Standards of Excellence We spend a great deal of time interacting with external and internal clients and partners in a variety of situations. One thing is certain - every interaction represents an opportunity to establish, build or reinforce a relationship.

Best Practices

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Face-to-Face

Every day we meet and talk with people from

sun up until sun down. Some of out

conversations are no more than greetings;

some are quick up dates about personal or

professional topics; others can be of a more

serious nature.

In business situations, informal face-to-face

encounters can turn into opportunities to

exchange vital information, enable a relaxed

recap of an important issue or gain hard to

learn feedback.

Even more formal types of face-to-face

situations can represent an excellent time for

building comfort levels with challenging ideas

and innovative approaches.

Effective face-to-face interactions can facilitate

consultative discussions and useful solutions.

Some Things To Keep In Mind:

• Plan And Prepare

- have an objective/goal

- organize thoughts into 2-3 main ideas

- focus on desired outcomes

• Know Your Audience

- understand their key concerns and

expectations

- anticipate questions and objections

• Keep Listener(s) Engaged

- spend more time interacting versus

talking

- ask questions/probe/check-in regularly

Our Most Familiar Form of Interaction

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Email & Instant

Messaging

Interacting at Warp Speed

Probably the biggest driver of the 21st Century

information age is the advent of the Internet. This

resource allows us to communicate information to

any part of the world in a dazzling short period of

time.

There is no doubt that it is definitely a good

thing to be able to respond to inquiries and

needs as quickly as possible. By the same token,

because the Internet is so invasive, it is important

for writers to move slowly in hitting the send

button.

Errors, miscommunications and wrong

information can get to people very rapidly and

can leave a poor impression in readers’ minds.

Once you are certain of your purpose and what

outcome you are looking to achieve, at right are

some tips to remember when preparing email or

instant messaging correspondence.

• Re-read documents multiple times before hitting send. The more important the document, the slower the move towards the send button

• Proof read for accuracy, errors, and correct spelling, especially with people’s names

• Restrict the distribution list to only those who are most affected by the communication

• Include specific subject lines always

• Commend in public; condemn in private

• Seek others reactions, especially when dealing with controversial topics

• Organize emails for quick reading; include detailed information in attachments

• Use a neutral tone when writing about highly charged topics

• Pick up the phone sometimes to break long email “chains”

• Limit the use of modicums or other punctuation marks such as exclamation marks

• Respect your reader’s time by avoiding the overuse of instant messaging

• Be understanding when you don’t receive instant replies to your instant messages

• Avoid using jargon or abridged expressions, especially if the correspondence could be forwarded to another person unbeknown to the original writer

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Telephone Interactions For over a century, the staple for keeping people connected

A whole industry was born as soon as Alexander

Graham Bell uttered those famous words in 1876,

“ Mr. Watson, come here, I want you.

Since then , we have perfected multiple ways to

reach people via the phone. As a result, any of us

can fall into habits that can prevent us from making

the best impression possible and lead to missing an

opportunity to start a new or build an existing

relationship.

With such a premium placed on time and expense

containment, businesses have been using the phone

to conduct meetings and share information that at

one time was relegated to face-to-face interactions.

Because of these changes it is important to evaluate

our telephone manner and approach to interacting,

especially in group situations, where the mute

button is always an option.

THINGS TO CONSIDER:

General

• Speak with confidence in all telephone

conversations

• Greet people personally-speak with a smile

• Think dialogue – engage frequently, call on people

Conference Calls

• Set goals and send out agenda in advance

• Limit agendas to a few important points –

“less = more”

• Select appropriate audience

• Summarize periodically–who, what, where, when

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Virtual Meetings

Technology allows us to connect with

associates using both voice and sight.

Videoconferencing, webinars, virtual

meetings make it possible for people

to participate in gatherings from

anywhere they can connect and

receive/send a signal.

Keeping an audience engaged is the

critical challenge.

Tips for effective virtual meetings:

• Set meeting goals, expectations

and access to technology in

advance

• Start and end meeting on time

• Solicit feedback regularly -

electronically or verbally

• Use rhetorical questions

• Provide examples in terms of the

listeners’ perspective

• Recap next steps and

responsibilities periodically

• Use good vocal tone and inflection

• Avoid acronyms or unfamiliar

terms, especially when interacting

with multi-cultural audiences