McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

303 MGT Business Communication and

Report Writing

Introduction to Business
Communication
The needs to practice
communication skills
• Practicing communication skill is
very necessary to human being life..
•
• To live = To communicate
•Practicing communication
skills effectively is very
necessary to succeed and to
enjoy your life ..
•To enjoy your life = to
effectively communicate
Practicing effective communication skills is
very important to some professionals such
as :
• Lowers
• Public speakers
• Students
• Educators (Teachers – professors)
• And Managers
Every professions has its own way of
communication such as :

• Broadcasting communication
• Legal communication
• Religious communication
• As well as Business and
Administrative communication
• Which will be our course in the
semester .
 Reasons for communication:
To
1. Inform : sharing knowledge and ideas
2. Influence : to affect others opinions
3. Persuade : to convince others to change
there opinions.
4. Share feelings : to congratulate or sharing
sympathy
5. Create goodwill : positive image about
the sender in the receiver’s mind .
Communication skills include:-
1. Speaking : expressing ideas through
talking effectively .
2. Listening : to hear and understand ideas
3. Writing : expressing ideas on paper or a
screen
4. Reading : getting ideas from paper or a
screen
5. Body Language : such as facial
expression
6. Mannerism :manner or behavior
7. Style : such as uniform or way
of looking
Communication process
• What is communication?
▪ Communication is the
process of sharing
information, ideas, and
feelings through , between or
among people.
 Elements of communication

1. Sender:- The person who sends ideas or

knowledge to influence the receiver’s
behavior.
2. Receiver:- The person who receives the
message and should act according to
sender‘s well.
3. Message:- The ideas that a sender transfers
to a receiver in the form of symbols.
4. Channels:- Route though
which a message transfers
from sender to receiver .
5. Feedback:- The response of
receiver and sender to each
other.
6. Noise:-Interference affects the
receiver understanding of the
message.
7. Setting:-The environment of
the communication process
occurs or takes place .
The higher the level of
environment the lower the noise
level
 Symbols as a mean of communication
• Symbols:- Something that is used to stand
for or denote letters to something else.
• There are three types of symbols :
1.Verbal:- Such as letters, words, and
numbers that are expressed through
languages.
2.Concrete:- Symbols for objectives such as
schools, and hospital.
3.Abstract:- Symbols for ideas, or meanings.
o Such as hart, peace, cooperation.
 Types of Communication
• Verbal: communication with words or numbers .
• Non verbal:- communication with out words, using
body language.
o Examples:-
❑ Facial expressions
❑ Hand expressions
❑ Body expressions
▪ Vocal tones
▪ Appearance
12/8/2020 16

• Non verbal symbols:- Differ from one

culture to another. What is accepted
in one culture might not be the same
in another culture.
• Non verbal communications:-
Constitutes a large percentage of our
communication practices.
Five Types of Communication
1. Intrapersonal Communications:-
Communication that occurs within a person .
• The person will be the sender and receiver.
• The message is the ideas ,through the person
brain
• The channel is the brain of the person.

Example:- thoughts, feelings, ways of looking to

yourself, dreams, or day dreams .
Types of communication
2. Interpersonal communication
Communication between to or few persons
on a one-one basis it takes the form at
conversation.
It usually occurs in an informal and instructed
settings through daily life
May be it is interchangeable communication
in which each person acts as a sender and
receiver interchangeably
Examples:-
• Conversation between two persons
such as :
Buyer and seller.
Student and instructor.
Phone calls
Types of communication
3. Small – group communication
It occurs when a small number of people
meet to discuss a matter, or to solve a
problem.
Each member interacts with the other
member, it is more complicated than
conversation style .
Examples:-
A Seminar for all a small number of
students, or Board of directors meeting.
Types of communication
4. Public Communication :
A sender sends a message to a large
numbers of people, or a speaker
delivering a speech to a large number of
people who can be counted or under
control .

Example:- Lecture for a large number of

students, or a public speech on Friday
prayer.
Types of communication
5. Mass communication
A sender sends a massage to a huge number of
people, hard to count or to control .
The feedback comes indirect from the receiver to
the sender.
It must be in the form of formal communication
and well prepared

Example:-
An article in a newspaper, speech on TV, or a
Book for public readers .
Cultural and Ethical Communication
• Culture:- a set of norms, values
and symbols that affect people
behavior as well as their ways of
life and move from one generation
to another .
•
Example:- USA culture vs.
Japanese culture.
• Subculture:- some people who
are a part of a society and have
their own culture.
• Culture has a great impact on
communication particularly the
nonverbal communication
• Intercultural Communication:-
Communication between people of
different cultural interacting with each
other.

• Examples:- conversation between an

Arabic person and USA person.
• Cultural Sensitivity : the ability to
communicate effectively with people from
different culture .

• Ethical Communication:- communication

that based an ethical principles such as
honesty, fairness, consideration, and rights
of others .
 Chapter 1
Succeeding in Business
Communication and
Management
▪Types ▪Goodwill
▪Purposes ▪Conventions
▪Audiences ▪Analysis
▪Benefits and Costs ▪Problem Solving
▪Criteria
 Types of Communication

Verbal ▪ Nonverbal
 Face-to-face ▪ Computer graphics
 Phone conversations ▪ Company logos
 Informal meetings ▪ Smiles
 Presentations
▪ Size of an office
▪ Location of people at
 E-mail messages
meetings
 Web sites

1-2
Communication Ability
= Promotability

Good communicators
earn more

Good communicators
make good managers
1-3
Communication Purposes

 All business communication has three basic

purposes
 To inform (explain)
 To request or persuade (urge action)
 To build goodwill (make good image)
 Most messages have more than one purpose

1-4
Audiences
 Internal
 People inside organization
 Ex: subordinates, superiors, peers
 External
 People outside organization
 Ex: customers, suppliers, distributors

