xtension xchange

Volume 5 Issue 1 May 2013
The
E
xtension
xchange
The Professional Development Newsletter for Extension Educators
Calendar
May 1
• Rainwater Harvesting with a
Sand Cistern - Haskell County
May 2
• OK Youth Beef Quality Assurance - West Side of State - Custer
County Fairgrounds
May 7
• Composting and Rain Water
Harvesting- Cleveland County Office
May 8
• Economic Development: What
is Extension’s Role? - Cleveland
County Office
May 9
• Finances Issues Team Core
Training - OSU Student Union
May 10
• Cooperative Conversations: Excel
2010- Advanced Spreadsheets and
Data - Centra
May 13
• Youth Entrepreneurship: Building a Pipeline - Centra
• Current Issues in Agricultural
Economics - Centra
May 14
• Divorce, Remarriage, and Stepfamily Formation - TBA
• Soil- Treatment of Key Contaminants in Agricultural and Domestic
Wastewater - Adobe Connect
May 15
• May Horticulture Update - Centra
• Exploring Energy Efficiency and
Alternative (E3A) Curriculum Stillwater
Continued on Page 2
OCES Staff and Program
Development page
May Madness
The beginning of May marks the
beginning of a very busy summer
for most Extension personnel.
We hope you can take the time to
enjoy your job and realize the positive impact you make, despite the
lack of sleep and increased coffee
intake.
One way
to ensure
you are
as efficient as
possible
during
this busy
time is to
start with
a clean
slate.
Read our
article
about how to spring clean at the office. We hope this fresh start allows
you to feel refreshed and ready for
the coming months.
Email is one of the most frequently
used means of communication.
It allows Extension folks to connect regardless of location, to best
serve the state. However, it is not
uncommon that we are too relaxed
when sending emails. Enjoy our
article on proper email etiquette.
This will ensure your communication is a positive reflection of both
you and OCES.
Joyce provides a note about a great
training presentation that was sent
to us by Jessica Jantzen. The presentation is on employee retention.
We have posted it on our site for
you to use.
Business etiquette is incredibly
important. Ensuring a positive
image of OCES and you is essential
for continued improvement and
development of the organization.
Yet, it is so easy to forget some of
the most basic elements. We provide an article to help refresh your
memory.
Congratulations to Jessie
Furnish, Cleveland County
Educator, for
being the first
to answer our
brain teaser
of last month.
Good luck this
time around.
Joyce and Krista
The Staff and Program
Development Team
Oklahoma Cooperative
Extension Service
In this issue
Spring Clean the Office... .... 2
Calendar Con’t.................... 2
Email Etiquette................... 2
Email Etiquette Con’t......... 3
Note from Joyce.................. 3
Tip of the Month................. 3
Business Etiquette Tips...... 4
Question of the Month....... 5
Pin of the Month................. 5
Brain Teaser........................ 5
How to Spring Clean Your Office
Spring cleaning – most people
think of it as a household chore.
Do you envision it as hours spent
cleaning out closets, washing walls,
cleaning the garage, and other
gigantic time-consuming chores?
Most people don’t even consider
their personal workspace when it
comes time for
“out with the old
and in with the
new” or simple
spring cleaning in
general. Just like
your home, your
office can also
use a spring time
rejuvenation to
set the spirit for
the lovely weather
ahead.
Start from the inside out.
in the drawer. The remaining files
can be purged or scanned into an
electronic file for safe keeping, if
a document trail is needed. Consider electronically filing anything
that has not been touched in over
twelve months.
Make it awesome – get
rid of those old, raggedy
file folders and use new
ones. If possible, invest
in different colors to give
your desk drawer a new
fresh look. Prepare new
folder labels and you
magically have a brand
new look. Be sure to
only work on one drawer
at a time. Systematically work through each
drawer, just in case the project gets
interrupted.
It’s time to clear out those files –
messiness not necessarily required.
If you have documents over five
to ten years old, it’s time to purge.
