In December 2024, Allie Feiner, AllianceBernstein, provided a virtual Tech Coach session on professional communication. Feiner emphasizes active listening, meeting etiquette, and business writing. She highlights the importance of clear, concise communication in building trust and avoiding misunderstandings. The presentation encourages asking thoughtful questions and using tools like Grammarly and AI responsibly. Feiner offers advice on handling difficult situations in meetings and responding effectively to emails. Overall, the presentation serves as a guide to improve workplace interactions and written communication.

Key Themes and Ideas

Active Listening:

• Definition: Active listening is a technique that involves giving full concentration to the speaker. It is about both listening and demonstrating that you are listening.
• Importance:Builds trust and strengthens relationships: “When you’re being listened to, you know that feeling when you’re having a conversation, you feel heard, you feel seen. It improves the strength of that relationship.”
• Improves understanding and clarity: “It helps give clear instructions.”
• Facilitates teamwork.
• How to Practice:Maintain good eye contact (but be natural, not overly intense).
• Nod and acknowledge points.
• Lean in and demonstrate interest through body posture.
• Watch the speaker’s facial expressions.
• Ask thoughtful and clarifying questions: “Why did you decide to do it that way? It doesn’t have to be a challenge, it’s to help me understand why you chose this.”
• What to Avoid:Using your phone during the conversation.
• Slouching and displaying disinterest.
• Interrupting the speaker.
• Asking superficial or irrelevant questions (“huh what were you talking about”).

Meeting Etiquette:

• General Principles: Be respectful, punctual, and considerate of everyone’s time. Remember that your behavior is always being observed.
• Key Points:Show up on time: “If you set a meeting, you have to show up on time. Everybody’s time is valuable.”
• Avoid interrupting.
• Treat everyone with respect, regardless of their position: “Everybody has a really valuable opinion to share.”
• Speak confidently but with humility: “You want to portray that you have the confidence in your abilities balanced with a humility.”
• Handling Difficult Situations:Side Conversations: If you are leading the meeting address it. “I will typically address it head-on and ask them if they’d like to share with the class.”
• Argumentative People:Don’t argue back.
• Present your viewpoint with humility.
• If the argument escalates, suggest taking the discussion offline.
• Encouraging Participation: If someone seems hesitant to speak up, you can: Ask them directly, Pass credit to them by saying something like, “I was just working on a project like that with my colleague Paul and he did a really great job. Paul, can you share a little bit more about that?”
• Asking Questions:Ask thoughtful questions based on what has been discussed.
• Avoid asking questions just for the sake of asking.
• If you think of a question, write it down and address it later if there’s no time in the meeting.

Business Writing:

• General Principles: Be clear, concise, and intentional in your writing, as written communication creates a lasting record.
• Key Points:Everything you write is there as a historical artifact.
• “There is no tone in the written word.”
• Consider your audience: Tailor your message to who you’re writing to.
• “They want facts and they want them fast”
• Formats:Emails: Keep them clear and concise. Consider the appropriate level of formality and typical communication norms in your workplace.
• Memos: More formal and structured, used for internal company communication.
• Reports: Often external, potentially lengthy documents with a title page and table of contents.
• Importance of Strong Business Writing:Avoid misunderstandings.
• Ensure everyone is on the same page regarding expectations and deadlines.
• Reduce conflict and mistakes.
• Lead to high performance.
• Best Practices:Write briefly but clearly.
• Avoid jargon and technical terms that may not be widely understood.
• Maintain a professional tone.
• Eliminate value-diminishing language (“just,” “like,” “I think”).
• Use active voice instead of passive voice.
• Proofread and edit carefully: “You want to make sure that what you’re sending is representative of the great work that you do.”

AI in Writing

• AI is a good starting point, but not the end point.
• Make sure the messaging is correct.
• You still have to understand what the basic rules and structure are.
• Target your message to your audience.

Actionable Insights:

• Focus on actively listening in all interactions, not just meetings.
• Be mindful of meeting etiquette to demonstrate respect and professionalism.
• Strive for clarity and conciseness in all written communication.
• Eliminate filler language and value-diminishing words from your vocabulary.
• Always proofread and edit your work before sending.
• Follow up on emails where responses are incomplete, with specifics.