Knowledge from my boss
My boss always provides us with memo explaining in the beginning of what, when, where, and why. This helps the staff understand what will be going on at the school.
My boss is an English major and he starts his messages with the "who, what, when, where and how.
His messages are very clear and direct. Therefore, I often double check my written messages to him and others before hitting the "send" button.
I am always double checking the messages that I send,because English is my weak subject. I have a dictionary next to my desk to help with words that I don't know how to spell, and also to look up words that I am not sure of the meaning.
I am not certain if I am responding to you Jill or to a faculty overseer.
I read and reread the original statements written by Jill. The first sentence seems confusing. When is the boss providing the staff with a memo? Is he providing it at the beginning of a work week, the beginning of a workday, or the beginning of a business meeting?
Does your boss also include in his memo the how question? Does your boss also include who is involved in the memos?
Knowing the details of events and actions in the school help staff remain focused. Your boss' technique of answering the what, when, where, and why will keep the staff informed as well.
I can readily relate to the other submissions about using the dictionary to check spelling and checking grammar as this is a written reflection of my abilities. It can reflect poorly or well depending on my grammar usage and my spelling as well as my sentence structure. In addition, I must read and reread my written work as I have a tendency to omit words as I write. It also helps to have someone else check over my written work before my boss reads it.
This is an excellent practice, Bonnie. I teach a Career Development course and spend plenty of time reiterating to students the importance of perfect spelling and grammar. Spell-check tools are great but it is crucial to double and triple check manually as well because there is always potential for errors when trusting the spell-check tool.
This is an a great training aspect to cover what you want to address in the begining and not the end of the email contents.
Nice to see someone who appreciates the extra effort it takes to communicate effectively. I often have difficulty gaining my audience's understanding of why I am communicating specific information. Any particular tips that you can share from your Boss' style?
The most intellegent memo can make you look like the biggest fool if there are spelling or grammer errors.
