PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION: “TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM AND

“UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE AND ORAL TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

PRESENTATION” DOCUMENTATION”
Table of contents OBJECTIVES:
 Understanding Your Audience
 Oral Presentation  Define Technical Memo
 Differentiate the 7 Sections of Technical Memo
 Indicating the parts of Technical Memo
 UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE
 Understanding your audience is the process of Technical Memo
researching and analyzing the characteristics, needs, and  an intermediate or summary documents that contains or
behaviors of a group of people. reports information developed through an interim task.
 It involves gathering data about the audience’s  This technical memorandum, sometimes called an
demographics, interests, values, and attitudes in order to executive summary, is less formal than the full report. It is
tailor messages that will resonate with them. not a permanent record of the work, and hence does not
include all the details and data that should be included in a
formal report.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE?
7 Sections of Technical Memo
• It is important to understanding your audience in order to  SUMMARY
effectively communicate with them.  INTRODUCTION
• It will also help you determine the best way to deliver your  METHODS
message, such as the language, tone, and medium used.  RESULTS
 CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATION
Understanding your audience can help you answer questions like:  APPENDICES
 REFERENCE
 Who are they? And what do they care about?
 Are they attending by choice?
 SUMMARY
 What do they already know? The most important section of technical memo is the
 What do they need to know? summary. A well-prepared summary enables your reader to
identify the contents of the memo quickly and accurately. There
are two options for the summary.
 ORAL PRESENTATION
What is Oral Presentation? a. Enumerated summary. This summary concisely states the
• Oral presentation, also known us public speaking or simply purpose, conclusions, and recommendations in an enumerated
presentations, consist of an individual or group verbally list.
addressing an audience on a particular topic. b. Abstract (attached to the memo). It gives a quantitative
• An Oral Presentation is a formal, structural and systematic summary of your procedure, results, and conclusions.
presentation of a message to audience.
 INTRODUCTION
HOW TO MAKE A GOOD ORAL PRESENTATION? The introduction states your purpose or objectives. It also
summarizes your basic approach to the problem, giving an
1. Conquering stage fright
overview of the procedures. If you had a design problem, the
 Some amount of stage fright is helpful introduction restates the problem and its significance.
 The main reason is that we are not accustomed to speak in
public  METHODS
 Do some warm up exercise This section briefly describes the apparatus and
 Positive thinking procedures and specifies any modifications.

