All communication related checklists...
Checklist to be used as a reminder of the small details that make your emails effective and professional commuinicatio.
Mark all that apply.
Did you include a relevant subject heading?
If your email is a "forward" or "reply" did you modify the subject heading if appropriate?
Have you appropriately sorted recipients between the "to" and "cc" classification? The latter designates the email is for information purposes only for "cc"'ed recipients, and that no action or reply is required.
Have you removed any recipients that do not need to receive your message?
Does your email have a courteous greeting and salutation?
Have you spell-checked and reviewed for grammar and clarity of your message?
Is your tone appropriate for the recipient(s)?
Are there any attachments for the email? Do you refer to the attachments in the body of your message so they do not get missed and to provide explanation and context for the attachments (if necessary)?
Have you included your email signature with contact info (if appropriate)?
Have you remembered that email is not private? Once you write something down and click "send" it can be examined, stored, and forwarded to the rest of the world!
See also
7 "C"s of Communication
Checklist to be used to develop the format for a survey of your customers or other stakeholders.
Mark all that apply.
Have you formally discussed and defined the goal of your survey?
Have you chosen a strategic time to engage your audience with your survey? Should it be coupled with another interaction/event such as a purchase or a meeting?
Have you chosen the right medium to engage your audience with your survey? Should it be electronic or paper?
Is the survey an appropriate length and will it take a reasonably short amount of time to complete?
Have you organized your survey logically to keep the reader’s attention?
Have you asked questions that will provide you with answers relevant to the defined goal of your survey?
Have you written clear and concise questions using appropriate language?
Are the questions qualified with further details if needed?
Did you create relevant and mutually exclusive answers (ones that do not overlap) to choose from?
Have you asked unbiased questions by using appropriate formats for questions and by presenting items information a proper sequence?
Have you ensured you will get unbiased answers by anticipating various tendencies your respondents may have?
For comparability and objectivity, have you quantified the response measures whenever possible?
Pyzdek, Thomas & Keller, Paul A. "The Six Sigma Handbook" 3rd Edition. McGraw Hill (2010), p. 50-51.
Checklist to be used to write with style and structure.
Mark all that apply.
Have you used the paragraph as your unit of composition?
Have you begun each paragraph with a topic sentence?
Have you written in the active voice?
Have you written statements in positive form?
Have you omitted needless words?
Have you avoided successions of loose sentences?
Have you expressed related ideas in a similar form?
Have you kept related words together?
In any summaries, have you used only one tense?
Have you placed the emphatic words of sentences at the end?
William Strunk, Jr. "The Elements of Style (Revised)". The Elements of Style Press (2011).
Checklist to be used to write an effective Executive Summary for a project or other business document.
- Mark all that apply.
- Does your Executive Summary need to bring together several business documents? For example on a project, your Business Case and Project Brief?
- What is the goal of writing this Executive Summary? Is it simply to summarize work activity that has taken place for your specific audience? Or is there a strategic goal with the act of summarizing, such as influencing an executive decision or course of action?
- Is the audience internal to your company, external (e.g. clients, shareholders), or both?
- Is the content appropriate for your target audience?
- Is the style of writing appropriate for your target audience (e.g. word choice, tone)?
- Does the Executive Summary begin with a description of a business problem from your business document?
- Does the Executive Summary include analysis from your business document?
- Does the Executive Summary include the conclusion(s) or outcomes from your business document?
- Does the flow of content of the Executive Summary mirror that of your business document?
- Have you included a high impact visual or chart that supports the main argument of your business document?
- Is your Executive Summary short enough that it can be read quickly and result in a solid understanding of your business document? Suggested length for an Executive Summary is one to three pages or five percent the length of the business document you are summarizing.
- Should your Executive Summary be included in the front of your business document or should it stand alone?
Checklist helps you plan your meeting to ensure it will be efficient, focused and productive.
Mark all that apply.
Is the meeting really needed?
What do you plan to accomplish at the meeting?
What needs to be on the agenda?
Establish priorities. The most important items should be covered first.
Should the meeting be social, informal, or formal?
Who should attend the meeting?
Does any information needs to be circulated before the meeting?
The agenda should be written and distributed in advance to all attendees so they can come prepared.
When should the meeting take place?
Where should the meeting take place?
What equipment, for example, audiovisual equipment or blackboards, is needed at the meeting?
Do pens, pencils, or paper need to be provided?
What kind of room arrangement, such as a circular table or square table, would work best?
How will the events be recorded?
Are refreshments needed?
Do you need to hold pre-meeting briefings?
