails Important Notes for Emails:
BE CAREFUL of forwarding
UPDATE distribution lists
Internal & External
Who has administrative rights to distribution lists?
If angry, do NOT send an email
If you want to write a draft, do NOT address to anyone until you’re ready to send
Assume EVERYONE will read your email (even those you don’t send it to)
Wait at least 24 hours to send
If topic must be addressed sooner, call or speak to the individual(s)
Follow-up with email summarizing what was discussed on the call or in the meeting
Organize and SAVE your emails
FINAL NOTE: if it’s URGENT, pick up the phone!
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Writing – Emails & Smartphones Using smartphones to write/respond to emails
Signature line: “Please pardon any typos…” or “Sent from my _____”
Most people understand the occasional typo when sending an email from a cell phone
BUT repeated errors can make emails more difficult to read
KNOW who is on the email
DANGER: Autocorrect
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Writing – Smartphones Texting
Avoid “shorthand”
How r u 2day? Im gr8!
Autocorrect
KNOW the technology:
iPhones: replying to a text message will reply to ALL on that message (newest models can turn off group messaging, but there have been glitches)
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Presentations Large images and text don’t mix
Flow charts should flow
Color schemes: stick to 2 or 3 main shades
More complicated charts, graphs & tables ≠ better presentation
More clipart ≠ better presentation
More animation ≠ better presentation
Lengthy bullet points & endless “summaries”
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*List adapted from “The World’s Worst PowerPoint Presentations” by Sarah Purewal, PCWorld
Presentations
Large images and text don’t mix
Even if you change the color scheme, like the font color, you can run into issues with changes with the coloring within the image.
Changing font colors mid-slide may not rectify the issue.
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Presentations Flow charts should flow (and be self-explanatory)
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Presentations
Color schemes
Stick to 2-3 main color shades (even if you’re selling tie-dye t-shirts)
Use a corporate template (if available) and DON’T deviate from the template when dealing with clients
Use a basic Microsoft template if corporate template unavailable
Easier to view presentation
Easier for others to open the presentation on their own PCs/laptops
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PresentationsBUT: avoid the black and white only “template”
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Presentations More complicated charts, graphs & tables ≠ better
presentation
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Presentations More clipart ≠ better presentation
Only use visuals that communicate the respective point or tie-in to the presentation
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Presentations More animation ≠ better presentation
Using minimal animation, like fade-ins, can be useful to keep the audience from jumping ahead
BUT when you have too much animation, your message can be lost
If you rely on animation to make a point, the message will be lost on printed slides
You may also end up spending more time setting the right animation than actually writing and researching the presentation
How many minutes did I spend on this one slide?
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25!
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Presentations Lengthy bullet points
Bullet points should normally be kept to one line, two lines max, because when you extend the bullet point beyond two lines it ceases to become a “bullet point” and instead becomes an entire paragraph; often a run-on paragraph at that.
Keep bullet points succinct
Use sub-points if needed
Ensure bullet points can “stand on their own” if reviewed by an outsider
Lengthy bullet points tend to create a situation where the audience may stop listening to the speaker entirely and just start reading ahead. Remember, we are able to process up to 400 words per minute, whereas we typically speak at 125 words per minute. Hence, you read ahead because you are mentally able to process it more quickly than I can go through each point. I bet many of you are reading this right now, whereas I’m probably not even past the first bullet on this slide.
Finally, now that you’ve finished reading this entire slide (and I’m still on point two about keeping bullets succinct), I bet some of you will start doodling on any notepaper you may have in front of you. You’ve already read the slide, so you’re anxious for me to click to the next one so you can read ahead again.
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Presentations
Additional presentation tips Does the material flow?
Is the material logical?
Does the material lead the audience?
Does your presentation “stand on its own”?
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Social Media
The benefits of social media are indisputable:
Product marketing
Branding
Customer relations
Human resources
BUT, there are tremendous risks associated with this communication forum:
Leaking sensitive information
Miscommunication going viral
Disgruntled employees
Legal/compliance discovery
Customer relations
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Social Media Leaking sensitive information
Sales rep: “Just landed my biggest deal with ABC Corp, $5 million sale!”
Personal sites (Facebook): “My wife may be laid off, her company is really have financial issues.”
Examples
2010: 10 British defense personnel disciplined for leaking sensitive information on social networking sites.
2012: 4 Indian naval officers disciplined for leaking the location of ships online.
Who may be seeking information on your company?
Who owns the information on your social media sites?
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Social Media
Customer/Public Relations
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (BP)
Nearly 1 month after the spill, BP finally began a social media campaign to combat bad press:
Purchased key words like “oil spill” on Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.
Published videos of employees working on a cleanbeach
What could they have done?
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Social Media Customer/Public Relations
Kenneth Cole
Arab Spring uprisings in Cairo
Tweet: “Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our spring collection is now online.”
CEO issued apology, tweet removed, but damage was done
What could they have done?
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Social Media Customer/Public Relations
What about your employees?
October 2012: 30-year old Massachusetts women posts an “ironic” photo of herself shouting and making an indecent gesture towards Arlington National Cemetery on Facebook.
Picture goes viral
Facebook lists where she works (she was on a work-related trip to Washington, D.C.)
After 2-3 weeks of complaints and a public relations backlash, her employer places her on unpaid leave
Further backlash comes against the employer for the delayed response and “weak” reaction
Over a month later, the employee is terminated
What could the employer have done?
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Social Media Other pitfalls for businesses
Spreading resources too thin: platform overload
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, blogs, newsletters/emails
What do your customers value?
Indulging in self-promotion
Communication with consumers should be two-way
Use the forum to present information, NOT to sell a product/service
Assigning social media responsibilities to a new employee or intern
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Social Media What is your company’s policy on social media?
Who can post to the sites?
Who has administrative access?
What is the standard operating procedure (SOP) if something offensive is posted?
What if one of your employees or coworkers posts something offensive on their personal site?
In general, how is social media used?
Marketing/outreach to potential customers?
Information feed to current customers?
Tool for feedback from customers?
REMEMBER: Social Media is FOREVER
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Agenda
Why study effective communication & writing?
Best Practices
Listening
Writing
Emails (and smartphones)
Presentations
Social Media
Employee Engagement Trends – Appendix A
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Conclusion
Become a better LISTENER: what are your customers, employees, etc. really saying?
Assume every communication will be read, heard, etc. by people outside your organization.
Social media can be a great marketing and communication tool, but there are very common and severe pitfalls.
STICK TO YOUR STYLE
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Thank you! Any questions can be relayed to:
Matt Ryan
(412) 215-2983 (cell)
Frank Ryan
(717) 891-2707 (cell)
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