2. Knowing the audience  RESULTS

The results section is a discussion that links your data
 The age group of the audience
analysis to your conclusions. It develops conclusions with
 Know the need of the audience reference to the figures, graphs, and tables of your analysis.
 Utility of the presentation for the audience
 Information gained after attending the presentation  CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATION
The conclusions and recommendations section answers the
3. Content of the presentation questions: What were the tasks? What were the most important
 Easy to understand conclusions and recommendations developed from each task?
 Includes example and instruction to support argument
 APPENDICES
The appendices of the technical memo generally include
4. Structure of the presentation raw data and sample calculations.
 Introduction
 Body  REFERENCE
 Conclusion Your text should cite all sources used, including the lab
handout. References should be listed at the end of the appendix
5. Delivery of the presentation using APA documentation style.
 The quality of the voice
“TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENTATION”
 Rapport with the audience
 Effective used of visual aids
 A technical requirement document concisely conveys the
development workflow of a product. Every aspect of a
6. Remembering 4PS technical writer’s involvement, from basic design to
 Planning execution, reflects through the document.
 Preparation  It contains all of the requirements for the system in
 Practice sufficient level of detail to develop a system design and to
 Perform allow testers to test the system.
 A technical requirement document consolidates the entire
product development workflow and presents it
straightforwardly and readable. Your company’s product’s
functionality, features, and purpose must show up in the
technical requirement document.
How Do You Write a Technical Specification Document?
 Be as concise as possible. Start with a simple introductory
passage and include bullet points wherever possible to
increase readability.
 Ensure that your sentence structure is simple and conveys
only one idea at a time.
 Use straightforward language to have a common
understanding of the information you are trying to present.
 Wherever feasible, try to insert pictures into the document.
Choosing the right photos will simplify the concept or
showcase the relationship between ideas in a simple, visual
format that is easier to follow.
Importance Elements of a Technical Requirements Document
Collect Information
 All the essential data in the technical specification
document may come from various sources. Ensure that you
speak to the developers, stakeholders, designers,
operations team, and users for a thorough and precise
technical requirements document.
Analyze Usage
 Being aware of the product and its relevance to user stories
and services is essential. Try to collect data on the types of
users your product targets and their usage habits.
Research Outcomes
 the goal of the product development workflow and the
technical requirements document is to ensure that user
services take center stage
Consider Systems
As you write your technical requirements document, consider
system qualities that will provide all the details surrounding the
quality of service and user requirements.
Availability: How much time you can expect your system to run
or your product to function, based on your system’s
resources, services, and accessibility to users.
Performance: Given specific load conditions of various uses,
what will be your product’s response time and functionality or
service.
Serviceability: Is your product easy to monitor, repair, and
upgrade? Some critical factors to consider here include
planning for downtime, opportunities for maintenance
based on patterns of usage, essential times for service
availability, schedules for diagnosis and monitoring.
Latent Capacity: How will your service or product deal with
sudden and unexpected peaks in usage, independent
of more resource usage?
Scalability: How quickly can capacity and the number of users be
increased or decreased without changes in the original design
and structure of the product or service.
Security: How secure and reliable is the system, including
authorization and authentication of users and information
during transfer?
PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
“TECHNICAL AND EXPOSITORY WITING”
CHARACTERISTICS OF TECHNICAL WRITING
Technical writing has some key characteristics that set it apart
from other types of writing. To be successful, technical writing
must be:
• Clear: Technical writing conveys information in a clear and
concise manner, leaving a minimal chance for
misinterpretation. It, therefore, uses succinct and
straightforward language.
• Straightforward: It conveys facts in a direct and to-the-
point manner, without using creative writing techniques.
• Precise: The terminology used in technical writing should be
very specific to precisely describe objects and processes.
• Easy to understand: Effective technical writers don’t use
complicated words that readers might not understand, and
they write in a simple, understandable tone.
• Denotative: Technical writing is centered on the literal
definition of words. This avoids misunderstandings that can
arise due to the many different connotations—or
suggestions—of words.
• Detailed: Technical writing is extremely thorough and
informative, leaving no room for interpretation. An
excellent example of technical writing is a textbook, as
textbooks often provide the most complete and factual
overview of a topic.
• Very structured: This style of writing must have a clear
structure that allows readers to easily follow along. This is
because readers rely on technical documents to provide
them with step-by-step instructions.
• Easy to skim: Technical documents are written with
‘skimability’ in mind, so audiences can simply scan the
whole text to obtain the information they need. Technical
writers provide relevant, descriptive headings as well as a
comprehensive table of contents and/or index.
• Problem-solving: The core aim of technical writing is to
solve problems, so every document is written with this in
mind. Readers use these texts to learn how to accomplish
certain tasks or to obtain technical information. Therefore,
they are structured in a way that makes it easy to refer back
to when issues arise.
STANDARDS ON HOW TO MAKE A SUCCESFUL WRITING
First and most important, your writing must be honest. Your
trustworthiness in communication reflects not only on you
personally but on your organization or discipline.
Your writing has to be clear so that your reader can get from it
the information you intended. Strive to make sure that you have
expressed exactly what you mean and have not left room for
incorrect interpretations.
Next, good writing is accurate. Do your homework and make
sure you have your facts right. There is no excuse for presenting
incorrect information.
Also make sure you have all the facts, as your writing must also
be complete. Have you included everything that your reader
needs?
Your audience has neither time nor patience for excessive
verbiage, so simplify and cut any clutter. Good writing is always
concise writing.

TECHNICAL WRITING Your document should be attractive and pleasing to look at. Just
as you wouldn't eat a hamburger from a dirty plate, your reader
 Technical writing is a form of communication that will not be moved by a document that is not carefully designed
professionals use to convey information about specialized and professional.
topics.
 Technical writing is a form of writing on a specific topic that
requires guidance, instruction, or explanation. This writing
style serves a unique purpose and therefore has very
different qualities than other types of writing, such as
creative writing, academic writing, or business writing.