1-5
 Example of External Audiences

Subsidiaries Unions Professional services

Customers
Clients Suppliers
Stockholders
Investors Distributors
Lenders Wholesalers
Franchisees
Employment Retailers
Organization Agents
agencies
General public
Potential Legislators
employees, Gov.
stockholders,
customers Courts
Special interest
Foreign
groups Competitors
governments
Trade assns. Media
and offices 1-6
Benefits and Costs
 Effective communication
 Saves time
 Makes efforts more effective
 Communicates points more clearly
 Builds goodwill
 Poor communication
 Wastes time
 Wastes efforts
 Loses goodwill
 Creates legal problems
1-7
Criteria for Effective Messages

 Clear
 Complete
 Correct
 Saves receiver’s time
 Builds goodwill

1-8
Goodwill = Positive Image

 A goodwill message
 Presents positive image of
communicators and their
organization
 Treats
audience as a person, not
a number
 Cements good relationship
between audience and
communicator 432
1-9
 Fastest Ways to Lose Goodwill

 Use improper courtesy titles

 Employ bureaucratic and legalistic language
 Convey a selfish tone
 Bury the main point
 Make a vague request
 Misuse or misspell words

1-10
Conventions
 Widely accepted practices you routinely
encounter
 Vary by organizational setting
 Help people recognize, produce, and
interpret communications
 Need to fit rhetorical situation: audience,
context, and purpose

1-11
Analyze Situations: Ask Questions

 What’s at stake—to whom?

 Should you send a message?
 What channel should you use?
 What should you say?
 How should you say it?

1-12
 Solving Business
Communication Problems
 Gather knowledge
 Answer six analysis questions in
BAC
 Brainstorm solutions
 Organize information to fit
 Audiences
 Purposes
 Context
 Make document visually inviting

1-13
Solving Business Communication
Problems, continued…

 Revise draft for tone

 Friendly
 Businesslike
 Positive
 Edit draft for standard English
 Names  Numbers
 Use response to plan future
messages

1-14
 Gather Knowledge

 What are the facts?

 What can you infer from the information
given?
 What additional info might be helpful?
 Where could you get it?
 What emotional complexities are involved?

1-15
 Six Analysis Questions

1. Who are your audiences?

 What are relevant characteristics?
 How do audiences differ?
2. What are your purposes?
 What must the message do?
 What must audience know, think, or do?

1-16
 Six Analysis Questions,
continued…
3. What information must you include?
 List all required points
 De-emphasize or emphasize properly
 To de-emphasize
 Bury in and message
 Write / speak concisely
 To emphasize
 Place first or last in and message
 Add descriptive details

1-17
 Six Analysis Questions,
continued…

4. How can you support your position?

 Reasons for your decision
 Logic behind your argument
 Benefits adapted to the audience

1-18
Six Analysis Questions,
continued…
5. What audience objections do you expect?
 Plan to overcome if possible
 De-emphasize negative information
6. What part of context may affect audience
response?
 Time of year
 Morale in organization
 Relationship between audience and communicator

1-19
Brainstorm Solutions

 Several possible solutions for every

communication problem
 First one you think of may not be the
best
 Measure solutions against audience
and purposes

1-20
 Organize to Fit Audience,
Purpose,
and the Situation
1. Put good news first
2. Put the main point/question first
3. Persuade a reluctant audience by delaying the
main point/question

1-21
Make Message Visually
Inviting

 Use subject line to orient reader

 Use headings to group related ideas
 Use lists for emphasis
 Number items if order matters
 Use short paragraphs—six lines max.

1-22
 Create Positive Style

 Emphasize positive information

 Give it more space
 Use indented list to set it off
 Omit negative words, if you can
 Focus on possibilities, not limitations

1-23
Edit Your Draft

  these details
 Reader’s name
 Any numbers
 First and last ¶
  spelling, grammar, punctuation
 Always proofread before sending

1-24
 Use Response to Plan Next
Message

 Evaluate feedback you get

 If message fails, find out why
 If message succeeds, find out why
 Success = results you want, when you want
them

1-25
 Chapter 2
Adapting Your Message
to Your Audience
▪ Audience Identification
▪ Audience Analysis
▪ Organizational Culture
▪ Discourse Communities
▪ Channels
▪ Audience Benefits
▪ Multiple Audiences
Identify Your Audiences

 Gatekeeper – may stop message or send it on

 Primary - decides or acts on basis of
message
 Secondary –comments on message or
implements ideas

2-2
 Identify Your Audiences,
continued…

 Auxiliary – encounters message but does

not interact with it (read-only)
 Watchdog – may exert economic, legal,
political, or social power later

2-3
 Analyze Your Audiences

 Use common sense

 Use empathy—ability to put yourself
in someone else’s shoes, to feel
with that person

2-4
 Analyze Your
Audiences As…
 Individuals
 Group members
 Demographics

 Psychographics

 Organizations
 Organizational culture
 Discourse community

2-5
 Analyze Individuals
 Talk with them
 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator – preference
test that shows 4 types
 Extrovert-Introvert
 Sensing-Intuitive
 Thinking-Feeling
 Judging-Perceiving

2-6
 Myers-Briggs Personality Types

 Introvert – gets
energy from within
 Extrovert – gets
Which type are you?
energy from inter- ISTJ ISFJ INFJ INTJ
acting with others
 Sensing – gets ISTP ISFP INFP INTP
information from five ESTP ESFP ENFP ENTP
senses
ESTJ ESFJ ENFJ ENTJ
 Intuitive – sees
relationships

2-7
Myers-Briggs Personality Types,
continued…
Thinking – uses 
objective logic to Which type are you?
make decisions
Feeling – makes  ISTJ ISFJ INFJ INTJ
decisions that feel
right ISTP ISFP INFP INTP
Judging – likes  ESTP ESFP ENFP ENTP
closure, certainty
ESTJ ESFJ ENFJ ENTJ
Perceptive – likes 
possibilities

2-8
Analyze Group Members

 Focus on common features

 Map profile of group features
 Demographic (quantity) features
 Age – Sex – Education – Income – Race
 Psychographic (quality) features
 Values – Beliefs – Goals – Lifestyles
 Use VALS (Values & Lifestyle) profile

2-9
Analyze Organizations
 Organizational culture – set of values,
attitudes, and philosophies
 Showsin myths, stories, heroes, and
documents
 Shows in use of space, money, and power

2-10
To Analyze Organizational
Culture, Ask…
 Is organization tall or flat?
 How do people get ahead?
 Is diversity or homogeneity valued?
 Is friendship and sociability important?
 How formal are behavior, language, and
dress?
 What does the workspace look like?
 What are the organization’s goals?

