Communication: Best Practices

Why Communicate? Questions to ask beforehand:

v  Who is my audience?

v  Why do they need this information?

v  How do I expect them to respond to my communication?

Audience v  Know your audience.

v  Craft communication according to their understanding, background, and demeanor.

Remove the Fluff v  Organize your information beforehand.

v  The main points drive your communication and keep the information to a “bare bones” minimum.

v  Get to the point and stay simple.

v  Eliminate unnecessary details.

Wording Matters v  Watch out for jargon or syntax that over-complicates

the message.

v  Phrase your wording for the audience – “you” instead of “I”.

v  The lower the word count, the better.

Extra Tips v  Use Microsoft Word to craft your communication.

v  Enable “readability statistics” in Microsoft Word.

v  Time your communication right, keeping student schedules in mind.

v  Get some help from a colleague.

v  Wait to communicate.