“EXPOSITORY WRITING”
• is used to explain.
• addresses a topic and includes a thesis that states the
writers view.
• as writing that gives information
• gathered and write true information or facts.
• is organized using a main idea, supporting details and a
conclusion.
SOME IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER ABOUT THE EXPOSITORY
STYLE OF WRITING
1. The topic must be specific enough to present all relevant
information in the essay.
2. The first paragraph should clearly state the topic and the
purpose of the essay.
3. Each paragraph should be organized around a main point. ·
4. All information in a paragraph should be directly related to
its main point.
5. Paragraphs should be arranged in a logical order that is
easy to follow and understand.
6. The last paragraph should summarize the information that
has been presented and explain how the purpose of the
essay has been achieved.
7. The last paragraph should not introduce any new
information.
Teamwork Concept and Issue
“ATTRIBUTES OF AN EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK”
Teamwork
Teamwork is working in a group of two and more people to
achieve a common goal. Teamwork builds your identity and gives you
purpose. It helps you set clear goals and work towards them in a
group. The problem with working alone is you can get easily derailed
or demotivated.
What is the most important attribute of a team ?
Your team needs to be able to openly communicate with
one another with the ability to confidently share their thougths,ideas
and opinions with the wider team.Effective communication is
obsolutely essential for working together efficiency on tasks.
What are five characteristics of effective teamwork?
 Trust
The biggest factor separating high performing teams from
average teams is trust. Without trust, a team will never reach their
full potential. With trust, a team finds their flow, feels more
comfortable taking risks, and is able to work though challenges and
conflicts as they arise.
 Clear communication
Second only to trust, communication plays a huge part in
the success of a team. High performing teams have a system in place
to streamline and optimize communication. They know when to call,
when to email, when to Slack, when to (and not to) hop on Zoom, and
if they’re working together in an office, when to simply pop into each
other’s office.
 Defined roles and responsibilities
Clearly defined roles and responsibilities help teams
maximize productivity and reduce conflict. High performing teams
work well because everyone plays a part in the collective success. By
defining each team member’s role and responsibilities, it eliminates
confusion as to who should be working on specific parts of a project.
This also prevents conflict from arising and bringing down morale.
 Engaged leadership
An engaged leader provides direction, not
micromanagement, to help their teams achieve success. Teams
perform at their best when they have the full support of their
leadership. A good leader fosters a positive working environment and
ensures that communication, trust, and respect are maintained. They
set clearly defined goals and outline the steps that are needed to
achieve them.
 Collective goals
While each team member has their own responsibilities,
everyone is collectively working towards one large goal and their
individual work contributes to the project’s overall success. High
performing teams aren’t afraid to pitch in to help each other out to
ensure that all goals are met.
Importance of effective teamwork?
 Reduces stress
 Encourages learning and knowledge sharing
 Motivates healthy risk taking
 Builds problem solving skills
 Ensures team members feel valued for their contribution
 Allows individuals to focus on their strength
Teamwork Concept and Issues
“SUCCESSFUL TEAM”
SUCCESSFUL TEAM
 a successful team is one motivated by the shared core
values of its members. Teams depends on the personalities
of the members, as well as the leadership style of managers.
Successful team are similar across the board. Having mutual
respect, common and aligned goals, open communication,
and patience can all communicate, and patience can all help
make for a successful team.
 A successful team is usually led by an individual who is
trusted and respected by its members. Such leaders unify
members toward the same direction by providing focus and
guidance. They also offer encouragement and motivation to
keep the team morale high, even in the midst of challenges.
Defining “SUCCESSFUL and TEAM”
 Successful/Success is often defined as the ability to
reach your goals in life, whatever those goals may be. In
some ways, a better word for success might be
attainment, accomplishment, or progress. It is not
necessarily a destination but a journey that helps
develop the skills and resources you need to thrive
 Team is a group of people who share a common goal
and are committed to working together to achieve it.
While a group, is just a collection of individuals with a
common goal.
6 CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL TEAM
1. They have clear goals and plans
2. They have strong leadership
3. Members fulfill their own tasks and also help one another
4. Members communicate openly with the team
5. Members resolve conflict constructively
6. Members feel they directly contribute to the company’s
success
1. THEY HAVE CLEAR GOALS AND PLANS
● Before jumping right into work, effective teams first
set common goals with clear metrics of success. This provides
their members with something to aim for collectively and
defines how they will be evaluated —that is, based on
measurable outcomes and not only the number of work hours
they render.
Afterward, effective teams create plans on how to attain
their goals, detailing each individual's contribution and
respective deadlines. This allows every member to understand
not only their own role but also their fellow team members’.
Plans are then regularly reviewed during status update
meetings to see if the team is on track or if adjustments are
needed for goals to be met.
2. THEY HAVE STRONG LEADERSHIP
● A successful team is usually led by an individual who is
trusted and respected by its members. Such leaders unify
members toward the same direction by providing focus and
guidance. They also offer encouragement and motivation to
