One of the most common position requirements across employment industries is excellent verbal and written communication skills. How an individual communicates with supervisors, professors, colleagues, fellow students, clients, and customers will assist in advancement and enhance their credibility. Indeed, professional communication is essential in academic, professional, networking, and many other settings. Professional communication takes many forms, including speaking, listening, writing, and responding. It can be verbal and non-verbal, written, or even virtual. Accordingly, students would be well served by developing their professional communications skills now. This walk through will help students develop a basic professional communication understanding that can be fine-tuned with a career coach.
Step one: Develop the message
The first step in professional communication is developing the message that the sender would like to convey to the receiver. In doing so, consider the following:
- In your first interaction with an individual or group, be formal in your interaction
- Be sure to know your audience. This can include researching the proper title(s), and if appropriate, academic credentials of the person receiving the message
- Be concise and clearly state the point of your message
- Avoid slang and use professional language
- Make sure you are conveying truthful information
- Use proper grammar and, if written, proper punctuation and be sure to proofread your message
Step two: Deliver the message
The next step in professional communication is delivering the message.
For in person communication, like an interview, networking reception, or similar:
- Ensure that your attire is appropriate for the situation. Unless otherwise stated, business casual dress is generally appropriate and rarely is being overdressed an issue
- Be sure to be on time and account for things like traffic, parking, and lines
- Demonstrate engagement and interest by demonstrating active listening, appropriate eye contact, and appropriate language
- Research the people and organizations that you are going to be communicating with
- Take notes of any conversations that you have immediately after the event for follow-up, including names of people you met and topics that you discussed
- Prepare to ask and answer questions
- Listen
For written communication, like professional inquiries:
- Discern which type of written correspondence is best, such as letter (most formal), email (more informal), or instant communicators like Teams (most informal)
- Ensure that the communication is sent to the appropriate person
- Proofread everything, proofread it again, then send it.
Step three: Follow up the message
Following up a professional communication is critically important. Among other things, it is way to maintain the connection that you made and demonstrate engagement and interest.
For in person communication, like networking or interviews:
- Send a follow up email within 24 hours of the connection to everyone you connected with
- Write a personalized subject line
- Remind the person you communicated with about the topics that you discussed and, if appropriate, what you are seeking (a position, interest in joining an organization, etc.)
- If appropriate, offer to meet again
- Thank the recipient for their time
Following up a written communication is more nuanced.
Generally, these tips can be helpful:
- Always be sure to respond within timeframes outlined by an employer or organization and in the manner that they recommend—via email, phone call, or letter
- Unless a deadline or closing date is imminent, following up an email after one week of a non-response is appropriate.
- Do not follow up if an employer says not to. Be sure to make yourself aware of these by reviewing job postings.
- Be concise
- Be sure to include your contact information
Professional communication is important but can take time to develop. Working with a career coach can you help you hone these skills.