2-11
 Analyze Organizations,
continued…
 Discourse community – people who share
assumptions about:
 What media, formats, and styles to use
 What topics to discuss and how
 What constitutes convincing evidence

2-12
 To Analyze Discourse
Community, Ask…

 What media, formats, and styles are preferred

for communication?
 What do people talk about?
 What topics are not discussed?
 What kind of evidence and how much is
needed to be convincing?

2-13
 Channels
 Communication channels – means by
which you convey your message
 Channels vary by
 Speed, accuracy, and cost
 Number of messages carried
 Number of people reached
 Efficiency and goodwill
 Choose channels based on the audience,
purpose, and situation

2-14
 Channels
Pick the best channel for
each situation:
 Instructor who wants to cancel class
 Small non-profit organization who
needs to reach contributors
 Product recall notifications
 Notice to all employees about new
smoking policy outside corporate
offices

2-15
 Six Questions to Analyze
Audiences
1. How will audience initially react?
 Will they see message as important?
 What is their experience with you?
2. How much information do they
need?
 What do they already know?
 Does their knowledge need to be
updated?
 What do they need to know to
appreciate your points? 2-16
 Six Questions to Analyze
Audiences, continued…
3. What obstacles must you overcome?
 Is audience opposed to your message?
 Will it be easy to do as you ask?
4. What positives can you emphasize?
 What are benefits for audience?
 What do you have in common with them?
 Experiences – Interests – Goals – Values

2-17
 Six Questions to Analyze
Audiences, continued…
5. What does audience expect?
 What writing style do they prefer?
 Are there red flag words?
 How much detail does audience want?
 Dothey want direct or indirect
structure?

2-18
 Six Questions to Analyze
Audiences, continued…

6. How will audience use the document?

 Under what physical conditions?
 What purpose will document serve?
 Reference

 Guide

 Basis of lawsuit

2-19
 Audience Benefits
 Advantages audience gets from
 Using your services
 Buying your products
 Following your policies

 Adopting your ideas

2-20
Audience Benefits, continued…

 In informative messages
 Benefits
= reasons to comply with
announced policies
 In persuasive messages
 Benefits = reasons to act
 In negative messages
 Benefits not used

2-21
Four Criteria for Audience Benefits

1. Adapt benefits to audience

2. Stress intrinsic and extrinsic ones
 Intrinsic– built in
 Extrinsic – added on
3. Prove with clear logic and use
vivid detail to explain
4. Phrase benefits in you-attitude

2-22
 Three Ways to Identify and
Develop Audience Benefits
1. Identify feelings, fears, and needs of
audience
2. Identify objective features of your
product or policy that could meet
needs
3. Show how audience’s needs can be
met with those features

2-23
 Writing to Multiple
Audiences
 When not possible to meet
everyone’s needs, analyze
gatekeeper and primary audience to
determine
 Content and choice of details
 Organization

 Level of formality
 Technical level

2-24
Chapter 3
Building Goodwill

▪Goodwill
▪You-Attitude
▪Positive Emphasis
▪Tone, Power, and Politeness
▪Bias-Free Language
Goodwill
 Build goodwill through
 You-attitude

 Positive emphasis
 Bias-free language

3-2
 You-Attitude
 Looks at things from audience’s
viewpoint
 Emphasizes what audience wants to
know
 Respects audience’s intelligence
 Protects audience’s ego

3-3
 Five Ways to Create You-
Attitude
1. Talk about audience, not yourself.
2. Refer to audience’s request or order.
3. Don’t talk about feelings.
4. In positive situations, use you more
often than I. Use we when it
includes the audience.
5. In negative situations, avoid you.

3-4
 Talk About Audience,
Not Yourself

 Tell how message affects the audience

 Don’t mention communicator’s work or
generosity
 Stress what audience wants to know

Yourself

3-5
 Talk About Audience:
Examples
 Lacks you-attitude
I negotiated an agreement with Apex Rent-
a-Car that gives you a discount.
 We shipped your May 21 order today.

 Contains you-attitude
 You now get a 20% discount when you rent
a car from Apex.
 The three coin sets you ordered will ship
today and should reach you by June 6.

3-6
Refer to Audience’s Request or
Order Specifically
 Make specific
references, not generic
 Name content of order
for person or small
business
 Cite purchase order
numbers for customers
that order often

3-7
Refer to Audience’s Request or
Order Specifically: Examples

 Lacks you-attitude
 We shipped your order today.
 Contains you-attitude
 The 500 red and gray sweatshirts you
ordered were shipped today and will reach
you early next week.
 Your P.O. 7823-N shipped on 11/04 and will
arrive within five business days.

3-8
Don’t Talk About Feelings
 Don’t talk about audience’s feelings
 Don’t predict audience’s response
 Only express feelings to
 Offer sympathy
 Congratulate

3-9
Don’t Talk About Feelings:
Examples
 Lacks you-attitude
 We are happy to give you a credit line of
$2,000.
 You will be happy to learn that your
reimbursement request has been approved.
 Contains you-attitude
 You now have a $2,000 credit line with VISA.
 Yourreimbursement request has been
approved.
3-10
In Positive Situations, Use You
More Often Than I. Use We If It
Includes the Audience

 Use you in positive situations

 Avoid I in printed text
 Avoid we if it excludes the audience

YOU
3-11
 In Positive Situations, Use You
More Often Than I. Use We If It
Includes the Audience: Examples

 Lacks you-attitude
 We provide exercise equipment to
all employees.
 I will schedule a due date that
works best for my schedule.
 Contains you-attitude
 You have access to the latest
exercise equipment as a full-time
employee of RAC Inc.
 We will schedule the due date
after we meet.
3-12
Avoid You in Negative Situations

 Protect audience’s ego

 Avoid assigning blame
 Use passive verbs

 Use impersonal style

 Talk about things, not people

3-13
 Avoid You in Negative
Situations: Examples
 Lacks you-attitude
 You failed to sign your flexible spending account
form.
 You made no allowance for inflation in your
estimate.
 Contains you-attitude
 Your flexible spending account form was not
signed.
 The estimate makes no allowance for inflation.

