Dealing with Routine Situations

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Dealing with Routine Situations
Module Two
The Cain Project in Engineering and Professional
Communication ENGINEERING SERIES
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Introduction to Module Two
This module explains how to approach
communicating in routine situations.
Productivity is a measure of a professionals
value to a firm or organization. To be
productive, one must understand the situation the
company faces, the appropriate way to apply ones
technical or engineering knowledge, and how to
interact with others efficiently. Because
businesses are organized to accomplish specific
types of tasks related to their missions, certain
types of situations and procedures become
routine. Some of the communication also becomes
routine, and the more standard the communication,
the more likely that forms and on-line reports
can be used.These routine communication tasks
enhance efficiency, but always be on the lookout
for non-routine circumstances.
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Routine Situations Basic Steps

• Analyze genres (type of communication used in
  your firm for this purpose)
• Create a schedule for production
• Others may be involved
• Choose persuasive approach and organizing pattern
  needed for this genre and audience
• Define your purpose and main claim
• Draft, get feedback, evaluate, revise, send

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Routine Structure Guides Audience

• Context sets up mental hooks
• Overview establishes significance
• Support Typical persuasive pattern
• Benefit, feature, function
• Example To achieve X benefit, this deal, which
  will work this way, should be approved.
• Move from general to specific in explanations

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Adapting to Audience

• Analyze the primary audience
• Follow the suitcase rule
• To pack for the boss, know (metaphorically)
• where he/she is going
• why he/she is going there
• whats essential for the occasion

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Functions of Routine Documents

• Memos - to guide action inside firm, provide
  paper trail of work done
• Letters - to communicate with clients, suppliers,
  those outside the firm
• E-mail - to interact quickly with both insiders
  and clients, but BEWARE! E-mail
• belongs to firm, not to you (boss may read)
• is legal evidence, and
• is VERY HARD to delete (theres always a copy
  somewhere).

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Delegating by Coaching

• Share expectations with colleagues
• Offer information allow observation
• Create opportunities
• Emphasize process feedback, not ranking or
  summative feedback
• Process Id like more detail here
• Ranking This is the worst memo Ive seen

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Use company templates, forms, style sheets, and
rules of thumb

• Routine document design promotes routine
  processing
• Routine design speeds composing
• Put saved time into a bit of editing, polishing

• Rules of thumb for composing
• Problem / solution
• Action, information, motivation
• Benefits, feature, function
• Given-to-new

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Take AIM to Plan Letters
Answer these questions before you write

• What action do I want from the reader?
• What information does reader need?
• What motivation or beliefs will persuade?

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US Letters Have Predictable Plan

• First Paragraph Overall situation, reason for
  writing, identities of writer and reader, PURPOSE
• Body paragraphs necessary info and motivation,
  forecasting sentence at start of every paragraph
  (so readers can skim)
• Last paragraph Give details to support action
  and look forward to benefit of readers doing
  what is asked

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Non-US Letters Open Courteously

• Opening Paragraphs Establish relationship
  through personal or seasonal messages,
  compliments, and statements of cordiality
• Body paragraphs Overall situation, reason for
  writing, necessary info and motivation
• Last paragraph Give details to support action
  and look forward to benefit of readers doing
  what is asked and to continuing your good
  relationship

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Letter Evaluation

• Does first paragraph tell situation, problem,
  purpose of letter?
• Is needed action clear?
• Sufficient info to take action?
• Action details in last paragraph? (for example,
  where to come, when to call)
• Tone appropriate for relationship?
• Does letter close look forward to benefits of
  reader taking action?

• Accessibility
• Comprehensibility
• Usability
• Interpersonal / Intercultural Effectiveness

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Organize Memos for Efficiency

• Realize reader may not read to end of memo
• Use rich (high content) subject lines
• Help reader separate one memo from another
• Allow fast reader to glean crucial details with
  forecasting sentences, headings
• Put in details of action needed early
• Most valuable info first, least valuable at end

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Choose Quality in E-mail

• Myth of informality
• Organize info from general to specific, but
  put important information in subject line and
  first paragraph
• Reference and attach documents
• Dont force re-reading old message (put your
  response first)
• Correct errors BEFORE they are printed and
  displayed

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Memo Evaluation

• Accessibility
• Comprehensibility
• Usability
• Interpersonal / Intercultural Effectiveness

• Important info in subject line, first paragraphs?
• Sufficient info to take action?
• Appropriate info for purpose (for example,
  meeting date, place, etc.)
• Tone appropriate for relationship?

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Examples of a Routine Report and Presentation
SAMPLE ROUTINE REPORT CEVE 322

• Used in CEVE 322
• Engineering Economics and Project Management

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Prospect Presentation Situation

• Standard situation a regular meeting to
  determine what investment proposals (prospects)
  to approve
• Committee hears these routinely
• Communication involved written prospect report
  to committee, handout, PPT, and presentation
• Person who prepared the prospect report
  distributes the handout, gives the presentation,
  answers questions, provides additional details

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Similarities in Structure

• Report, presentation, and handout structured in
  the same way
• Summary
• Discussion
• Decision process drives what is presented
• Front matter of headings conveys situational
  information

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Audience Expects

• TWO-PART STRUCTURE
• Summary
• Briefly Situation, problem/task, importance,
  your responsibilities, your actions, conclusions,
  recommendations
• Discussion
• Organized to answer questions Explains
  background,
• analyzes problem, proposes solutions,
  expresses conclusion in detail (perhaps with
  implementation details, etc.)

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Written Prospect Report
Answers the question, Should the company invest
in a prospect?

• Summary
• Discussion
• Opportunity describes prospect such as power
  plant, oil field, refinery, gas field in current
  economic situation
• Interpretation of options, figures
• Detailed recommendations
• Appendices and figures

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Getting to the Point

• Go to bottom-line unless controversial
• State main point for audience that wants big
  picture
• Give MUST KNOW points to support decision

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Cover in Discussion

• Models developed and used for the analysis
• deterministic
• probabilistic
• Sensitivity chart ranking key input parameters
• Bases for the choices in input distributions
• Graphical and statistical descriptions of outputs

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Information at Your Fingertips

• Capture key information on your project
  electronically, available if necessary
• Prepare extra tables or graphs in PowerPoint to
  answer audiences Yes, but . . . objections
• Use as appendices or as follow-up slides

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Handout for Talk

• Summary of main points
• Key figures
• List of assumptions related to model
• Contact information

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Criteria for Prospect Reports, Presentations

• Accessibility
• Comprehensibility
• Usability
• Interpersonal / Intercultural Effectiveness

• Routine format helps audience find info
• Familiarity allows minimal explanation, focus on
  specific info
• Known criteria imply required info
• Detailed knowledge key to personal trust

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Lead through Excellence in Engineering
Communication

• More resources are available for you
• under Engineering Communication at Connexions
  at http//cnx.org
• at the Cain Project site at http//www.owlnet.rice
  .edu/cainproj
• in your course Communication Folder in OWLSPACE.