Oral and Written Expression
Meets/Exceeds Expectations
Speaks clearly and confidently without hesitation
Addresses others in an open fashion
Is totally at ease when addressing a large audience
Allows others to complete their thoughts before countering their arguments
Acknowledges others’ points of view
Never has a bad thing to say about anyone
Always has a smile on her face
Articulates her thoughts clearly and logically
Constructs compelling arguments
Is effective at saying no respectfully but firmly
Uses clear and simple language
Her correspondence never gets bogged down in unnecessary detail
Is careful not to speak over her audience
Composes correspondence that is brief, well structured, and error free
Creates useful spreadsheets for capturing and filtering large amounts of data
Documents complex ideas in a user-friendly fashion
Keeps all written memos to one page
Uses bulleted formats that clearly capture an issue’s salient points
Writes clear and persuasive memos
Creates and uses compelling PowerPoint slides to amplify presentation
Debates skillfully and convincingly and “holds his own” very well
Needs Improvement
Speaks too quickly and appears to ramble at times
Quickly loses her audience
Suffers from a fear of public speaking
Sometimes “whines” and weakens the value of his spoken message
Commits confidential information to e-mail
Fails to synthesize key points in his writing
Allows excessive narratives to distract from his written message
Fails to use spell check and other electronic tools
Publishes memos with spelling and grammatical errors
Tends not to stick to the point in her writing
Does not check memos for errors before distributing them
Tends to back down and acquiesce whenever openly challenged
Hesitates to verbally defend her stated position
Writes excessively long memos that make it difficult to crystallize key points
Overuses boldface and exclamation marks in his memos
Lacks a basic mastery of business writing techniques
Fails to record edits and changes in the redlining process
Oral and Written Expression Goals
Write to express, not to impress
Write succinctly
Use no more than three bullets to capture the essence of your message
Purchase and read a book on grammar to help you keep memos error free
Begin your memos with your conclusion or ultimate recommendation
Consistently use the spell-check feature before sending e-mails to others
Structure your ideas neatly into paragraphs
Use simple language that is clear and concise
Write in a natural, conversational style
Employ executive summaries to present your key points and ideas
Keep proposals to one page whenever possible
Don’t “shout” when you write by using too many exclamation marks
Always ask questions to confirm your understanding
Connect with your audience by walking around the room
Refrain from using sarcasm
Never appear to whine or complain about matters beyond your control
Use a bulleted format to structure e-mail messages succinctly
Avoid providing too much detail
Count to two after someone finishes speaking so as not to interrupt them
Paraphrase what you hear someone saying to confirm your understanding