keep the team morale high, even in the midst of challenges. The
 best leaders even help team members achieve their individual
goals and realize their potential.
3. MEMBERS FULFILL THEIR OWN TASKS AND ALSO
HELP ONE ANOTHER
● Since members are deeply committed to the team’s
success, they make sure to follow through with the team’s plan
by accomplishing their individual tasks excellently and on time
and trusting that their teammates will do the same. However,
should a teammate encounter difficulties with their share of the
load, members willingly lend a helping hand.
4. MEMBERS COMMKUNICATE OPENLY WITH THE
TEAM
● In a successful team, members feel that their ideas and
input matter so they are not afraid to express their own
thoughts and opinions, even if these conflict with what has been
presented. In fact, diverse opinions are welcomed and seen as
opportunities to stir creativity and generate fresh ideas.
At the same time, members listen to what others have to
say because they believe in the ability, character, and integrity
of their teammates. This culture of trust allows members to
share their knowledge, build on each other’s ideas, collaborate,
and experiment.
5. MEMBERS RESOLVE CONFLICT CONSTRUCTIVELY
 Having disagreements within a team is inevitable.
However, in an effective team, members try to resolve
their issues in a constructive manner by doing the
following:
■ Speaking to one another calmly and in a nonthreatening
tone
■ Allowing the other person to speak without being
interrupted
■ Practicing active listening to understand where the other
person is coming from
■ Focusing on the facts rather than attacking the person’s
character
■ Respecting each other’s viewpoints
6. MEMBERS FEEL THEY DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE
COMPANY’S SUCCESS
● When there are multiple teams in a company, each team may
become too focused on their own goals that they lose sight of the
bigger picture — the company’s overall goals. However, members of
an effective team feel that their work is important and that their team
directly contributes to the overall success of the company
Team Works Concepts and Issues
“UNSUCCESSFUL”
Friction between members can lead to stress and roadblocks that
make it challenging to engage in effective teaming. Therefore, every
team is predisposed to unique challenges that, if not addressed,
ultimately lead to failure.
Here, then, are the three major reasons why teams fail.
Reason #1: Mistrust
 Teams fail when their members feel uncomfortable. When
members feel psychologically unsafe, they can’t freely
share their thoughts with their fellow teammates, which
can decompose key pillars to team success. These feelings
can erode trust in one another and start to fracture the
foundation of an effective team.
 Team members may stop communicating openly, no longer
asking critical questions or for help when they feel
overwhelmed, expressing dissent needed to curb
groupthink, or sharing information needed for others to do
their work well. Once trust erodes, it’s incredibly difficult for
a team to regain its footing.
Reason #2: Misfunction
 Teams fail when members engage in dysfunctional or
unproductive behavior. You may have worked with
someone who demonstrates dysfunctional behavior: social
loafing, micromanaging, pulling others into unproductive
“rabbit holes,” lacking self-awareness, and criticizing other
people’s ideas. These behaviors are like sand in the gears of
effective teaming and can become more detrimental if
management chooses to ignore them as a team is forming,
rather than address them early.
Reason #3: Misalignment
 Teams fail when they think they’re on the same page, but in
reality, they’re not. Teams need to align on multiple
taskwork and teamwork factors before they can be
effective. For example, all members need to be aligned on
team goals, timelines, work roles, how and when to
communicate, and who to go to for specific insight and
resources. If members are misaligned, it can lead to
confusion and false assumptions, resulting in lower-quality
work and missed deadlines as members scramble to realign.
Practical Solutions
 Now that we know the three “Ms” (mistrust, malfunction,
and misalignment) that most contribute to a team’s failure,
how can we solve them?
Solution #1: Create a team charter before work begins.
 A team charter is a document that the team and
management create to outline their work, make
assumptions, and ensure the three derailers above don’t
come to fruition. It’s a tool used to align members on key
information and expectations for their team assignment,
like objectives, goals, timelines, roles, resources, and
boundaries.
Solution #2: Engage in active management to nip dysfunctional
behaviors in the bud.
 When team effectiveness is threatened by team member
perceptions and behaviors, it’s critical for management to
be active in addressing the root of the issue. For example, a
manager may have a private conversation with a member
who is social loafing. The manager learns this person is
social loafing because they’re unclear of their role, which
identifies a deeper problem of role misalignment in the
team. Without this active engagement, the root cause
would have been left unaddressed.
 Managers can be active by engaging in discussions and
providing coaching and mentoring for the team and its
members. As illustrated here, it’s also critical not to make
any assumptions about what’s causing individual
performance challenges. As we know from the literature on
human bias, we tend to overemphasize personal
characteristics and ignore situational factors in judging
others’ behavior.
Solution #3: Strategically choose team members and nudge key
behaviors.
 When it comes to choosing team members, the theory and
practice behind team composition has consistently been
shown in psychological literature to impact performance
outcomes. So does that mean loading the team with high
performers? Not necessarily.
 Creating successful teams is challenging, but solvable. Each
team is unique and vulnerable to experiencing mistrust,
misfunction, and misalignment. Fortunately, organizations
can leverage applications like team charters, active team
management, and even AI-based tools to strengthen their
capability to build and sustain successful teams.

