Oh the humanity - communication in a digital age from KCDC 2016.

1. Oh the humanity!
Communication in the digital age.
KCDC 2016
Friday June 24, 2016
Presented by: Melissa Green | Wirestream
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2. @wirestreamkc
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3. @wirestreamkc
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Why are we even talking about this,
isn’t it just common sense?

4. Humans & Empathy
Understanding why empathy and the human connection is
critical.
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5. @wirestreamkc
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em·pa·thy
ˈempəTHē/
noun
noun: empathy
the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

6. @wirestreamkc
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“Rarely can a response make
something better, what makes it
better is connection” - and
connection is what makes us human.
What do we do when we
communicate digitally is respond and
rarely is the human on the receiving
end taken into account.

7. @wirestreamkc
#enablingideas
How does empathy help you
communicate better?
Empathy allows you to understand
the position the other person is in
before you reactively communicate
with them through a medium that
doesn’t allow you to really engage. It
allows your response to resolve
conflict and to engage.

8. @wirestreamkc
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She’s been up 4 days
straight and I need to find
a way to help her solve
the problem.
I’m sure you’re aware that
our deadline has shifted
and I’m not really sure why
you’re incapable of getting
this done.
We’re not responsible for
your deadline shift; we’ve
evaluated and cannot
support the request.
Maybe something
else is going in?
If you can hop on the phone
for 30 minutes and pass
along any information you
have we will figure it out.
I won’t be in today and
won’t be able to get the site
done for tomorrow’s launch.
You’re responsible for
figuring this out and the
notice is unacceptable.
I know that her dad
was just diagnosed
with cancer and this
probably isn’t helping.
I understand your deadline
has changed and we have
looked at all options. Let’s
hop on the phone and
discuss what we can do.
Pam has brought yet
another request to me. This
is getting obnoxious and I’m
not really sure what you
expect me to do with this.
The client sent the
request; it is what it is.
Just please get it taken
care of.
I’ll start having Pam
bring the requests
through the PM so that
we can try and manage
them. Thanks for all
you’re doing!

9. @wirestreamkc
#enablingideas
General rules of engagement:
• The true intent of a message can rarely be accurately pinpointed
via the written word; especially when emotions or presuppositions
are involved.
• What you may write or mean is not how others may interpret it (or
maybe they do and further aggression results).
• Emoticons are bad practice, a practice in which even I fail at. The
difference between this :) (< happy) and this :-P (annoyed or silly or
crazy) can result in discussions that never needed to happen.

10. @wirestreamkc
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Why should you care?
•Human to human connection (hearing, seeing) creates
understanding and honesty
•We are reactive or protective in our digital
communications which can create boundaries and
conflict
•We don’t think about the consequences of our ”digital
actions” often enough (and it will bite us eventually)

11. @wirestreamkc
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What are we going to cover today?
•Email
•Text
•Social
•Collaboration & Team
•Mentoring
•International
How to implement a communication strategy

12. Email
The good, the bad and the ugly
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13. @wirestreamkc
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Pitfalls of Email
•When we go too fast we make
stupid mistakes.
•We don’t review and ensure
accuracy (see point 1).
•It begins arguments much faster
than it will ever close them.
•Available for all to see.
•You can’t take it back. Literally.

14. @wirestreamkc
#enablingideas
General Do’s and Don’ts
• Do: use email as a tool to communicate general information; not to debate.
• Don’t: start lengthy conversations via email.
• Do: think about who you are sending the email to and when.
• Don’t: start a CYA trail with an email (use it for follow-up).
• Do: be very careful with bcc, reply and reply to all.
• Don’t: allow an exchange to exceed three “back and forth” interactions.
• Do: recognize that it is kept somewhere, forever.
• Do: realize that anything written can be interpreted as contractual.
• Don’t: only use email for contractual purposes.
• Do: be cautious about the impression you’re giving.
• Remember: if you wouldn’t write it to your mom, don’t write it to someone else.

15. @wirestreamkc
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“As I mentioned…”
”If you refer back to…”
””
“!!!!”
“PLEASE BE AWARE
THAT…”
”If you refer back to…”
“You certainly do not
understand…”

16. Email Etiquette

17. Email Etiquette
To: Add at the end.
CC: Those who are FYI only.
Subject: Clear, concise, findable,
applicable.
Greeting: Personalizes the email (hello + name)
Content: Clean, proper, spell checked, organized.
Close: Confirms completion (best, sincerely).
Contact information: allows follow-up and
interaction.