The absolutely necessary files stay
The surface is your canvass.
Calendar Con’t.
Email Etiquette
May 16
• OK AgrAbility: Promoting Success
in Agriculture for Farmers, Ranchers
and Families Experiencing Injury,
Illness or Disabling Conditions Oklahoma County Office- South
Classroom
May 21
• Community Snapshots: Health Edition - Cleveland County Office
• Divorce , Remarriage, and Stepfamily Formation - TBA
May 22
• Economics and Resource Management for Forest Landowners Kiamichi Forestry Research Station
May 28
• Leisure Education for 4-H Camps
and Workshops - Camp Redlands,
Stillwater
May 29
• Eastern Redcedar Management: Issues and Solutions Oklahoma County
Office
The Extension Exchange
Once you’ve tackled the inside,
move to the fun, visible desk top.
Have your frames been on your
Don’t you wish that everyone followed certain email guidelines?
There are certain professional
standards for e-mail use. Here
are some things to keep in mind
regarding professional e-mail
conduct:
1. Be informal, not sloppy.
Your colleagues may use abbreviations, but when communicating
with external clientele, everyone
should use standard writing protocol. Your e-mail reflects you and
OCES, traditional spelling, grammar, and punctuation rules apply.
2. Keep messages brief and to
the point. Just because your writing is grammatically correct does
not mean it has to be long. Nothing
is more frustrating than wading
through a long e-mail message.
Concentrate on one subject per
message.
desk so long they’ve collected
a layer of dust? Is the table underneath your knick-knacks still
bright while the surrounding area
is faded? Visit an inexpensive store
or thrift shop to pick up some fun,
funky frames. Change your knickknacks and give your desk a whole
new look. Do you always keep your
pencil holder in that exact spot?
Shake things up and move it to a
new location.
Before you replace your knickknacks, take a few minutes to swab
down the top of your desk with a
disinfecting cleaner. Banish the
winter cold and flu germs so you
can begin the spring season free of
pesky flu causing colds.
It’s not always necessary to complete your spring cleaning all at
once. Break down the task into
bite–sized chunks that are easily
manageable, but not overwhelming. Remember, spring cleaning is
not just a household chore.
Source: Bella Online
3. Use sentence case. USING
ALL CAPITAL LETTERS LOOKS
AS IF YOU’RE SHOUTING. Using
all lowercase letters looks lazy. For
emphasis, use asterisks or bold formatting. Do not use a lot of colors
or graphics, not everyone uses an
e-mail program that can display
them.
4. Use the blind copy and
courtesy copy appropriately.
Don’t use BCC to keep others from
seeing who you copied; it shows
confidence when you directly CC
anyone receiving a copy. Do use
BCC, however, when sending to
a large distribution list, so recipients won’t have to see a huge list
of names. Be cautious with your
use of CC; overuse simply clutters
inboxes. Copy only people who are
directly involved.
Cont on Page 3
Page 2
Email Etiquette Con’t.
5. Don’t use e-mail as an
excuse to avoid personal
contact. Don’t forget the value of
face-to-face or even voice-to-voice
communication. E-mail communication isn’t appropriate when
sending confusing or emotional
messages. If you have a problem
with someone, speak with them
directly. Don’t use e-mail to avoid
uncomfortable situations.
6. Remember that e-mail isn’t
private. E-mail is considered
company property and can be
retrieved, examined, and used in
a court of law. You should assume
that e-mail over the Internet is not
secure. Never put in an e-mail message anything that you wouldn’t
put on a postcard. Remember that
e-mail can be forwarded, so unintended audiences may see what
you’ve written. You might also
inadvertently send something to
the wrong party.
7. Be sparing with group email. Send group e-mails only
when it’s useful to every recipient.
Use the “reply all” button only
when compiling results requiring
collective input and only if you
have something to add.
8. Use the subject field to
indicate content and purpose.