Peer Evaluation and Group Dynamics
What is peer evaluation?
 Peer assessment is an evaluation method that involves
individuals measuring the performance of people with
similar competencies. Peer evaluation are most
common in classrooms, workplaces and research
environments.
 The individuals who perform the evaluation both have
a similar stature, and a higher authority usually provides
guidelines and criteria for the assessment. This ensures
that everyone uses the same standards for evaluation.
• Student peer assessment: This type of peer assessment
involves students objectively evaluating each other's
activity and performance under the guidance of their
teacher. Peer assessments are usually an effective way to
teach students how to critically and objectively evaluate
both their peers' performance and their own.
• Employee peer assessment: This is a workplace review
technique that involves colleagues of similar status and
roles in the company evaluating each other's job
performances and providing feedback on how their
colleagues can improve as professionals.
• Peer journal or article assessment: This is a method for
researchers in various fields to receive competent and
objective feedback on their work from colleagues with
similar competencies and reputations.
Why use peer assessments?
• It can provide valuable feedback. The familiarity and
equality that generally exists between peers can enable
them to provide detailed, objective and meaningful
feedback regarding each other's activity, competence and
behavior.
• It can improve the evaluator's skills. The peers who
perform the assessment are likely to develop relevant skills
and cognitive abilities because of their attempt to offer a
thorough and objective evaluation.
• It can improve team cohesion. When the rules and
guidelines of the peer assessment are appropriate for the
respective context, the entire process can strengthen the
bonds between team members, as each person has to
openly communicate with everyone else.
• It can promote self-analysis. When examining the criteria
they have to use to evaluate others, those who perform the
assessment tend to reflect on how their output meets the
respective criteria.
• It can induce a sense of fairness. When implementing peer
assessment in a group, it can show everyone within that
group exactly what every other member's individual
contribution to the common goal was. This can show how
evenly distributed the work was among the group
members.
• It helps assess an academic work's accuracy and
relevance. Peer assessments in research fields help
academic publishers determine if a scientific journal or
article answers relevant research questions, uses accurate
data and draws logical conclusions based on
experimentation that follows specific guidelines.
Resources for Peer Evaluation
• There is no one way to implement peer evaluations. Though
students can utilize many software and survey tools, the
most common at UWL include the following:
• Qualtrics (very powerful survey tool)
• Google Forms (capable, more novice-friendly survey tool)
• Microsoft Office Forms (quick survey tool)
• Canvas Survey tool (use for online or blended courses that
use our learning management system)
• other survey tools, such as SurveyMonkey
Peer review
• is the act of having another person read what you have
written and respond in terms of its effectiveness. The
reader works to identify the strengths and weaknesses of
the product and suggests strategies for revising it.
• Purpose: The goal of peer review is not only to strengthen
the work, but to help students identify areas if self-
improvement for the future, encourage authentic
collaboration, and get a better understanding of whether
they are meeting the objectives of an assignment.
In receiving the evaluation, students will learn:
• to recognize how to learn from constructive criticism
• to make revision choices based on responses from peers
• to identify areas for self-improvement and growth.
In performing the evaluation, students will learn:
• to read critically
• to summarize key elements of a work
• to identify specific areas for improvement with productive s
uggestions and advice
•to give clear feedback (positive and negative).
GROUP DYNAMICS
WHAT IS GROUP DYNAMICS?
• Groups are important for organizational life. Managers
spend substantial time in managing groups and teams so
that groups contribute to organizational and group goals.
How effectively a manager plans, organizes, staffs, leads
and controls depends upon how effectively he manages
the groups. A group means “two or more people who
interact with one another, are psychologically aware of
one another, perceive themselves to be members of the
group, and work towards a common goal.”
Features of Group
1. It consists of two or more persons who interact with each other.
