Transcript Powerful Writing and Team Development Presentation

Powerful Writing and
Team Development
Presentation
Program Goals and
Objectives:
Improving Writing: the Permanent
Communication Skill
Five Reasons for Poor Writing pg.12
• Thinking and planning that are unclear. Without a plan, writing often
lacks direction. Effective planning leads to clear organization. Clarity is
achieved when information is presented in a step-by-step process.
• Failing to write with your audience in mind. Realize your audience’s level
of knowledge. An audience-centered approach tells readers what they want
to know in a way that is useful to them.
• Writing to impress rather to communicate. Nothing impresses readers
more than clear, simple communication that tells them what they want to
know.
• Failing to consider design as crucial. Information overload is a fact of
life. Business people are often too busy to wade through pages of details to
get the point of a letter. Use headings, bullets, indented paragraphs, and
plenty of white space.
• Failing to revise and edit. Documents need fine-tuning and sometimes
major revisions.
Don’t write merely
to be understood.
Write so that you
cannot be possibly
misunderstood.
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1934)
Writer
No passion in the
world is equal to the
passion to alter
someone else’s draft.
H.G. Wells
Style Can Vary pg.14
• In Accurate: Something is incorrect or
stronger information is available and
should be used.
• In Appropriate: The tone is faulty.
• In Consistent: Parallelism is violated or
the organization’s standards are in
question.
Developing New Habits: The Four Stages of Learning
2. Conscious
Incompetence
We know that we don’t
know
1. Unconscious
Incompetence
We don’t know that we
don’t know
3. Conscious
Competence
We work at what we don’t
know
4. Unconscious
Competence
We don’t have to think
about knowing it
THINK NOT INK
Points to consider before sending a document.
1. Readers do judge your writing and thinking.
2. A well-written document gives your ideas visibility and
authority within your organization.
3. Poorly written documents can make you appear
incompetent or someone who spends little to no time
analyzing.
4. You could be viewed as someone who has nothing
worthwhile to say. As with first impressions, such
perceptions are difficult to erase.
Roles of the Reader in Academic &
Business Settings pg. 25
Academic
• Teaching
• Knows the “right” answer so often
“knows what you mean” even if
your writing is not clear
• Wants to see you use new
vocabulary, concepts,
organizational patterns
• Expects deadlines to be met but
will often award partial credit if
they are not met
• Usually discourages collaboration
• Must read the document
Business
• Learning
• Does not know the “right” answer
so probably does not “know what
you mean” if your writing is not
clear.
• Wants to understand your accurate
information without effort
• Expects to be served promptly and
courteously; does not expect
excuses
• Does not care how the information
was obtained
• May not finish reading the
document
Roles of the Writer in Academic &
Business Settings
Academic
• Learning
• Not conveying information
• Expected to show knowledge of
vocabulary concepts, organizational
patterns
• Partial credit possible
• Topic often from personal experience
or literature and often involves choice
• Deadlines imposed by another, often
arbitrarily
• Length of writing assigned
• Type of organization sometimes
assigned
• Collaboration usually discouraged
Business
• Teaching
• Conveying information
• Expected to be accurate and clear
• Accuracy crucial; no “credit” for
almost!
• Topic dictated by client, customer
or supervisor and seldom involves
choice
• Some deadlines, flexible or selfimposed; others completely flexible
• No length of writing provided
• Type of organization seldom
assigned
• Collaboration permitted,
sometimes encouraged
Pro-Acting: A More Sensible
Approach to Communication
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Take Charge of the Writing Process: Determine
Date Due
Date Revising and Editing Completed
Date Outlining and Rough Drafting Done
Date Data Analyzed, Interpreted, and Evaluated
Date Data Collected and Organized
Project Deadline pg. 34
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Isolate yourself.
Don’t procrastinate.
Know your objectives.
Give top priority to planning.
Break the job into individual tasks.
Make choices.
Keep a time log.
Reduce Interruptions.
Avoid clock watching and other diversions.
Concentrate.
Strive to meet the deadline.
Debriefing
Sentence Variety
In speech we use inflections and hand
gestures to emphasize points we make.
In writing, we vary our sentence length
to emphasize points in our text.
Three Stages of the Writing Process
pg. 39
Creating State:
• Why am I writing this?
• Who is my intended reader?
• What do I want to say?
Quick Draft
Shaping Stage
• Are these the points I want to make?
• Did I forget something?
• Are any of the points fuzzy?
• What did I say that I could leave out?
• Does this sound like me?
• Do I believe what I said?
Completion Stage
Engage you readers
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Use vivid, active, hopping-with-aliveness words, delete dull, lifeless, vague, and
otherwise boring words.
Cut, cut, cut. Cut words that say the same thing – such as actual truth. Cut words that
modify meaninglessly – such as kind of. Cut clichés – such as “pursuant to our next
meeting,” and “do not hesitate to contact me.”
Proper Format pg. 45
• Format and neatness are aids to readability. The
physical presentation of your message is one
important way you can achieve your goal of
getting the receiver to read your message.
• Do your documents pass the eye test?