Don’t just say, “Hi!” or “From Laura.” Agree on acronyms to use that
quickly identify actions. For example, your county/district could use
<AR> to mean “Action Required”
or <PARS> for the Program Activity Reports. It’s also a good practice
to include the word “Long” in the
subject field, if necessary, so that
the recipient knows that the message will take time to read.
9. Don’t send chain letters,
virus warnings, or junk mail.
Always check a reputable antivirus website or the IT department
before sending out an alarm. If a
constant stream of jokes from a
friend annoys you, ask to be removed from the list.
10. Remember that your tone
can’t be heard in e-mail. E-mail
communication can’t convey the
nuances of verbal communication.
In an attempt to infer tone of voice,
some people use emoticons, but
A Note from Joyce
Congratulations to Jessica Jantzen, Osage County Educator, for
completing a graduate course this
semester. She has shared her class
project from Dr. Jeff Sallee’s class
with us.
Jessica developed a PowerPoint
on employee retention, which is
applicable to anyone working in
a supervisory position such as
county director, district directors,
or state administration. According
to research, the top reasons employees stay include: “have a good
connection with their boss, workplace is a team oriented environment, and workplace is a climate
for learning characterized by trust
and openness.”
The Extension Exchange
To learn more, go to the Staff and
Program Development site. You
can also use the program with local
businesses in your county.
Congratulations to Krista Anderson from
the office and her fiance, Ryan McCoon,
they will be married May 25.
use them sparingly so you don’t appear unprofessional. Don’t assume
a smiley diffuses a difficult e-mail.
11. Use a signature that includes contact information. To
ensure that people know who you
are, include a signature that has
your contact information, including your mailing address, website,
and phone numbers.
12. Summarize long discussions. Instead of continuing to
forward a message string, take a
minute to summarize it. You could
even highlight or quote the relevant passage, then include your
response. Some words of caution:
If you are forwarding or reposting
a message you’ve received, do not
change the wording. If you want to
repost to a group a message you received individually, ask the author
for permission first. Give proper
attribution.
Use these suggestions as a starting point to create e-mail etiquette
rules that will help your office be
efficient and professional.
Source: Microsoft
Tid Bits For You
Travel Tips - OCES Finance
Agendas
If you have an overnight stay,
please be sure to include a copy
of the meeting agenda with your
travel claim. The meeting times
listed on your claim should
match the times on your agenda.
Sometimes educators are required to be at the event/meeting
before or after the times shown
on the agenda. If that is the case,
you should leave a comment
on your claim explaining why
your listed meeting times do not
match the times shown on the
agenda.
Page 3
Business Etiquette Tips
Business Management Daily, has
compiled a report regarding various elements of business etiquette.
There are 13 total, we will include
the final seven next month. Do you
agree with these?
Cubicle etiquette: Close-quarters rules
Even if there aren’t four walls and
a door marking the area, you need
to respect everyone else’s work
space. Four etiquette rules:
1. Don’t “prairie dog.” Walk around
the partition to see a neighbor,
instead of popping your head over
the top. And as you walk down
passageways, don’t peek into each
workstation.
2. Grant your neighbors private
time. Stagger lunch breaks to provide everyone a few minutes alone.
explained that shorts were acceptable, but not denim or cutoffs.
How to finesse awkward, embarrassing situations
Knowing whether or not to tell
your CED that he has spinach stuck
in his teeth is one sure test of your
business etiquette skills. (Answer:
Tell him, but discreetly.)
The situation: You find a personal—and potentially embarrassing—document left behind on the
photocopier.
Solution: Normally, you’d put
forgotten pages in a tray beside the
copier, for people to claim later. In
this case, though, deliver the document in person, advises Peter Post,
author of The Etiquette Advantage
in Business.
3. Don’t chime in to conversations you overhear. Whether
it’s a work question or a private conversation you’d rather
not hear, ignore comments not
directed at you.
Casual. Corporate casual. Business casual. Smart casual. Resort
casual. Don’t leave meeting attendees baffled about your event’s dress
code.