2. Group members have reciprocal influence on each other. Each
member influences and is influenced by others in the group.
3. People develop mutual perceptions and emotions. They perceive
and recognise each other as members of the group.
4. Every group has
• formal leader elected by group members, and
• informal leader “who engages in leadership activities but
whose right to do so has not been formally recognised by the
organisation or group.”
Each individual performs specific role which influences expectations
of group members from each other. Role structure is “the set of
defined roles and inter-relationships among those roles that the
group or team members define and accept.”
6. Every group has group norms. “Norm is a standard of behaviour
that the group accepts and expects of its members. It represents
standards of work to promote group activity.”
7. It maintains stability through group cohesiveness. Members
• develop liking for each other,
• develop sense of identification with each other, and
• remain attached to each other.
8. Members work for common interests and goals
Types of Groups
• Formal groups
Formal groups are deliberately created to carry out specific
tasks. They have clearly defined authority-responsibility
relationships, communication channels, rules and
regulations that govern the behaviour of members.
Committees, task forces and work teams are the formal
groups.
• Informal Groups
These groups are not created by managers but
spontaneously grow out of interaction amongst members
of formal groups. They are created by choice for promoting
the group goals. members even subordinate individual
goals to group goals.
• Primary and secondary groups
• Primary groups promote common goals. Members share
values and behaviour. These groups are small and largely
 affect inter-personal behaviour. Friendship and social needs
are the basis of these groups.
• Secondary groups have loose inter-personal relationships
and no common goals to share. Their members do not
actively interact with each other. Professional bodies,
business organisations are the common forms of secondary
groups.
Small and large groups
• Small groups have few members who closely interact with
each other. Large groups have large number of members
with weak inter-personal interaction. They do not actively
communicate with each other.
What makes a good team dynamic?
• Team culture. Employees need to feel psychologically safe
to show up as their whole selves to work. This means the
culture needs to be inclusive, welcoming, and foster a sense
of belonging.
• Leadership. Inclusive leadership has incredible business
impacts. Teams with inclusive leaders report 150% greater
belonging, 140% greater perceived organizational support,
90% higher team innovation, 50% higher team
performance, and 140% higher team engagement.
• Shared, common goals. Good team dynamics need to have
a shared goal to work toward. A strong leader should make
sure the team’s shared goals are well-communicated and
understood. A lack of direction can cause rifts among the
team, which can easily spiral into chaos.
• Trust. Psychological safety and trust go hand-in-hand. But
so do connections and connections among colleagues.
In our newly released data, we’ve found that 38% of co-
workers don’t trust their colleagues. The result? Increased
anxiety, depression, burnout, and stress. How are you
fostering a psychologically safe workplace?
• Decision-making skills. Good group dynamics need good
decision-makers. The bottom line, if the team can’t make
effective decisions, it’s likely they aren’t making progress
toward their goals. An effective team knows how to make
decisions well (and together).
Teamwork or collaboration skills. We all know individual
team members have preferences on how they work. But
there are very few instances in the workplace where
teammates don’t have to work with another teammate.
6 ways to improve team dynamics
1. Establish psychological safety
2. Build trust
3. Create and facilitate connections
4. Build conflict resolution skills
5. Create an inclusive workplace culture
6. Offer coaching
Personality types and their effect on creating teamwork’s &
COLLABORATION TOOLS in a team
How Do Different Personalities Affect Teamwork?
You recruit team members for their functional skills, but
personalities are also important to success. An ideal team has a
strong leader, someone to help build team relationships, and at least
one person willing to question everyone's assumptions.
Good management can forge a mix of personalities into a
strong team.
Personality types impact team effectiveness
When choosing the team to tackle a new project, it's
natural to think in terms of the skill set you need, such as
sales, IT, marketing and team leader.
However, Harvard Business Review (HBR) advises that
getting the mix of personalities just right is also important.
