Offer other pitfalls that might have occurred based on the information that your colleague shared and how you would suggest avoiding them.

Respond to at least two of your colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:

· Offer other ideas for how the communication could have been more effective or the miscommunication avoided.

· Offer other pitfalls that might have occurred based on the information that your colleague shared and how you would suggest avoiding them.

· Describe lessons that you learned from what your colleague shared.

· Provide other examples that compliment what your colleague shared

· Explain your thoughts about where the email or asynchronous communication failed to align to proper business communication etiquette.

Note what you have learned and/or any insights that you have gained as a result of the comments that your colleagues made.

1st Colleague to Respond to:

Describe a time when you sent an email that was not received well. As an alternative approach, describe a time when you received an email and misunderstood its intent

I can remember a time when one of my co-workers received an email and she misunderstood its intent. “Not everyone is a natural communicator, but everyone can learn basic and important communication skills” (Enman, 2014). The email that was sent to her was basically communicating to her that she needed to send out emails in regards to the upcoming town hall meeting, however, her manager never mentioned who all needed to be included in the email so therefore she sent the email out to all departments, managers, and employees. Later finding out that the email was only supposed to be sent to one particular department. It is so important that when you’re sending emails you make sure you’re communicating the correct information, by consulting with higher ups or whomever your manager or director is.

What do you think led to the misunderstanding?

What I believe led to this misunderstanding was the person who sent the email never mentioned who all should be included in the email. “Managers must have good communication skills in order to help their employees give their best performance” (Enman, 2014). How the manger communicated the email to the employee definitely sent off a signal that she needed her to send the email out to several departments, and employees, not just a few departments

Describe what happened as a result of the misunderstood email

As a result of the misunderstanding of the email, the manager tried to blame the employee for the mistake, until the employee forwarded the email back to the manager and asked her to proof read the email again. “You will make many communication mistakes in your formative role as someone responsible for the work of others (Petty, 2015).

Explain how this communication may have been made clearer and thus avoided any misunderstandings or problems.

“Expert communicators find ways to connect with the person or people to whom they are speaking” (Clancy, 2010). I believe if the manager would have given feedback to the employee once she sent the email this whole misunderstanding could have been avoided. Whenever my manager sends me an email she always emails me back to make sure I understood the email and the contents of it. That’s a way of connecting. I believe emailing was a very appropriate means to communicate the message.

Describe the important things to consider when communicating with people using email or other asynchronous methods as a sender and as a recipient.

Connecting is the most important thing to do once an email has been sent, you want to connect to assure that everything is done correctly, and if the employee has any questions in regards to the email.“The reason most people do not connect is they do not understand the focus and the intentionality that is required to connect with others” (Clancy, 2010). Communication is the key to having an effective relationship with your manager.

Reference

Clancy, A. B. (2010). Don’t just communication, connect. Business Chicago, 7(12), 8-9.

Enman, C. (2014). Why communication matters. SDM: Security Distributing & Marketing, 44(9), 54.

2ND Colleague to respond to:

In my job, email is a very important method of communication. We use it constantly with each other at work, with our students, and parents. I can think of a few times that I sent and received emails that were misunderstood. One stands out in particular, above the rest. A few years back, a fellow teacher had been given the directive, by our principal, to train me for a class I was going to be in charge of the following year. Our schedules did not coincide, we had different conference periods, but I was willing to spend some time before or after school to be prepared. She was a very knowledgeable teacher, and had a lot of experience, so I knew I could learn a lot from her. However, she was reluctant to train me. She had announced that she was going to be retiring the following year, which was a reason she would be teaching me about what she does. A couple of months into that school year, our principal sent us an email asking what the progress was with this. My fellow teacher emailed her back and included me in that email. She let her know that since we did not have the same schedule, she was unable to meet with me. In this same email, she stated that she was not going to retire and that she had let me know about this and mentioned that I was very glad to have her back another year. By this point, we did not have many conversations, and was unaware of her plans. Our principal then ended up calling us to her office; she did not take the email very well. She took it as her not wanting to help me and me not making the time to learn. She also told her that announcing through email her plans of retirement, when it was not formal, was unprofessional. This misunderstanding could have been avoided if we would have communicated about this from the beginning of the school year, when the directives were given to us. In addition, I could have been more persistent and gone to my administrator if I did not see willingness from her part. In this case, I believe verbal communication could have been more appropriate.

Things can be misconstrued when we use email, most of the time a conversation is so much better and clearer. However, we do not have the time to meet and email is convenient. It is important that as professionals, we read our emails carefully before we send them out. In addition, we need to make sure they are addressed to the proper individuals and only those who need to read them, are being sent the message. Communication can come in different ways, but in order to succeed as a team, excel in our jobs, and reach our company goals, we have to be able to connect when we communicate.

As stated in Why Communication Matters, we will not always agree, and we will have different thoughts and ideas. However, effective communication and being able to work as a team, will help us and the organization. This is where it starts, because we not only do we have to communicate effectively and professionally with our administrators and colleagues, we have to do so with our students and parents as well. Our school is a business; we want to ensure we offer the best education to our students. Students have a lot of options where they can receive their education, so we want to make sure that we are the best, and it all starts with us, and what we can offer them. Communication is very important for all organizations. “Communication between colleagues and customers must be clear and concise, because communication in the workplace is the best way for your company to thrive and grow.” (Enman, 2014) Since email is often used as a method of communication in the workplace, it applies to emails as well.

References

Enman, C. (2014). Why Communication Matters. SDM: Security Distributing & Marketing, 44(9), 54.

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