Effective Business Communication

We are committed to providing valuable internal communication advice and tips, whether or not they directly to digital signage. This post originally appeared on the Mich-communication blog and has been reposted with permission. 

By Michelle Walkden

It doesn’t matter if you are formulating an email or producing a web page, white paper or brochure, you can’t go wrong if you write as you speak.

This post originally appeared on Paul Barton's "Just My Type" blog and we received full permission to re-run the content on this blog. 

Over the years, Paul Barton has become a great friend of mine. We originally "met" via Twitter, but have since reconnected several times at IABC World Conferences.

In this post, he pulled together 20 objectives for employee communicators that I thought were simply brilliant. I'd like to see if anybody can put up an argument against any of them. Check out Paul's 20 guiding principles for employee communications....

This content originally appeared on JTPR's Spread the Word and has been reposted with permission. 

It happens over and over. We ask new clients about the audiences they need to reach in order to achieve their objectives, and they quickly zero in on potential clients and customers. Then they talk about collaborators and marketplace influencers. Then, as an afterthought, they might mention employees.

Usually, this isn’t because there is some desire NOT to communicate with employees. It’s just that, when these clients focus on making sales and...

I rarely read fiction books. And when I say "rarely," I mean never. (Unless of course I'm reading to my kids at night.)

As it turns out, people are better off for reading fiction. I've always held the belief that there are so many great non-fiction (real life) stories out there that I shouldn't waste my time reading "made up stories." (Those are my words.)

But a new study in Scientific American discusses how fiction can hone social skills. But they aren't talking about Twitter, Facebook and so forth. It's about relating and interacting with...

I'm not.

I've admitted that here on this blog. But in a lot of large corporations, employee engagement surveys can be a necessary evil for employee communication professionals. You can only fight them for so long. 

So if your company is bound and determined to conduct an engagement survey, here are some tips from CustomInsight to improve the response rate. 

1. Ensure anonymity. 
2. Secure an endorsement from senior management. 
3. Keep the survey brief. 
4. Explain the benefits to all employees. 
5. Explain the next steps. 
6. Follow through on your promises. 
7. Offer...

I'll be the first to admit that I do not make New Year's resolutions. But people making promises and commitments to themselves is a good thing. Melcrum published a piece about 8 New Year's resolutions for internal communication pros. 

Some are weak, but some also have a lot of value. I added my two cents in italics. Here we go...

1. Think of outcome, not output

   Focus on business outcomes, not simply on producing communication collateral. Use communication as a means to an end, not an end in itself. There’s a big difference between saying “who’s got...

We put a lot of work into our blog (and I hope those that read it find our posts helpful). I thought I'd go back and find the top eight most-read blog posts from the past year. Why eight? Because it was a crazy year. 

I hope you enjoy. 

1. If you're in employee communications, watch this video now
    
2. The top holiday gift ideas for internal communicators
    
3. What impact did Twitter have on the IABC World Conference? 
    
4. Digital signage and the Powerpoint problem
    
5. Repetition is key to successful internal communication
    
6. Another incredible milestone for the...