All communication related checklists...

7 "C"s of Communication Checklist

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Topics: Communication | Checklist

7 "C"s of Communication Checklist

 
Checklist to be used as a general guideline when communicating a (formal) message in any medium (written, spoken, or otherwise...)
 
  • Mark all that apply.
  • Is my message CLEAR? Will the purpose be evident to the audience?
  • Is my message CONCISE? Is it short, sweet, and to the point?
  • Is my message CONCRETE? Will the audience have a clear picture?
  • Is my message CORRECT? Are the facts straight?
  • Is my message COHERENT? Is it targeted and suitable to the audience and logical?
  • Is my message COMPLETE? Is all necessary info included (and nothing more!) and is there a call to action for the audience?
  • Is my message COURTEOUS? Is it honest and friendly?
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    Developing A Survey Checklist

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    Topics: Communication | Survey | Customers

    Developing A Survey Checklist

     
    Checklist to be used to develop the format for a survey of your customers or other stakeholders.
     
  • Mark all that apply.
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  • 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?
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    Pyzdek, Thomas & Keller, Paul A. "The Six Sigma Handbook" 3rd Edition. McGraw Hill (2010), p. 50-51.
     

    Document Editing Checklist

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    Topics: Document | Editing | Checklist | Communication

    Document Editing Checklist

    Checklist will ensure a professional finish to your documents. Can be used effectively as a final step once you populate an Ambidexter Management Template.
     
  • Mark all that apply.
  • Does the use of the document meet project requirments?
  • Is self-editing sufficient or should someone else edit the document?
  • If you used a template, were there any changes to the template? If so, were these changes appropriate and will they make sense to the audience?
  • Do the document's sections and ideas flow in a logical sequence?
  • Has the document been reviewed for spelling and grammar?
  • Is the document formatted to agreed upon or corporate standards?
  • Are any references required and if so are they formatted consistently to agreed upon standards?
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    Topics: Email | Communication | Checklist

    Email Etiquette Checklist

     
    Checklist to be used as a reminder of the small details that make your emails effective and professional commuinicatio.
     
  • Mark all that apply.
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  • 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!
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    Knowledge Communication Problems

    Topics: Knowledge | Communication | Problems

     

    Have you ever found yourself in a situation in which you needed to get to the bottom of something and then convey the results  to a person or group of people? Did everything go as planned? Did "they" get it, or not?

    If not, next time you may want to use the following checklist (including some problems to be aware of when checking them off):

    CHECK

    BE CAUTIOUS OF
    Do I have the right expert(ise) to analyze this?
    • Prophet syndrome
    • In group out group problem
    Did I articulate clearly what I need to know?
    • Anomalous State of Knowledge
    • Big Picture Problem
    • Common Ground
    Did I elicit the right insights?
    • Paralysis by analysis
    • Information overload
    Did I (you and your expert) optimize our mutual understanding
    • Hidden Profile
    • Cassandra Syndrome
    • Groupthink
    • Expert Paradox
    Did we assign the right actions?
    • Knowing Doing Gap
    This checklist will certainly not solve all your knowledge communication problems but will at least make you aware of some of the issues, problems and challenges you may face!

     

    Prophet syndrome: managers have a preference for outside experts. [Menon & Pfeffer, 2003]
    Ingroup-outgroup: managers prefer to consult with like-minded peers rather than other professional groups [Blau, 1977]
    ASK (anomalous state of knowledge): Managers often do not have the terminology to articulate their needs to experts [Belkin,1980 ]
    Big picture problem: managers and experts deviate from the main issue and get lost in details. [Harkins, 1999]
    Common ground: managers and experts are not aware of their differing background knowledge. [Clark and Schäfer, 1989, Olson & Olson, 2000 ]
    Paralysis by analysis: experts have difficulties in concluding their analysis and proposing solutions [Langley, A. (1995) ,Lenz, R. T., Lyles, M. A., 1985, ]
    Information Overload: experts are inundated with detail information and loose sight of the main objectives of their assignment [O’Reilly, 1980].
    Hidden Profile: managers and experts only focus on their already identified mutual knowledge and neglect new insights. [Stasser & Titus, 2003]
    Cassandra Syndrome: the managers ignore the experts’ warning and advice, but later on blame the expert if losses occur. [Mikalachki, 1983]
    Groupthink: managers and/or experts ignore evidence or do not use available knowledge fully in order to preserve group cohesion. [Janis, 1982]
    Expert paradox: the experts are not able to convey what they know to managers because they cannot articulate it in terms that management can understand. [Johnson, 1983]
    Knowing-Doing Gap: managers and experts know what to do, but cannot execute it due to internal competition or wrong incentives [Pfeffer & Sutton, 2000]

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