We skim-read and E-write (often while multi-tasking), for very good reasons. We live in a world where everyone is communicating more and more through writing, while living though an explosion of information and complexity.
Only a small percentage of our workforce are trained in the skills needed to manage information overload, and to communicate effectively by “e-writing.” We have developed this relatively new form of writing to control the avalanche of text in business, and to:
- get responses, drive action and results,
- build collaboration and teamwork, facilitate collaboration etc.
Studies show two trends amongst those who can both e-write, and do the thinking work that lies behind good writing.
a) Good skills in writing for the 21st business environment save knowledge workers 30 – 90 minutes per day, and improve productivity, service, effectiveness and teamwork quickly and easily.
b) Those who can write (and think – because writing is the result of thinking) are significantly more successful in their careers. They are more employable, climb the ‘career ladder’ more quickly, earn significantly more than those with similar qualifications and are much more likely to reach positions of major responsibility.
Who is likely to have text-email-information overload problems?
1 – People who report being pressured, “doing more with less, and struggling to be more productive.
2 – Those whose phone calls often go to voicemail.
3 – People who cannot attend meetings or even training – even on-line meetings. They are so pressured for time that they do things like call in to meetings from nearby offices, so that they can get work done while still being “present.”
4- People who work odd hours, in different places and time zones, or while traveling or telecommuting. Engineers or safety inspectors who lack good writing skills may burn out as their reports eat into personal time.
5 – Project managers and those on task-forces. Tasks are more complex, so there are often many people involved in projects, email goes to multiple people at once, or there are multiple documents loaded onto central servers. The degree of overload shows in misunderstandings, project delays or other problems.
6 – Organizations with multi-generational employee profiles (i.e. a growing Generation X and Y employee base) often struggle with mountains of text. The GenX/Y text-based culture often intimidates the Boomers. Gen Ys are often intimidated by their inexperience in beginning a task from a pile of text, or preparing for a meeting from preparation documents. (The generational cohort may need a “pre-meeting” to go over the meeting documents, and to work collaboratively to process the documents into a mental framework. Boomers are more likely to send out the meeting documents, and struggle through them alone, to be prepared for a meeting.)
How can you see systemic e-writing problems, or assess the business impact of skim-reading and multi-tasking?
You can assume that most people are overloaded with text-based information, and “doing more with less.” Most people skim-read, usually while multi-tasking. You will notice that:
7 – Hours of careful writing and graphics often go unread, or achieve patchy results.
8 - New employees may produce time-consuming, careful writing and document design. They later start banging out the quick, low-quality communications, that are often unplanned, unclear, incomplete or ineffective.
9 – Email is used as a low-cost, low-quality “write and hit send” way to communicate. The results is mis-communication or communications are ignores as irrelevant.
10- Weak E-writing impacts relationships: you will see casualties such as trust, collaboration and teamwork.
11- Communication lacks effectiveness: you will see a lack of responsiveness, cooperation, action and results.
Good skills in writing for the 21st Business environment save knowledge workers 30 – 90 minutes per day, and improve productivity, service, effectiveness and teamwork quickly and easily. CPS open courses are available in Tampa and at USF Lakeland. In-house and custom courses are available anywhere.
The new writing skills gap:
21st century business people do not need 20th century “business letter writing skills.” They need writing solutions that make the most productive use of their time, and give them solid skills to:
- Communicate clearly-thought, well-structured, complete and accurate messages, quickly and effectively,
- Elicit responses (e.g. encourage replies or get cooperative assistance),
- Drive action,
- Build relationships and trust, even when written contact is the only communication channel,
- Maintain collaboration and teamwork.
Open and in-house CPS workshops:
CPS offers one-day scheduled open workshops Most open workshops are scheduled at the Centre Club, Westshore, Tampa. There are also workshops in Lakeland at USF Polytechnic.
In-house workshops are available, and can be customized as needed. Multi-national/multi-lingual organizations might find a different CPS workshop more suitable. This workshop is called Communicating over Differences and Distances.
Funding: Funding is available for groups of 10 or more on open courses, and for all in-house courses. Some problems exist in certain non-profit situations. It is especially easy to get funding for non-profit healthcare organizations.
Lakeland: This program, and other CPS programs, are available through USF Polytechic in Lakeland. Please contact nboyer[@]poly.usf.edu and support the growth of your local business economy and educational programs. There is no price difference, but Glynis is basically staff here, so most of your payment will go towards building Lakeland educational resources.
Further information:
The business case for 21st writing skills is discussed further at: http://c-psolutions.com/2009/07/the-business-case-for-writing-skills/.
There is a quick and easy sign-up page for Tampa workshops at: http://c-psolutions.com/category/workshops/. Please sign up for Lakeland courses directly with USF.
Please contact glynis@c-psolutions.com or Glynis 813-598-9184 (direct) or Hilton 813-598-9180 (direct) or Hilton@c-psolutions.com. Hilton will help with funding requests. We look forward to working with you, and your team members.