3-14
 You-Attitude Beyond
Sentence Level
 Be complete
 Anticipate and answer questions
 Show why info is important
 Show how the subject affects audience
 Put most important info first
 Arrange info to meet audience’s needs
 Use headings and lists

3-15
 Positive Emphasis
 Way of looking at situations
 Focuses on the positive
 Create positive emphasis through
 Words

 Information

 Organization

 Layout

Half full or half empty?

3-16
Five Ways to Create Positive
Emphasis
1. Avoid negative words
2. Beware of hidden negatives
3. Focus on what audience can do, not
limitations
4. Justify negative information by giving
reason or linking to audience benefit
5. Put negative information in the
middle and present it compactly

3-17
 Avoid Negative Words:
Examples
 Contains Negatives
 Never fail to return library books on time.
 Because you failed to pay your bill, your
account is delinquent.
 Omits Negatives (Better)
 Always return library books on time.
 The account is past due.

3-19
 Beware of hidden negatives:
Examples
 Contains Negatives
 I hope this is the information you wanted.
 Please be patient as we switch to the
automated system.
 Omits Negatives (Better)
 Enclosed is a brochure about joining the MI
Retiree Association.
 You’ll be able to get information instantly
about any house on the market once the
automated system is in place. If you have
questions during the transition, please call
Sheryl Brown.
3-20
 Focus on What the
Audience Can Do:
Example
 Negative
 You will not get your refund check until
you submit your official grade report at
the end of the semester.
 Better
 To receive your refund check, submit your
official grade report at the end of the
semester.

3-21
 Justify Negative Information
by Giving Reason or Linking to
Audience Benefit: Example

 Negative
 You cannot take vacation days without
prior approval from your supervisor.
 Better
 To ensure that everyone’s duties will be
covered, submit your first and second
choices of vacation time to your
supervisor by May 30.

3-22
Put the Negative in the Middle
and Present it Compactly
 Put in middle of message and paragraph
 Don’t put at bottom of page 1
 Don’t list with bulleted or numbered lists
 Make it short as you can
 Give it only once

3-23
Tone, Power, and Politeness

 Tone – implied attitude of the

communicator toward the audience
 Good tone
 Businesslike, not stiff
 Friendly, not phony
 Confident, not arrogant
 Polite, not groveling

3-24
 Levels of Politeness:
Examples
 Highest: Would you be able to complete your
report by Friday?
 High: Progress reports should be turned in by
Friday.
 Mid: Please turn in your progress report by
Friday.
 Low: Turn in your progress report by Friday.

3-25
Bias-Free Language
 Words that do not discriminate on basis
of:
 Sex

 Age

 Ethnicity

 Race

 Physical condition
 Religion

3-26
Making Language Nonsexist

 Treat both sexes neutrally

 Businessman = Businessperson
 Woman doctor = Doctor
 Manning = Staffing
 Don’t assume everyone is
heterosexual or married

3-27
Making Language Nonsexist,
continued…

 Avoid sexist job

titles
 Actress

 Repairman

 Chairman

 Salesman

 Foreman

 Waitress

3-28
Making Language Nonsexist,
continued…
 Use Ms. as courtesy title for
women
 Use professional title instead (if
any)
 Use Miss or Mrs. if audience prefers
it
 Determine proper courtesy title
for letter address and salutation
 Omit sexist generic pronouns

3-29
 Making Language Nonracist
and Nonagist
 Give age or race only if relevant
 Refer to a group by term it prefers
 Don’t suggest competence is rare:
 She is an asset to her race.
 He is an active 83-year-old.

3-30
 Talking about People with
Disabilities & Diseases
 People-first language — Name
person first; add disability or
disease if relevant
 Don’t imply that disability or
disease defines person
 Don’t use negative terms,
unless audience prefers them
(deaf vs. hard of hearing)

3-31
 Choosing Bias-Free
Photos/Illustrations
 Check visuals for possible bias
 Do they show people of both sexes and all races?
 Is there a sprinkling of various kinds of people?
 It is OK to have individual pictures that have just
one sex or one race?
 Check relationships and authority figures as
well as numbers.

3-32
 Chapter 4
Navigating through the
Business Environment
▪Environment ▪Interpersonal
▪Technology Communication
▪10 Trends ▪Time Management
▪Ethics
▪First Jobs
▪Corporate Culture
Business Environment
▪ Shaped by
▪ Technology
▪ Trends
▪ Ethics
▪ Corporate Culture
▪ Interpersonal Communication

4-2
Technology
▪ Electronic tools
▪ Social networking
▪ Information overload
▪ Data security
▪ Electronic privacy

4-3
10 Business Trends
1. Focus on Quality and
Customers’ Needs
2. Entrepreneurship
3. Diversity
4. Globalization and
Outsourcing
5. Balancing Work and
Family
4-4
10 Business Trends, continued…
6. Teamwork
7. Job Flexibility
8. Rapid Rate of Change
9. Innovation
10. Concern for the
Environment

4-5
Ethics
▪ Daily communication decisions involve
ethics
▪ Language, graphics, and document
design can all be ethical or
manipulative

4-6
Corporate Culture
▪ Vary widely among organizations
(even those within the same field)
▪ Wise companies use it to retain
workers
▪ International differences can impact it

4-7
Interpersonal Communication
▪ Communication between people
▪ Includes multiple skills
▪ Listening
▪ Conversation
▪ Nonverbal
▪ Networking

4-8
Listening
▪ Crucial to building trust
▪ Harder on job than in class
▪ Information not as organized on job
▪ Jobs require listening to feelings as
well as information
▪ Nods, smiles, frowns show you’re
listening

4-9
Active Listening
▪ Receivers demonstrate
they’ve heard /understood a
speaker by feeding back the
literal meaning, emotional
content, or both
▪ To create active responses
▪ Paraphrase content
▪ Mirror speaker’s feelings
▪ Ask for information/clarification
▪ Offer to help solve the problem
4-10
Avoid Listening Errors
▪ Inattention—cause of listening error
▪ To reduce errors
▪ Paraphrase what the speaker has said
▪ Allows speaker to correct your understanding
▪ Check your understanding with speaker
▪ Write down key points
▪ Deadlines and related information
▪ How work will be evaluated