Date:
To:
From:
Subject:
April 3, 200_
All Employees
Oliver Castle, President
Reorganization of the Company
As you well know, our company has had considerable difficulty this year with the collapse of the barunium
market, with inflation hitting 12% and going up, with the labor difficulties we’ve had at several plants, and with the
development of our new products, especially in the home products system. This situation has forced the
management to assess our entire company and its operations with a view to finding a better way to organize it for
improved profits and long-term efficiency.
Some of our departments have been growing and shrinking without much rhyme or reason, and before this
occasion we had not made the effort to take a really hard look at what we were doing. Instead, we were patching
things here and there with the aim of eliminating duplication when we could and pulling together groups that
belong together functionally.
Now we are announcing a major reorganization to take effect on January 19. We will announce the details on
January 12, such as when the desks will be moved and when new managers will hold meetings with various
employees to whom the information is pertinent. We will also, at that time distribute a complete schedule setting
forth who will be working for whom. In the meantime, we are announcing the following changes so the managers
in charge of the affected divisions and departments can prepare for the reorganization.
Charles Jones will assume duties as director of the new Office Products Division, leaving his present post as
manager of typewriter and office equipment supplies. Janice Moreland will move from Vice President for
Research to Vice President for Operations. Jack Spotter will be the new head of the Research Department,
moving from his position as Assistant to the President to fill the position of Assistant to the President of
Operations. Marilyn Belt will become director of the new Home Products Division, which used to have only project
status. These changes in department managerial positions will take place on January 5. Current Assistant
Directors will remain in their positions at that time unless otherwise notified.
Then, on January 12, changes at the level of assistant directors will go into effect…
Paragraph pg. 46
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4.
A paragraph consists of one or more sentences that either state
or develop a single idea. A paragraph can consist of one short
sentence or ten or more sentences. It is a vehicle for simple or
for complex ideas. Therefore, sentences must be deliberately
written to form paragraphs.
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE PARAGRAPH
Unity
Coherence
Tone
Emphasis
Guidelines:
• Paragraphs are developed around the content of the
topic sentence and not always for the purpose or
function of providing essential information for the
reader.
• Problems with Paragraphs:
*too much information
*different kinds of information
*information which is not identified to ease
understanding, quick scanning, and retrieval
• Each paragraph should:
• Contain only one main idea relevant to the purpose or
function for the reader
Use a Heading To… pg. 48
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Make reports look less formidable
Enable the reader to tell at a glance what the major
concerns are
Improve readability and save time – the readers; not
the writers
Help both reader and writer to stay on the subject
USE A HEADING TO:
1. Stress
2. Group
3. Balance
4. Arrange
User-Friendly Documents pg. 49
1. Don’t scare the eye
2. Give the reader’s eye and mind breathing space
Make documents user-friendly: Use -1. White Space
2. Wide Margins
3. Short Paragraphs
4. Short Sentences
(average of 16-20 words)
Use the “eye test” to determine if your documents
are user-friendly.
Formatting Review pg. 51
Check your Document
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Sentences
Limit your sentences to 16 - 20 words
Limit your lists to 5 - 6 items
Use Paragraphs every 5 to 7 sentences
Add Headings
The Heading Itself should:
Be in bold type
Be in larger type
Be in a simple, clean font
Be flush with the left margin
Clearly identify the contents
Paragraph Headings
The paragraph headings should indicate the purpose or content of the paragraph
it identifies.
Date:
April 3, 200_
To:
All Employees
From:
Oliver Castle, President
Subject: REORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY
Background As you well know, our company has had considerable difficulty this year with:
The collapse of the barunium market
Inflation hitting 12% and going up
Labor difficulties at several plants
Development of new products, especially in the home products system.
This situation has forced the management to asses our entire company and its operations with a view of finding a
better way to organize it for improved profits and long-term efficiency.
Management Changes
Name
WILL move from …
To …
Charles Jones
Manager, Typewriter and
Director, Office
Office Equipment Supplies
Products Div.
Janice Moreland
V.P., Research
V.P., Operations
Jack Spotter
Asst. V.P., Operations
Dir., Research
Maxwell Richardson Asst. To the President
Asst. V.P., Operations
Marilyn Belt
Asst. to the Plan
Dir., Home Products
Manager
Division
Jed Franklin
Asst. Dir., Finance
Asst. Dir.,
Office Products
Marsha Zettonelli
Dir. Of Budgeting
Asst. Dir.,
Home Products
Memorandum to staff:
The managers of these departments will inform the staff by special memo whether they will be moving with their
current managers or staying in their current departments. In most cases there will be no change, as we are trying
to keep as many departments intact as possible.
Effective Dates:
The effective dates for these changes are:
January 5
changes in Corporate Officers and Division Chiefs
January 12
announcement of details of reorganization, Assistant Directors move to new jobs.
Proofreading pg. 57
GUIDELINES:
1.
Read the final copy for logic, meaning, clarity, interest, and
persuasiveness
2.
Read again for good sentence structure and punctuation
3.
