What is professionalism? Is it wearing a suit? Standing erect and with confidence?
Is a professional someone with a certain job title? Or degree?
What does it mean to be professional?
Let’s find out…
This post is the sixth in a series examining the qualities and skills needed to be an effective communicator. These are qualities and skills that can be learned and improved with practice.
They are discussed in the first edition of Communicating Nutrition: The Authoritative Guide and as we approach a revision of this book, this series will help begin the process of revisiting and expanding on these fundamentals.
The first post introduced the series by asking the question: What qualities and skills are needed to be an effective communicator?
The second post discussed the importance of being genuinely courteous, gracious, and respectful.
The third post explored the importance of being flexible and teachable.
The fourth post looked at the importance of demonstrating integrity and responsibility.
The fifth post explored the value of social intelligence.
This post discusses professionalism and how it relates to being an effective communicator.
What is professionalism?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, professionalism is “the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person.” Or, as the saying goes: "Professionalism is not the job you do, it's how you do the job."
When describing professionalism, I came up with the following 5 principles, which you can download as a free tip sheet.
Are you professional?
Answer these questions:
How well do you do your work? Do you demonstrate competence?
Do you keep your knowledge up to date?
Are you reliable? Are you considered conscientious?
Can you be trusted? Do you hold yourself accountable?
Do you uphold the rights of others?
Are you aware of emotions – yours and those of others?
Do you look, speak, write, and act in accordance with the standards and expectations of a given situation?
Are you sure of yourself with humility?
How does being professional relate to being an effective communicator?
When we demonstrate competence, reliability, respect, confidence, and more, we will be a more effective communicator because professionalism…
Generates trust, which leads to an audience attending to, interacting with, and believing your communication.
Promotes teamwork and enhances collaboration, which leads to getting work accomplished, and, creates stronger communication with a broader perspective, greater depth of understanding, and that represents a larger audience.
Minimizes misunderstandings and conflicts, because to be professional is to respect and seek out the views of others and to identify common ground.
Improves your reputation, which is critical to your credibility and the audience’s willingness to accept your message.
Exhibiting professional behaviors not only leads to communicating more effectively… it also leads to being perceived as a better communicator. Be professional.
Read more about professionalism in these posts:
In next week’s post, we will discuss the qualities that demonstrate teamwork.
"Professionalism is knowing how to do it, when to do it, and doing it." ~ Frank Tyger
If you like this content, please share it.
