Workshop in a Box : Communication Skills for IT Professionals

I am happy to announce that my book Workshop in a Box : Communication Skills for IT Professionals is out in the market. It is published by Packt Publishing, UK and is available across all major online outlets.

The book is catered to professionals coming from my profession – IT. In IT, we are by default required to communicate – day in and day out. Although we may be working on niche technologies, it is imperative that we understand what we must do and pursue it with clarifying, querying and informing our peers, management and customers. So, communication comes to play at multiple levels and is (believe it or not) as much or more important than your technical skill.

Well, in my book, I touch across multiple communication touch points that an IT professional will stumble upon. It is a ready made guide for somebody looking to up the ante within a week or fortnight and improve skills to counter the competitive world out there.

This is the only book in the market that is directed at improving communication for those working in IT.

Read my book and let me know your thoughts. If you have questions or clarifications, you can always reach out to me here.

For those who unaware of the latest developments, I have recently moved to Sydney and I am working as a consulting manager for one of the top consulting firms.

Here are some links where you can purchase the book:

Packt Publishing

Amazon US

Amazon India

Amazon Australia 

Table of contents as below.

Chapter 1: Communication Training 7
How to use this communication training guide 8
Strategy for trainers 9
Quality in communication 10
The PDCA circle 11
Summary 14
Chapter 2: From Governance to Communication 15
Communication and organizational structure 15
Communication and governance 16
Communication policy 17
Sample communication policy 18
The communication process 19
How does a process help in the development of communication? 20
Sample communication process 20
Basics of communication 23
7 Cs of effective communication 23
Completeness 24
Conciseness 24
Consideration 24
Concreteness 25
Courtesy 25
Clearness 25
Correctness 25
Types of communication 26
Different communication styles 28
Dominance 29
Influence 29
Steadiness 30
Compliance 30
Cross-cultural communication 31
Rapport and relationship for effective communication 32
Summary 33
II Content
Chapter 3: Written Communication 35
Forms of written communication 36
Action-focused communication 36
Influential communication 37
Negative communication 39
Communicating information 40
Jargon 41
Project updates 42
Peer-to-peer communication 43
Customer communication 44
E-mails 46
E-mail policy 46
E-mail etiquette 47
E-mail templates 48
Visual communication 50
Flowcharts 51
What are flowcharts? 53
Hierarchical flowcharts 54
Tables and graphs 55
What are tables? 56
Imagination is key 57
Business instant messaging 58
Business instant messaging etiquette 59
Social media communication 60
Summary 61
Chapter 4: Listening and Questioning for Effective Communication 63
Listening – core of communication 63
Hindrances to good listening 64
Physical distractions 64
The solution 65
Mental distractions 65
The solution 65
Preconceived notions 66
The solution 66
Opinions 67
The solution 67
Language and culture 68
The solution 68
Multitasking 68
The solution 69
Tips for improving your listening skills 69
Power of questioning 70
Benefits of asking questions 70
Various questioning techniques 71
Probing technique 72
Open-ended questions 73
Content III
Closed questions 73
Leading questions 73
Summary 74
Chapter 5: Telephone Communication 75
Telephonic communication 75
#1: When you make a call, be prepared 76
#2: Professional yet friendly 77
#3: Stay positive 78
Employee-employee telephonic communication 79
Work handover 80
Support request 81
Telephonic meetings 81
Employee-customer telephonic communication 82
Understand the customer’s needs 82
No jargon please 84
Meeting the requirements 84
Telephony etiquette for effective communication 85
Summary 86
Chapter 6: Face-to-face Communication 87
When to employ face-to-face communication 88
Other benefits of face-to-face communication 89
Types of face-to-face communication opportunities 90
Meetings 91
Preparation 92
The actual meeting 93
The opening 94
The discussions 94
Closure 96
Post-meeting 96
Nonverbal communication – body language 97
Breathing 97
The science behind breathing 97
Breathing right 98
Posture 98
The communication posture 99
Proxemics 100
The handshake 101
Facial expressions 102
Facial expressions 102
It all begins with the lips 103
Show interest 103
Conflict management 104
Conflicts arising out of communication 105
Medium for conflict resolution 106
Conflicts owing to communication styles 106
Think objectively and not subjectively 106
IV Content
Open communication for resolving and avoiding conflicts 107
Controlling face-to-face Interactions 108
Step 1 – Pacing 108
Step 2 – Locking 108
Step 3 – Leading 109
Summary 109
Chapter 7: Showcasing and Presentation 111
Importance of presentations for employees 111
Four types of presentation 112
Four pillars of presentation 113
Pillar 1 – understanding the objective of the presentation 114
Technique – pen on paper 114
Pillar 2 – analyzing the audience for the presentation 115
Pillar 3 – slide preparation 117
The three-step approach 117
Step 1 – Objective to be achieved 117
Step 2 – Draft presentation material 117
Step 3 – Organizing presentation material 118
Pillar 4 – presentation delivery 119
The secret behind good speakers 119
Controlling nerves 120
Get familiar with technology 121
Creating content for effective presentations 122
Traditional content 122
Cognitive content 123
Step 1 – Provide reasons why the presentation is worth the time and effort 123
Step 2 – Getting into the crux of the subject matter 124
Step 3 – Application of subject matter to work life 124
Step 4 – Q&A, summary, and conclusion 125
Delivering effective and efficient presentations 126
Summary 127
Chapter 8: Reports, Proposals, and Business Cases 129
Reports 129
Importance of reports 130
Process for reporting 130
Step 1 – Obtain objectives 131
Step 2 – Identify data points 131
Step 3 – Capture data 132
Step 4 – Verify and collate data 132
Step 5 – Analysis and conclusion 133
Business proposals 133
Importance of business proposals 134
The language 134
Save the best for the first 135
Content V
The proposal preparation 135
The proposal format 136
Sample business proposal 136
Business cases 138
Elements of a business case 138
Problem statement 139
Problem analysis 139
Assumptions 139
Solution 139
Cost-benefit analysis 139
Recommendations 140
Business case template 140
Sample business case 141
Summary 142