4-11
Avoid Listening Errors, continued…
▪ To reduce errors
▪ Don’t ignore
instructions that
seem unnecessary
▪ Consider other
person’s background

4-12
Five Blocking Responses

▪ Ordering, threatening
▪ Preaching, criticizing
▪ Interrogating
▪ Minimizing the
problem
▪ Advising

4-13
Conversation Style
▪ Denotes our conversational patterns
and the meaning we give to them
▪ Consider these features:
▪ Rate of speech
▪ Rate of turn-taking
▪ Persistence if turn not acknowledged
▪ Preference for personal stories
▪ Tolerance of simultaneous speech
▪ Abrupt topic shifting
4-14
Nonverbal Communication
▪ Communication without words
▪ Signals such as smiles and gestures
▪ Can be misinterpreted as easily as
words
▪ Be aware of
▪ Spatial cues
▪ Body language

4-15
Networking
▪ Ability to connect with many different
kinds of people
▪ Create connections before they are
needed
▪ Being part of the grapevine
▪ Even more important as you climb
corporate ladder

4-16
Networking, continued…
▪ Three workplace networks:
▪ Conversational—who talks to whom
▪ Expertise—who can be turned to for
advice
▪ Trust—who can be trusted with sensitive
information

4-17
Time Management
▪ Crucial to success of professionals
▪ Prioritize demands of your time
▪ Complete most important demands
first

4-18
Time Management, continued…
▪ Follow these tips
▪ Keep lists
▪ Ask yourself where you want to be in
three to five years
▪ Do large, important tasks first
▪ Break large tasks into small ones

4-19
Time Management, continued…
▪ Follow these tips
▪ Create blocks of times
▪ Avoid time sinks
▪ Decide at the end of today what you
will do tomorrow
▪ Evaluate performance at end of week

4-20
First Jobs
▪ Reread all your materials on
organization, its competition, the
industry
▪ Network with people in the field
▪ Talk to recent hires
▪ Be observant
▪ Find a mentor

4-21
First Jobs, continued…
▪ Ask lots of questions
▪ Be pleasant and polite to everyone,
including support personnel
▪ Be punctual, dependable, organized,
resourceful, and discrete
▪ Use technology professionally
▪ Go the extra mile
▪ Enjoy yourself!
4-22
 Chapter 5
Communicating across
Cultures
▪Culture ▪Values, Beliefs, and
▪International Practices
Communicator ▪Nonverbal Communication
▪Importance ▪Oral Communication
▪Workplace Diversity ▪International Audiences
▪High Context/ ▪Learning More
Low Context
Culture
▪ Shapes values, priorities, and
practices
▪ Modern business requires dealing
with other cultures

5-2
Successful Intercultural
Communicator
▪ Aware that one’s preferred
values
▪ Are influenced by culture
▪ Are not always right
▪ Flexible and open to
change
▪ Sensitive to verbal and
nonverbal behavior
5-3
Successful Intercultural
Communicator, continued…
▪ Aware of values, beliefs, and practices
in other cultures
▪ Sensitive to differences among
individuals within a culture

5-4
Importance of Global Business
▪ Exports are essential to
▪ Individual businesses
▪ Country’s economy
▪ Many companies depend on vendors
who are located in other countries
▪ Managers often find they need
international experience for top-level
jobs
5-5
Sources of Workplace Diversity
▪ Gender
▪ Race and ethnicity
▪ Regional and national origin
▪ Social class
▪ Religion
▪ Age
▪ Sexual orientation
▪ Physical ability
5-6
High-Context Cultures
▪ Infer most information from social
relationships
▪ Convey little information explicitly
▪ Prefer indirectness, politeness,
ambiguity
▪ Consider oral agreements more
binding than written ones
▪ Rely heavily on nonverbal signs
5-7
Low-Context Cultures
▪ Rely little on context cultures
▪ Spell out most information
▪ Value directness: may see
indirectness as dishonest or
manipulative
▪ Value written word more than oral
statements

5-8
Values, Beliefs, and Practices
▪ Often unconscious
▪ Affect response to people and situations
▪ Different cultures have different views of
▪ Fairness
▪ Groups
▪ Competition
▪ Success
▪ Social status

5-9
Nonverbal Communication
▪ Communication without
words
▪ Signals such as smiles
and gestures
▪ Can be misinterpreted
as easily as words
▪ Important to be
conscious of signals
sent and received
5-10
Nonverbal Communication Types
▪ Body language
▪ eye contact - smiling - gestures
▪ Touch
▪ how much – who touches whom
▪ Space
▪ personal space - spatial layouts
▪ Time
▪ being on time- measuring time

5-11
Time
▪ Monochronic culture
▪ People focus on clock
▪ Plan their time; avoid wasting it

▪ Polychronic culture
▪ People focus on relationships
▪ Disregard clocks and planners
X
5-12
Other Nonverbal Symbols
▪ Hair
▪ Clothing
▪ Colors
▪ Height
▪ Age

5-13
Oral Communication
▪ Requires cultural understanding
▪ Be aware of:
▪ Understatement and exaggeration
▪ Compliments

5-14
Writing to International Audiences
▪ Most cultures more formal than U.S.
▪ Avoid
▪ First names (use titles)
▪ Contractions
▪ Slang
▪ Sports metaphors

5-15
Writing to International Audiences,
continued…
▪ Write in English unless fluent in
audience’s language
▪ Reconsider patterns of organization
▪ Buffer negative messages; make
requests indirect
▪ Re-think audience benefits: Ones that
motivate U.S. audience may not work
▪ Allow extra response time
5-16
Learning about International
Business Communication
▪ Beyond a set of rules
▪ International business
practices are constantly
evolving/changing
▪ Seek and talk to people from
other backgrounds
▪ Enhance understanding of
multiple perspectives
5-17
 Chapter 6
Working and Writing in
Teams
▪Team Interactions ▪Student Teams
▪Roles ▪Diverse Teams
▪Leadership ▪Conflict Resolution
▪Decision-Making ▪Effective Meeting
▪Feedback ▪Collaboration
Interpersonal Communication
▪ Communication between people
▪ Crucial for teamwork
▪ Includes multiple skills
▪ Listening
▪ Conflict resolution
▪ Nonverbal

