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Current Tip
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Tips Archive
Communicating in the Office
Are your communications in the office efficient? How do you communicate a message to a coworker or employee? Do you get up, walk over to the next office or desk, state your message, perhaps engage in a few words of small talk, walk back to your desk, sit down and (try to) pick up where you left off? Or, do you call out to a coworker nearby, interrupt their train of thought as well as others perhaps, to say what you want to say?
That's one way of communicating, and many times it is preferred, but consider other ways: email or instant messaging. More and more offices are using instant messaging for coworkers to communicate with one another.
PROS
* It is less effort than the combined effort of voice/body language/movement
* It is a less intrusive/interrupted feeling
* There is less chance to engage in small talk
* It is easier to get back to what one was doing
* It can take less time than calling/walking to communicate your message
* Long distances between offices, whether on the same floor or in a different city, make IMing conducive to time saving and cost saving
CONS
* Long messages are best spoken or written via email
* Coworkers/employees can communicate with friends/family
* Text can be misleading in terms of meaning/intent/tone, etc.
* Sometimes it CAN take longer to communicate via instant messaging
Nevertheless, all employees of cnet.com for example, a major technology company, communicate via instant messaging, finding it a more efficient and productive tool.
Emailing within the office can be productive as well.
PROS
* An employer can "set up" their employees for the day's work via email
* Answers re work performed come in throughout the day, enabling one to keep these long term records of work performed.
* Follow-up questions/work are easily replied to/recorded
* Emails in regard to specific clients can be filed in client folders on the hard drive
* There is no interruption factor if there is no timing issue for a task or message
CONS
* One person's view of importance may not be another's, with the reply to questions/issues arriving late
* Text can be misleading in terms of meaning/intent/tone
* Controversial issues should not be discussed in email as issues can become/seem larger than necessary
* Those who skim emails may miss important information
* Communication is only as good as the clarity with which it is written
AOL Instant Messenger
ICQ
Yahoo Messenger
MSN Messenger
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