Explain what you mean by “business casual” or “corporate casual,”
etc. with examples of appropriate
attire for men and women. One
event’s “resort casual” encouraged wearing jeans, while another
The Extension Exchange
Guest etiquette: Roll out the
red carpet for visitors
When a VIP comes to your office,
how do you dole out extra-special
treatment?
Being friendly and responsive is
the key to treating VIPs well, says
Peter Post.
Business phone etiquette:
Soothe angry callers
Turn a growling caller into a purring, pleased customer with these
telephone etiquette techniques:
• Bite your tongue. When someone
screams on the phone, your first
thought may be, “What a jerk!”
But that attitude will only
poison an already-tenuous
relationship with the caller.
Instead, stay calm and
listen.
• Let ’em vent. Like a whistling kettle, angry callers
need to vent some steam.
Don’t interrupt—even with
a solution—before they tell
their story.
4. Keep lunch in the kitchen.
When you absolutely can’t
leave your desk, choose foods
without strong odors, and
dispose of your trash in the
kitchen, not your wastebasket.
‘Casual dress’ etiquette:
Demystify your event’s
dress code
good handshake will grant you instant rapport when meeting someone new.
Handshake etiquette: Setting
the stage for instant rapport
A good, well-timed handshake to
pair with your smile is a sure way
to stand out, whether you’re at the
conference or meeting clientele.
• Take it down a notch.
Instead of raising your
voice to match the caller’s
volume, speak softly. That
will soothe the speaker and show
him or her that you’re interested in
handling the complaint in a calm,
rational way.
We will provide the rest next
month. What do you think? Do you
agree with them? Let us know.
Here’s how important it is: A
prospective employee with the best
handshake is more likely to get the
job, research shows.
Even if you’re not a job-seeker, a
Source: Business Management Daily
Page 4
Question and Pinterest Pin of the Month
Question:
I applied for graduate school and
am waiting to start classes this
summer. However, I have not
heard back from OSU about whether or not I got accepted. What do I
do about the tuition waiver?
In the spirit of spring cleaning, try
using a shoe organizer under the
sink or even in the utility closet to
hold supplies. See through pouches
allows you to store cleaning supplies so you can see them without
having to bend over or search.
Answer
Congratulations on the decision to
start graduate school. Receiving
the tuition/fee waiver is one of the
great perks of working for OSU.
You get half of the cost of tuition
and some fees waived. So take
advantage of this great benefit.
OSU should let you know fairly
quickly if you are accepted. However, you can proceed with getting
the waiver signed by your county
director and district director so you
can meet the deadline. If you do
not take classes this summer you
will not have incurred any charges
so the waiver will not be utilized. It
is better to submit the waiver form
early than miss the deadline. The
deadline were listed in a separate
email sent in April. Best of luck in
your educational endeavors.
Quote of the
Month
“The world’s favorite season is
the spring. All things seem possible in May.”
- Edwin Way Teale
Reminders
Tuition/Fee Waiver and Educational Leave Request Form
Deadlines
Session 1 - May 6
Session 2 and 3 - May 27
Session 4 - June 24
Be sure to check out our newest
training module HERE
Like us on Facebook
Brain Teaser of the Month
Last month’s answer:
A - Mother/Child /Age
Jane/Charlie/ 3
Sarah/Anne/1
Laura /Brian /2
Teresa /Daniel /4
Jessie Furnish, Cleveland
County Educator, was our
winner!
your plastic water bottle, which
does not fit into the pipe?
Email us your answer and
how long it took you. Let’s
see who wins this month!
OCES Staff and
Program Development
Email your exchanges to
[email protected]
or call 405-744-7969
1. Your last good ping-pong ball fell
down into a narrow metal pipe imbedded in concrete one foot deep.
Joyce Martin
Krista Anderson
255 Ag Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078
How can you get it out undamaged,
if all the tools you have are your
tennis paddle, your shoe-laces, and
http://intranet.okstate.edu/
staff_development
Try these:
The Extension Exchange
Page 5