6-2
Team Interactions: Three Dimensions
▪ Informational—focus on content:
problem, data, solutions
▪ Procedural messages—focus on
methods, processes
▪ Interpersonal—focus on people,
cooperation, team loyalty

6-3
Life Stages of Team Interactions

Formation

Coordination

Formalization
6-4
Team Interactions, continued…

Formation
▪ Begin to define task
▪ Develop social cohesiveness
▪ Set up and clarify procedures
▪ Adopt ground rules
▪ Use interpersonal communication to
resolve tensions
▪ Analyze problem well before seeking
solutions 6-5
Team Interactions, continued…

Coordination

▪ Longest phase
▪ Most comments need to deal with
information
▪ Conflict occurs as team debates alternate
solutions
▪ Interpersonal and procedural comments
help team stay on track
▪ Consider many solutions 6-6
Team Interactions, continued…

Formalization

▪ Consensus state
▪ Team implements decisions, which
determines its success
▪ Team seeks to forget earlier conflicts

6-7
Positive Roles in Teams

Seeking Giving
information, information,
opinions Task Goals
opinions

Summarizing

6-8
Positive Actions in Teams
▪ Encouraging participation
▪ Relieving tensions
▪ Checking feelings
▪ Solving interpersonal problems
▪ Listening actively

6-9
Negative Actions in Teams
▪ Blocking
▪ Dominating
▪ Clowning
▪ Overspeaking
▪ Withdrawing

6-10
Team Leadership
▪ Effective teams balance three types of
leadership:
▪ Informational—create, assess ideas and text
▪ Interpersonal—check feelings, resolve
conflict, monitor process
▪ Procedural—set agenda, keep members
informed, check on assignments
▪ Roles need not be filled by one person

6-11
Decision-Making: Problem Solving
1. Understand what team has
to deliver
▪ What form?
▪ When due?
2. Identify problem
3. Gather information
▪ Share among team members
▪ Examine it critically

6-12
Decision-Making: Problem Solving,
continued…
4. Establish criteria
5. Generate alternative
solutions
6. Measure alternatives
against criteria
7. Choose best solution

6-13
Decision-Making: Dot Planning
▪ Lets large team set priorities quickly
▪ Team brainstorms ideas
▪ Ideas recorded on large pages
▪ Pages posted on wall
▪ Each member affixes colored adhesive
dots by ideas

High Dots
show highest and
Low lowest priorities
6-14
Feedback Strategies
▪ Generate and heed as much feedback
as possible
▪ Seek external—supervisors, suppliers,
clients, customers
▪ Seek internal—within in the team

6-15
Feedback Strategies
▪ Evaluate:
▪ Members’ performances
▪ Team’s performance
▪ Task progress
▪ Team procedures

6-16
Successful Student Teams
▪ Assign specific tasks, set clear
deadlines, schedule frequent meetings
▪ Listen carefully to each other
▪ Deal directly with conflict

6-17
Successful Student Teams, continued…
▪ Develop inclusive decision-making style
▪ Establish proportionate work loads
▪ Deal directly with conflicts

6-18
Peer Pressure and Groupthink
▪ Groupthink—tendency for teams to
value agreement so highly they punish
dissent
▪ Correctives to groupthink
▪ Search for alternatives
▪ Test assumptions
▪ Protect rights of individuals to disagree

6-19
Diverse Teams
▪ Differences affect how people behave in
team, what they expect from team
▪ Gender ▪Religion
▪ Class ▪Sexual orientation
▪ Race ▪Physical ability
▪ Ethnicity
▪ Age

6-20
Diverse Teams, continued…
▪ Play to one
another’s
strengths
▪ Find practical
ways to deal
with differences

6-21
Conflict Resolution
1. Make sure people involved really
disagree
2. Ensure that everyone has correct
information
3. Discover needs each person is trying
to meet
4. Search for alternatives
5. Repair negative feelings
6-22
Criticism Responses
▪ Paraphrasing
▪ Checking for feelings
▪ Checking inferences
▪ Buying time with limited agreement
▪ Using you-attitude
▪ Look at things from others’ viewpoint
▪ I statements are effective

6-23
Effective Meeting Guidelines
▪ Make purpose explicit
▪ Distribute an agenda
▪ Allow time for discussion
▪ Save time with an omnibus motion
▪ Pay attention to people and process
as well as tasks

6-24
Effective Meeting Guidelines,
continued…
▪ Summarize group’s consensus after
each point
▪ Summarize all decisions at end of
meeting

6-25
Collaborative Writing
▪ Working with other writers to produce
a single document
▪ Requires attention to—
▪ Team formation progress
▪ Conflict resolution
▪ Steps in writing process

6-26
Collaborative Writing, continued…
▪ Planning
▪ Make analysis explicit; know where
you agree and disagree
▪ Plan organization, format, and style
before anyone writes
▪ Consider work styles and other
commitments
▪ Decide how you will give
constructive feedback
▪ Build leeway into deadlines
6-27
Collaborative Writing, continued…
▪ Composing
▪ Decide who will write what
▪ Label and date drafts
▪ If quality is crucial, have best writer
compose after others gather data

6-28
Collaborative Writing, continued…
▪ Revising
▪ Evaluate content, discuss revisions as
team
▪ Recognize that different people favor
different writing styles
▪ When satisfied with content, have best
writer make all changes to writing style

6-29
Collaborative Writing, continued…
▪ Editing and Proofreading
▪ One person checks
mechanics, format, and
style for correctness,
consistency
▪ Use a spell checker
▪ Proofread document also

6-30
Making the Team Process Work
▪ Allow ample time to
discuss problems,
find solutions
▪ Get to know team
members, build team
loyalty
▪ Attend all meetings;
carry out your duties

