This document discusses the various means of communication used in the workplace. It describes 7 main means: 1) one-to-one contact, 2) group meetings, 3) the written word, 4) the phone, 5) formal interviews, 6) the grapevine, and 7) email and the internet. Each method is described in 1-2 paragraphs outlining its purpose and effective use in workplace communications. The document emphasizes understanding each communication method and having the skills to use various means effectively.

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MTL: The Professional Development Programme
The Means of Communication
THE MEANS OF
COMMUNICATION
How we like to connect
MTL: The Professional Development Programme

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MTL: The Professional Development Programme
The Means of Communication
Attribution: All images are from sources where a Creative Commons license exists for commercial use. All icons are on subscription
from thenounproject. All clipart is from free sources. The MTL Professional Development Programme is copyright of Manage Train
Learn.
The Means of
Communication
Introduction: The workplace can be described as a dynamic communications
entity. It lives and thrives by the exchange of information at all levels and in
different forms. Being skilled at using the different kinds of workplace
communication formats is vital for effective communication at work.

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MTL: The Professional Development Programme
The Means of Communication
1. ONE-TO-
ONE
CONTACT
Direct one-to-one contact is still the most
favoured way for managers to keep in touch with
what's going on. Many executives use the phone
to keep up-to-date with diverse and complex
operations. It allows them to receive the very
latest news and gossip, the basis of informed
decision-taking. Richard Branson, head of the
Virgin group has over 80 executives reporting to
him directly around the world. The phone or
personal face-to-face contact allows quick and
immediate communicating to take place.
Sit still, will you!
Flickr attribution: /mikecogh/10170298196/

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MTL: The Professional Development Programme
The Means of Communication
2. GROUP
MEETINGS
Group meetings can be notorious time-wasters if
they are poorly prepared, badly run, and fail to
follow up. To avoid this, always take time to think
through why you are meeting, who needs to
attend, and what people should get out of it. If
you are running a meeting, your role is to elicit
views, keep things moving, and summarise
results. Don't let a meeting finish without a clear
plan of who is doing what, when, and with what
outcomes.
Choose somewhere with no distractions
Flickr attribution: /epublicist/8757719565/

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MTL: The Professional Development Programme
The Means of Communication
3. THE
WRITTEN
WORD
The written word is still an important feature of
workplace communication, particularly where
we want to present information that needs
study. Aim to be brief and succinct, choosing the
short word over its longer alternative; keeping
sentences and paragraphs to the minimum; and
using summaries, introductions, conclusions, and
appendices rather than lengthy pages. The more
lasting nature of written communications means
that you may be judged more by what you put
on paper than how you come across in person.
You can send messages from anywhere
Flickr attribution: /axelhartmann/12018642285/

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MTL: The Professional Development Programme
The Means of Communication
4. THE PHONE
The phone is the predominant means of modern
workplace communication. Charles Handy calls it
"the new mobile office". It allows us to work
without being together. However, always
remember that, when you talk to someone on
the phone, you are unable to see their
expressions, gestures, and body language and so
you are missing a large part of the way we
understand people face-to-face.
The phone allows us to multi-task
Flickr attribution: /bilderschachtelphotography/19717457544/

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MTL: The Professional Development Programme
The Means of Communication
5. THE
FORMAL
INTERVIEW
The formal interview is a uniquely workplace
form of communication. We use it for
recruitment, discipline, counselling, grievances,
negotiating, and performance reviews. Formal
interviews should be prepared, run, and followed
up in the same way as you do in a meeting.
Follow the 3 C's of interviews: set the context;
plan the content; and make the contact.
Plan your interviews in advance
Flickr attribution: /ter-burg/393171933//

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The Means of Communication
Interview Structures
1. Like all other forms of formal
communication, interviews have a
beginning, middle and end.
4. Interview middles should be
structured. This stops the
interview losing its way. An
appraisal structure, for example,
might discuss past work, present
work and future plans as its
main content.
2. Interview beginnings are often called the contracting stage
because they seek to outline what the interview will do. The
contracting can also set out the tone and content.
3. Because it is a contract, the
interviewee can stop at this
stage if he or she doesn't like
anything proposed. Otherwise, it
is assumed that they are happy
to proceed.
5. Interview ends are a mix of
resolving problems, looking
ahead, tying up loose ends and
formal closure.
6. The most common use of
interviews is for hiring,
followed by work review
appraisals, and discipline.

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The Means of Communication
6. THE
GRAPEVINE
The grapevine is the unofficial communications
network that exists in every organisation. While
officially ignored by those in charge, astute
managers use it when they want to ensure that
information gets around the organisation quickly.
They may, for example, release information bit
by bit through the grapevine to test opinion and
use it as a sounding board for feedback.
Alternatively, it may be used to remind people of
important values. By going via the grapevine, the
message is conveyed in real terms that people
can understand, not in official company-speak.
The grapevine sometimes works better than the system
Flickr attribution: /funeralbell/10891478454/

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The Means of Communication
7. EMAIL AND
THE
INTERNET
The rise of email and the Internet as a means of
communicating at work has been astonishing.
Billions of emails are now exchanged each day.
The use of social media on the Internet suggests
that this rise will continue. Like all other forms of
communicating, email has its good and bad
points. Learn to use it correctly and
appropriately, and it can become another
valuable tool in your communications kitbag.
Wait a minute, Mum. I’ve got email
Flickr attribution: /urosvelickovic/3625586362/

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The Means of Communication
This has been a Slide Topic from Manage Train Learn
AFinal
Word
Effective communications do not just rely on the messages we send to one another. They
also rely on the means by which we send them. Understand each of these means and the
skills needed, and you can become a master of workplace communications.