Read again and check for the following:
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Typographical errors
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Spelling errors
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Precise word choice
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Agreement of subjects and verbs
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Correct tense of verbs
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Correct case for nouns and pronouns
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Agreement of pronouns and their antecedents
4.
Proofread word by word and comma by comma in one of these ways:
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Use a ‘guide sheet’
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Have someone read aloud the original draft
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Read your draft into a tape recorder
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Lay your copies side by side on a desk or table in front of you.
When I stand before God,
at the end of my life,
I would hope that I
would not have a single bit of
talent left but could say,
“I used everything you
gave me.”
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996)
Syndicated Columnist
Good Morning!
Welcome to...
Team Skills
Team Skills
Orientation
Why am I
here?
Team Performance Model
Trust
Building
Who are
you?
Renewal
Why
Continue?
High
Performance
Wow!
Goal/Role
Clarification
What are we
doing?
Implementation
Who does what,
when, where?
Commitment
How will
we do it?
Project
Management
Model
Initiation &
Definition
Planning
Execution
Tracking
Close-Out
Team Skills
Assessment
– What do I do in a group?
Please refer to handout to complete this assessment.
Team Skills
Task Functions
• Information and
Opinion Giver
• Information and
Opinion Seeker
• Initiator and Time
Keeper
• Direction Giver and
Recorder
• Summarizer
• Coordinator and
Liaison
• Diagnoser
• Energizer
• Reality Tester and
Critic
• Evaluator
Team Skills
Maintenance Functions
• Participation
Encourager
• Harmonizer and
Reconciler
• Tension Reliever
• Communication Helper
and Procedure Monitor
• Evaluator of
Emotional Climate
• Process Observer and
Participation Monitor
• Standard Setter and
Consensus Seeker
• Active Listener
• Trust Builder and
Candor Monitor
• Interpersonal Problem
Solver
Team Skills
Criteria for Effective Goals
Effective goals should meet the SMARTS test:
1. Specific
2. Measurable
3. Attainable & Agreed Upon
4. Relevant, Reinforced, and Results Oriented
5. Time Bound
6. Stretch
Please refer to handout for more information.
Team Skills
Effective goals should meet the Zest Test:
– There’s a real sense of urgency. The goal must be
achieved.
– We feel a great sense of challenge.
– Success is clear and measurable.
– We’re really working together to achieve.
– The stakes are big. We’ll be up if we win and
down if we don’t.
– We’re not afraid of mistakes; we’ll try anything that
might work.
Please refer to handout for more information.
Team Skills
Segment 3: Commitment
What prevents teams from achieving goals; from
being high performing?
• Complacency and lack of commitment
• Vague mission
• Non-smart goals
• No team rules
• No conflict or unmanaged conflict
• Surface communication and ineffective listening
Team Skills
What is Conflict?
Conflict is an expressed struggle between two
people who perceive incompatible goals
or
incompatible approaches to accomplish a common
goal
or
a principal way/reason people change and believe
and behave differently!
Team Skills
What Causes Conflict in a Team?
 Competition for limited resources
 Clash of values
 Poorly defined responsibilities
 Change
 Normal drives for success, recognition and power
 Poor listening skills
 Individuals with different information
Team Skills
Exercise: Conflict
What is Your Primary Conflict-Handling Style?
For each of the 15 items, indicate how you rely on the tactic
by circling the appropriate number.
Please refer to handout to complete this exercise.
Team Skills
Conflict: Five Options
High
Relationship
Accommodate
Collaborate
Compromise
Avoid
Withdraw
Compete
Low
High
Goal
Team Skills
Conflict Styles: A Brief Summary
• Avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative
Conflict is postponed
• Accommodating is unassertive and cooperative
May help in future negotiations
• Competing is assertive and uncooperative
Someone wins, someone loses
• Compromising is intermediate in both assertiveness and
cooperativeness
Both sides get something & give up something
• Collaborating is both assertive and cooperative
Both sides win and have an opportunity to create a new environment
Team Skills
Conflict, Collaboration, & Commitment
We can progress through collaboration, only if we are
willing to move beyond our positions.
It's not the conflict that is important, but the outcome.
Each member must be 70% comfortable with the decision but
100% committed to working to make it happen.
Team Skills
Delegate: to entrust! To send;…to appoint; to assign
responsibility or authority
(or should it be authority and responsibility?)
Why Don’t We Delegate?
A.
B.
C.
D.
No faith in Subordinates
Fear of Superiors
Desire for Personal Credit
Misjudgment of Time
39
Team Skills
Delegation Musts
1. Understand the need for delegation.
2. Designate objective/goals and performance
standards.
3. Set a time limit for completed work.
4. Show your interest.
5. Measure results.
Team Skills
Decision-making Teams Need a Balance of…
&
Structure
• Agendas
• Steps
• Rules
• Assigned Roles
Interaction
• Give-and-take
Discussion
• Reactions to Talk
• Opportunities for
Creativity
• Open-Ended
Discussion
Team Skills
A Final Thought on Teamwork
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed people can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
- Margaret Mead
Team Skills
THE Final Thought on Teamwork
To move the world, we must first move ourselves.
-Socrates