6-31
Make the Team Process Work
▪ Note that people have
different ways of
expressing themselves
▪ Don’t assume that
smooth discussion
means total agreement
▪ Allow plenty of time for
all stages

6-32
Chapter 7
Planning, Composing,
and Revising
▪Good Writers ▪Ten Ways to Make Writing
▪Composing Activities Easier to Read
▪Half-Truths ▪Revise, Edit, and Proofread
 Ways Good Writers Write

 Revise first drafts

 Write regularly
 Break big jobs into small chunks
 Focus on purpose, audience
 Choose from several different strategies
 Use rules flexibly
 Finish a draft before editing text

7-2
Basic Composing Activities:
Planning

 Analyze problem, define purposes,

analyze audiences
 Brainstorm information to include
 Gather information
 Select the points you want to make
 Choose organization pattern

7-3
Basic Composing Activities: Writing

 Put ideas into words on paper

or screen
 Make a list
 Develop headings
 Jot notes
 Do stream-of-consciousness writing
 Create drafts

7-4
 Basic Composing Activities:
Revising

 Evaluate in terms of audience, goals, and

situation
 Will audience understand it?
 Is it complete?
 Is it convincing? Friendly?
 Get feedback from someone else
 Add, delete, substitute, or rearrange single
words or large sections

7-5
Basic Composing Activities: Editing

 Focus on surface of message:

 Standard English
 Grammar and spelling
 Capitalization and punctuation
 Business principles
 Build goodwill
 Use conventional format

 Proofread; correct typographical

errors

7-6
 More About Composing Activities

 Don’t have to do in 1-2-3 order

 Don’t have to finish one to start another
 Don’t have to use all activities for every message

7-7
 Half-Truths about Style

1. Write as you talk

2. Never use I 1/2
3. Never use You
4. Never begin sentence with And or But
5. Never end sentence with preposition
6. Big words impress people

7-8
 Write as You Talk: Yes . . . But

 Yes
 Do it for first draft
 Read draft aloud to test
 But
 Expect awkward, repetitive, badly organized prose
 Plan to revise and edit

7-9
 Never Use I: Yes . . . But

 Yes
I can make writing seem self-centered
I can make ideas seem tentative
 But
 Use
I to tell what you did, said, saw—it’s
smoother

7-10
 Never Use You: Yes . . . But

 Yes
 Writing to familiar audiences
 Describing audience benefits
 Writing sales text
 But
 Avoid
in formal reports or other situations
where formality is required

7-11
Never Begin Sentence with And
or But

 And may make idea seem like

afterthought
 And gives effect of natural
speech
 But serves as a signpost, signals
a shift
 But can make writing smoother

7-12
 Never End a Sentence with a
Preposition: Yes . . . But

 Yes
 A preposition may not be worth emphasizing this
way
 Readers expect something to follow a preposition
 Avoid in job application letters, reports, formal
presentations
 But
 OK now and then

7-13
 Big Words Impress People:
Yes . . . But

 Yes
 You
may want to show formality or technical
expertise
 But
 Big words distance you from readers
 Big words may be misunderstood
 Misused words make you look foolish

7-14
Ten Ways to Make Your Writing
Easy to Read

As you choose words—

1. Use accurate, appropriate, and familiar words
2. Avoid technical jargon; eliminate business
jargon

7-15
 Ten Ways to Make Your Writing
Easy to Read, continued…

As you write and revise sentences—

3. Use active voice most of the time
4. Use verbs—not nouns—to carry weight of
sentence
5. Eliminate wordiness
6. Vary sentence length and structure
7. Use parallel structure
8. Put readers in your sentences

7-16
 Ten Ways to Make Your Writing
Easy to Read, continued…

As you write and revise paragraphs—

9. Begin most with topic sentence
10. Use transitions to link ideas

7-17
 1. Use Accurate, Appropriate
Words

 Denotation—literal meanings; dictionary definitions

 Bypassing—two people using same word to mean different
things; causes mix-ups

 Connotation—emotional association; attitude

- / +
 nosy / curious
 fearful / cautious
 obstinate / firm
 tax / user fee
7-18
 2. Use Familiar Words

 Words most people know

 Words that best convey
your meaning
 Shorter, more common
words
 Specific, concrete words

7-19
2. Use Short, Simple Alternatives

Stuffy Simple
reside live
commence begin
enumerate list
finalize finish, complete
utilize use

7-20
 2. Avoid Jargon—Mostly

 Jargon—special terms of technical field

 Use in job application letters
 Use when essential and known to reader
 Replace with plain English, when possible

7-21
 2. Omit Business Jargon

 Businessese—needless, old-fashioned wording

Example Alternative

Enclosed please find Here is

As per your request As you asked
I acknowledge receipt of (begin reply)
The undersigned Me

7-22
 3. Use Active Voice

 Active—subject of sentence does action the

verb describes

 Passive—subject is acted upon

 Usually includes form of “to be”
 Change to active if you can
 Direct object becomes subject

7-23
3. Passive vs. Active Voice

 P: The program will be implemented by the

agencies.
A: The agencies will implement the program.
 P: These benefits are received by you.
A: You receive these benefits.
 P: A video was ordered.
A: The customer ordered a video.

7-24
 3. Passive vs. Active Voice,
continued…

 Active voice is better because—

 Shorter
 Clearer
 More interesting
 Passive voice is better to—
 Emphasize object receiving action
 Give coherence by repeating word in previous sentence
 Avoid placing blame

7-25
 4. Use Verbs to Carry Weight

Replace this phrase with a verb

 make an adjustment = adjust

 make a decision = decide
 perform an examination
= examine
 take into consideration
= consider

7-26
5. Eliminate Wordiness

 Wordy—idea can be said in

fewer words
 Concise; a mark of good writing
 Omit words that say nothing
 Combine sentences to save words
 Put the meaning in subject and
verb

7-27
5. Omit Words that Say Nothing

 Cut words if idea is clear without them

. . . period of three months
. . . at the present time
 Replace wordy phrase with one word
 Ideally, it would be best to put the…
 If possible, put the…
 There are three reasons for our success…
 Three reasons explain the…
7-28
5. Combine Sentences to Save
Words: Example

 Infante projected sales of $43 million in the

first quarter. Our actual sales have fallen
short of that figure by $1.9 million.

