Six key communication skills for records and information managers / Kenneth Laurence Neal.

Online resource; title from title page (Safari, viewed October 23, 2014).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Cover; Six Key Communication Skills for Records and Information Managers; Copyright; Contents; List of tables; List of abbreviations; Acknowledgements; About the author; Introduction: why communication skills for records and information managers?; Communication drives success; Effectively communicating is more challenging than ever; The solution: six simple skills; The business case; Meeting the challenge; 1 Be brief: how brief?; Guidelines for brevity; It's not easy being brief; Make your writing more readable; Three best practices for being brief; Notes.

2 Be clear: is my proposal full of jargon?The fuzziness of language; A sea of acronyms and jargon; Straight talk and likability; Retaining a sense of humanity; A campaign for plain English; Your job has been ''demised''; Put cliche� s in the delete folder; Avoid focusing on yourself; Notes; 3 Be receptive: am I asking questions and listening?; They didn't even listen; The one-two punch; A records management nightmare; Why we don't ask more questions; Questions encourage answers; Every word counts; Quality questions get quality answers; Communicating with upper management.

The second advantage of questionsBe an investigative reporter; Obstacles to getting information; The third advantage of questions; Out of your right mind; Ineffective questions; The better approach; Back to the one-two punch; Challenges to listening; What you don't hear can hurt you; What you do hear can help you; The persuasion factor; Give them psychological air; Keys to better listening; Taking it to a whole new level; Notes; 4 Be strategic: what am I trying to achieve?; The principle of creating things twice; Keeping the end in mind; Strategic versus expressive communication.

Avoid being a ''yelling coach''The biggest communication mistake; The relationship factor; The credibility factor; The connection factor; The core beliefs factor; The personal needs factor; Meeting the challenge; Strategic communication par excellence; A question of style; Grove swings the bat; Rockefeller calls their bluff; It begins with solutions; Lack of accountability; A creative solution; Executive-level buy-in; Tangible business benefits; Work your network; A lesson from Mandela; Six months and 18 people; Nothing convinces like conviction; Notes.

5 Be credible: why should you believe me?Taking the time to understand; Two actions that counted; ''I've heard enough!''; Communicate honestly; What do you see?; Taking it too far; Deactivate your invisible fence; Tips for being honest and authentic; Knowing your stuff; The key word: ''perceived''; What if you're not competent?; Get competent; Team competence; Show respect; My wallet was stolen, not my bus pass; The waiter rule; Who cleans your dorm?; Continue to grow; How to get better; Being credible is critical; Notes; 6 Be persuasive: are you persuaded yet?; Saga of the sonic jacket.

Excellent business communication skills are especially important for information management professionals, particularly records managers, who have to communicate a complex idea: how an effective program can help the organization be better prepared for litigation, and do it in a way that is persuasive in order to win records program support and budget. Six Key Communication Skills for Records and Information Managers explores those skills that enable records and information to have a better chance of advancing their programs and their careers. Following an introduction from the author, this boo.