18. Texting
The new email
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19. @wirestreamkc
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Pitfalls of Texting
•Eliminates a professional barrier.
•Takes the communication out of
traceable chains.
•Intrudes on office vs personal
hours.

20. @wirestreamkc
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Texting in the Workplace
• Texting is usually seen as an informal, and positive, means of communication.
• Should not be used for any strategic discussion; tactical only.
• The organization should approve texting policies with clients.
General Do’s and Don’ts
• Do: keep a personal record of text conversations.
• Don’t: text personally to professional clients.
• Do: pay attention to who you text when you text.
• Don’t: offer to text if you aren’t comfortable texting.
• Do: make sure texting doesn’t cause compliance issues.

21. Social
People can find it and see it
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22. @wirestreamkc
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Understanding Social
• Friending colleagues
• Friending clients
• Professional vs. personal channels
• Freedom of speech, freedom of reading

23. @wirestreamkc
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Things to think about for social:
• Whether you like it or not people can find what you write
• You have to make a choice between professional and personal
• The differences between channels – Twitter, SnapChat, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.
• Friending your colleagues
• Friending your clients
• The impression you give personally sticks with you professionally
• Social engagement can be positive
• What happens if your account gets hacked
• That mom rule? Maybe think about it here too…

24. Collaboration & Team
Working and talking together
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25. @wirestreamkc
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General Do’s and Don’ts
• Do: praise effectively via digital channels (e.g. email or chat)
• Don’t: scold publically via written means (only privately as follow-up)
• Do: find tools to help collaboration (slack, yammer) but set ground rules
• Don’t: use those collaboration tools to convey critical information
• Do: encourage users to communicate digitally for easy things but to meet in person
(or video chat if remote) for discussion and debate
• Don’t: allow workplace cyber-bullying
• Do: provide training on the proper ways to communicate and set ground rules
• Don’t: allow for private channels without authorizing and supervision (if it has to be
said in private it should be said in person).
• Do: create intentional opportunities for face to face

26. Mentoring
Growing together
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27. @wirestreamkc
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General Do’s and Don’ts
• Do: give all feedback (good and bad) in person first
• Do: follow-up with written communication (via email only)
• Don’t: conduct all communication electronically (written); if remote use the phone
• Do: Keep the phone off and laptop closed during mentoring sessions
• Don’t: use emoticons

28. International
Understanding the language barrier within digital communication
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29. @wirestreamkc
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Things to think about for international
communication:
• The English language is the common language in
business. English language is your first language, it
may not be your counterparts.
• Intent is even more difficult to ascertain when
interpretation is in play.
• Common phrases can easily become disrespectful
without it being purposeful.
• Approach is often different, culturally, which bleeds into
understanding.
• External forces compound difficult conversations (such
as time zone separation).

30. @wirestreamkc
#enablingideas
General Do’s and Don’ts
• Do: try and engage in verbal conversations as much as possible
• Don’t: try and explain complicated things via email/collaborative tool exchanges
• Do: provide context (why you are requesting what you are requesting)
• Don’t: assume anything.
• Do: shut off your email while you’re sleeping and allocate dedicated time in the
mornings to clean up all the communication.
• Don’t: respond to aggressive-sounding emails immediately (and let someone else
read it).

31. Communication Strategies
Setting expectations and building a culture of humans
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32. @wirestreamkc
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Setting Up the Strategy
1. Segment your audiences (individuals, teams, clients, business units, etc.)
2. Define your digital channels (email, collaboration tools, social, texting, etc.)
3. Allocate what channels are most applicable for each audience, bi-directionally
4. Define the rules around all exchanges (what, as an organization) are you
comfortable with and what are you not comfortable with

33. @wirestreamkc
#enablingideas
Employees
Clients
Executives
Email
Slack
Texting
Employees & Clients:
Employees To Clients
Email = Yes
Text = No
Social = No*
Slack = No
Clients to Employees:
Email = Yes
Text = No
Social = No*
Slack = No
Employees & Executives:
Employees to Executives:
Email = Yes
Text = Yes*
Slack = Yes
Social = Rule Based
Social
Audiences Channels Rules:
• Employees and
executives may only
connect via
professional social
channels.
• Employees may not
text with clients
regarding
professional matters.
• If an email exchange
exceeds three
interactions and has
not resolved then a
call or walk-over
must take place.

34. @wirestreamkc
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Deploying the Strategy
1. Communicate the strategy openly and easily; post it on all available internal
channels for employees
2. Weave it into the onboarding processes
3. Create a “communication values” wall note (e.g. the most important 5 items to
think about) and post them around your office
4. Interject!

35. Q&A
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