Section 3.2 How to Communicate Professionally and Courteously
This is easy because you already know how, you just sometimes choose not to communicate professionally. Here is what I mean. Imagine that you have the opportunity to meet your personal hero. It can be whoever you respect the most, admire the most, whatever. How would you talk to them? How would you address them?
My guess is that you would address them by their professional title (Mister, Misses, Doctor, Professor, Mr. President, Sir, etc.), that you would be polite in your choice of words, that you would be humble (more on that later), and that you would defer to their expertise. This is exactly how you act professionally and how you should treat everyone you come into contact with at a University.
Here is a handy checklist for how to conduct yourself professionally:
-
Treat everyone like you would treat your personal hero or a celebrity. You never know when you will need a favor. In general, it is better to have people like you, and people like being treated nicely.
-
Always use last names and titles to address people unless you are explicitly asked to call them something else. It is always better to say Dr. Johnson or Mr. Stevenson when addressing people you do not have a personal relationship with. If you do not know their title, you can always use the title “Professor” for someone that teaches a university class or “Mr.” or “Ms.” for University staff if you are unsure if they have a Ph.D. I will tell you, I have never heard anyone that doesn’t have a Ph.D. upset that they were called Doctor but I do know PhDs who get upset if they aren’t called Doctor.
-
Do not use slang, unprofessional language (i.e. swearing), or other colloquialisms ("bro" or "dude") when talking or writing in a professional capacity. Be as formal as possible.
Follow these checkpoints, and you will be thought of as a respectful and courteous student.
You have attempted of activities on this page.