This doesn't happen automatically. Even a team composed
entirely of IT professionals may have different
personalities and viewpoints.
Self-confident-energetic staffers who are good at
organizing and taking charge
Diplomatic-warm individuals who care about other
people's feelings and focus on relationships
Detail-oriented-conscientious team members who are
highly organized and follow the rules
Imaginative-curious team members who want to innovate
and shake things up
Cautious-level-headed, practical thinkers who insist other
people prove their ideas.
What are the Big Five Personality Traits?
 Openness to experience
-People who score high on this one is open to new ideas
and approaches.
 Conscientiousness
-High-scorers in this attribute are dependable, reliable,
organized and self-controlled.
 Extroversion
-Extroverts are social, assertive, socially confident and love
interacting with people. Introverts are more introspective;
even if they have fun with others, they find it draining.
 Agreeableness
-The more agreeable you are, the more people like to hang
with you. High scorers are popular, sympathetic and
affectionate.
 Neuroticism
-Scoring high in this one is a bad thing. It suggests
someone prone to anxiety and sadness, unable to control
their emotions, and probably suffering from low self-
esteem.
Functional vs. Personal
The functional roles are the members' official duties:
project manager, IT expert, researcher, gofer or note taker.
The psychological ones are shaped by the members'
personality types: the innovator who comes up with fresh
ideas, the skeptic who demands proof, the by-the-book
thinker who points out the limits of the budget, and the
analyst who weighs pros and cons.
• The Team Building Portal advises that the first step is to
select potential team members based on their skills and
how well they fit the functional roles.
• Then sift through them for the ones whose agreeableness,
openness or conscientiousness make them a good fit.
• Some employees with valuable skills may not be great
team players. When that happens, consider other
character traits and aspects.
Managing Teams
Real life is rarely as efficient as management advice
articles make it sound. It's entirely possible you won't be
able to find a perfect mix of personalities and have to
make do with the employees you have, according to Fast
Company.
Even if the personalities are compatible, you shouldn't sit
back and assume they'll coalesce into a functioning team.
What is Collaboration Tools in a Team?
Collaboration Tools
-are technological tools that improve the way teams work and
help members to communicate more effectively to complete
projects and tasks together. For example, a digital whiteboard is
a collaboration tool that allows users to brainstorm ideas and
share them with others in real time. Other examples of
collaboration tools include software programs like online
messaging systems and task managers to file sharing services.
These tools allow teams to work together remotely on projects
in a digital platform or online settings. Teams can use videos,
texts and audio to create presentations or documents from any
location.
Collaboration tools help to remove any time and location
constraints for working, which allows employees to connect and
work efficiently. This cooperation fosters team development and
increases overall efficiency and productivity.
The benefits of using universal collaboration tools in the
workplace

• Full team visibility and accountability

Expecting people to collaborate without full visibility over
what, exactly, they’re working on together is a recipe for
disaster. Every member of the team needs to see the bigger
picture and how what they’re doing fits into it. Collaborative
tools make this possible. Logging into a Google Doc and tracking
changes alongside everyone else.

• Track progress in real time

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Just
because you structure a group project one way doesn’t mean
that’s how it’ll progress. Business changes rapidly—daily and
sometimes even hourly. Teams need a way to adapt just as
quickly; collaboration tools give it to them. Modern
collaboration tools help to create dynamic workflows and team
agility.
• Enable full group participation
Every member of a team is an asset. Teams are successful
because they’re more than the sum of their parts—but that’s
only true if each part contributes to the whole.

• Collaborative tools help teams succeed

A team is only as good as the sum of its members and their
ability to work together. Collaboration tools leverage the
responsibilities and talents of each individual into the greater
success of the team. Any piece of technology that helps one
person work with others to contribute to a larger mission is a
collaboration tool worth using.