Create Positive Work Environments Both Audibly and Visuallly

Is it me or do most people not realize that communicating in a positive manner in all cases to all people a primary tool toward creating productive environments?  For me, the chat environment is a primary way to communicate in our business environment.  A call may be needed now and then but the chat is a huge contributing tool to creating real and track-able results.

Then why is it that a vast majority of professionals fail at communicating in a professional manner while using chat?  I can say in defense of professional I.T. consultants and analysts that we can be in scenarios in which we are highly sought after which in turn is frustrating.  Having multiple people need your expertise all at once is not the best scenario to find yourself in.

I have worked as a professional in finance and telecommunications for the last decade and I have heard and seen quite a bit for me to speak from experience.  Communicating by phone requires verbal finesse while working on chat requires visual finesse.  In both cases using positive words and phrases creates a verbal and visual playground that all want to be a part of.

Here's an example where I have created some positive environments:

EXAMPLE As I have said previously using positive words in chat is huge.  When working with techs in any environment the first thing you need to be aware of is a) they have little time & b) they appreciate being appreciated.

     TIME - Techs are so over burdened as it is with the amount of responsibility given that they are stressed from one encounter to the next.  Make sure you operate with this understanding.  Make sure and keep it short and sweet.  Use positive words like "huge", "amazing", "perfection" even as single word confirmations that you approve how they have helped you.  Always have a pre-prepared "ask" before you communicate with them.  Rambling about your own frustrations and experiences on a project will kill their attention span for something more important.

     APPRECIATION - Everyone likes to be appreciated.  Making sure that you say 'thanks' will go a long way to gaining their attention in the next encounter.  However just saying 'thanks' doesn't really cut it because everyone says or types 'thanks'.  Go above and beyond with your appreciate by very briefly telling them you understand they actually have so little time. Often I will post my pre-prepared 'ask' and after they acknowledge that I may say or type immediately 'really appreciate you helping me at the last moment' or 'you are amazing for taking the time to help'.

So it may be a blend of TIME and APPRECIATION that gets the job done for you.  Remember that while working in a chat environment especially you have got to make it an overstatement of visual pleasure for the eyes and not the ears.  Let me know how you create a positive work environment then we can both learn from each other!

Thanks g

Working Remote - Building Relationships

Over the past couple of year specifically I have had thousands of interactions with client, development, engineering, and management resources.  With so many interactions I have developed a wonderful communications strategy that I usually employ on all occasions.  In my line-of-business which is highly dependent on typing through a chat client one thing is a certainty: how you communicate is essential to production.

I think we can all say that we have typed a text message or two in our time.  Some of us go way beyond the reasonable (and I think you know who you are) and others just a tiny bit to get by.  Is your text about dinner or is it about the data flow in a telecom order?  It doesn't really matter per say what you are typing about but I can say it is important how you type and what you type.

If it were me and I was texting my wife (which I don't because she and I don't text back and forth much) I would keep is short and sweet (ie. going 2 str 2 get mlk).  While the aforementioned is great for the Mrs. and me it is obviously and grossly not professional.  So in a personal sense my wife knows me (wink wink) and I can get away with some bad shorthand it won't cut it in my professional life.

One thing I can say in my professional (chat) life is this: build relationships with your contacts.  At one point I would have balked at this. Why? I would think if you were professional you would see my inquiry and respond.  Much sometimes is the case however when one has 15 inquiries and there is not possibly enough time in the day to get to everyone.  So the relationships that have already been built over time will matter when it counts most.

How do I build relationships?  Here are a few tips that I use all the time:

1) Short and sweet - people are busy keep is short and professionally to the point.  Start off with "I know you're under pressure so when you have a moment provide "X" information"

2) Use positive and reinforcing words and phrases - people need to see and hear positive words and phrases.  There is enough negativity in the world and workplace already.

3) Maintain a data document - In my business it is imperative to maintain a worthy contact list.  You also need to maintain relevant notes on these contacts so you don't reach out to them constantly asking them to do things that they cannot do.

What do you think?  Post your thoughts, would love to hear from you.

Thanks G

A PAH First!

Absolutely a fantastic day in the world of (Professional At Home) PAH!  It's so difficult to write these first compelling examples of why anyone would listen to me.  To keep you peeled closely to my beat I try to make entries like these short and sweet so you don't grow tired of fictitious ramblings of any kind!

So this entry trust you brought your high-powered computing machine and gaping download speed to the table for an sumptuous example of short-but-sweet posts.  Just to make sure though enough is enough.   I am Gary and along with a highly powered keyboard interface I will rocket toward the PAH work space to register the forthcoming PAH interactions!

Thanks ~ G