 Although Infante projected first-quarter

sales of $43 million, actual sales are $1.9
million less than that.

7-29
5. Put Meaning of Sentence in
Subject & Verb: Example

 The reason we are recommending the

computerization of this process is because it
will reduce the time required to obtain data
and will give us more accurate data.

 Computerizingthe process will give us more

accurate data more quickly.

7-30
 6. Vary Sentence Length and
Structure
 Edit sentences for tightness
 Use short sentences when subject matter is complicated
 Use longer sentences to
 Show how ideas link to each other
 Avoid choppy sentences
 Reduce repetition
 Group words into chunks
 Keep verb close to subject

7-31
7. Use Parallel Structure: Example

 During the interview, job candidates will

 Take a skills test.
 The supervisor will interview the prospective
employee.
 A meeting with recently hired workers will be held.

 During the interview, job candidates will

 Take a skills test.
 Interview with the supervisor.
 Meet with recently hired workers.
7-32
8. Put Readers in Your Sentences:
Example

 An election to name a beneficiary other than the

participant’s spouse must be made with spousal consent,
for any participant who is married.
 If you are married, you need your spouse’s consent to
name a beneficiary other than your spouse.

“You” gives the second example more impact

7-33
 9. Begin Most Paragraphs with
Topic Sentence

 Unity—¶ discusses one idea; a mark of

good writing
 Topic sentence—states main idea
 Tells what paragraph is about
 Forecasts paragraph’s structure
 Helps readers remember points

7-34
 10. Use Transitions to Link Ideas

 Transition—signals the connections between

ideas to the reader
 Tells if next sentence continues or starts new idea
 Tells
if next sentence is more or less important
than previous
 Examples: in addition, similarly,
for example, however, on
the other hand

7-35
Revise, Edit, and Proofread

 Revise – change content, organization,

and tone to satisfy purposes and
audiences
 Edit – change mechanical flaws, grammar
errors
 Proofread – correct typing errors

7-36
 When You Revise

 Revise draft three times or

more
1. Content and clarity
2. Organization and layout
3. Tone and style
 Read the document from
start to finish
 Do light revision when time is
short
7-37
 When You Edit

 Revise first; then edit

 Edit hard copy, not screen
 Check errors you often make:
 Sentence structure
 Agreement: subj./verb, noun/pro.
 Punctuation, numbers
 Word usage, spelling

7-38
 When You Proofread

 Check with spell checker and by eye

 Swap copy with proofing buddy
 Read once quickly for meaning
 Read again slowly
 Correct any error; reread that line
 When you know text well—
 Read backward (short)
 Read pages out of order (long)

7-39
 Chapter 8
Designing Documents
▪Design Importance
▪Designs and Conventions
▪Levels of Design
▪Page Design Guidelines
▪Designing Brochures
▪Designing Web Pages
▪Usability Testing
Why Design Matters
▪ Saves time and money
▪ Reduces legal problems
▪ Builds goodwill
▪ Looks inviting, friendly,
easy to read
▪ Grouping ideas shows
structure

8-2
Design: Part of Writing
▪ Think about design at each step
▪ As you plan, think about audience
▪ Skilled or busy?
▪ Read straight through or skip around?
▪ As you write, use lists, headings
▪ Use visuals to convey numerical data
clearly
▪ Get feedback from your audience
▪ As you revise, check the design
guidelines that follow
8-3
Design and Conventions
▪ Vary widely by audience, geographic
area, industry, or department
▪ Change over time
▪ Violating is risky
▪ Presents incorrect interpretations
▪ Signals author is unreliable or
unknowledgeable

8-4
Levels of Design
▪ Intra—individual
letters and words
▪ Inter—blocks of
text
▪ Extra—graphics
that go with the text
▪ Supra—entire
document
8-5
Page Design Guidelines
1. Use white space
2. Use headings
3. Limit words in all capital letters
4. Use no more than two fonts per
document

8-6
Page Design Guidelines,
continued…
5. Justify margins selectively
6. Put key items at top left or bottom
right
7. Use a grid for graphic unity
8. Use highlighting, decorative
devices, and color in moderation

8-7
Use White Space
▪ White Space—empty space
on the page
▪ Makes message easier to
read
▪ To create white space, use
▪ Headings
▪ Mix of paragraph lengths
▪ Lists of parallel items (same
form)
▪ Bullets or numbers when order
is exact

8-8
Use Headings
▪ Headings—words, phrases, or short
sentences
▪ Group points; divide document
▪ Show organization
▪ Help audience; save audience’s time
▪ Make page look interesting

8-9
Use Headings
▪ To create headings
▪ Make each specific
▪ Keep headings parallel
▪ Make sure they cover all material until
next heading

8-10
Limit Words in All Capital Letters
▪ Words in all capitals
▪ Lose their unique shapes
▪ Have same rectangular shape
▪ Lack ascenders and descenders
▪ Causes reader to slow down
▪ Causes more reading errors

PEOPLE people
8-11
Use No More Than Two Fonts
▪ Fonts—unified styles of type
▪ Serif font – letters have feet
▪ Easy to read; used for paragraphs
▪ Ex: New Courier, Times Roman
▪ Sans serif font – letters lack feet
▪ Harder to read; used for headings, tables
▪ Ex: Arial, Tahoma, Univers

8-12
Use No More Than Two Fonts,
continued…
▪ Most documents use just one font
▪ Create emphasis by using
▪ Bold
▪ Italics
sizes
▪ Varied

▪ Font size
▪ 12-point ideal for most business
documents
▪ Headings may be larger
8-13
Justify Margins Selectively
▪ Full justification—text even
at left and right margin
▪ Want formal look
▪ Want to use fewest pages
▪ Ragged right margin—text even
on left, uneven on right
▪ Want informal look
▪ Use very short lines
▪ Want to revise selected pages

8-14
Put Key Items at Top Left and Lower
Right Quadrants
▪ Reader’s eye moves in Z pattern
▪ Starts at upper left corner of page
▪ Reads to the right and down
▪ Quadrants in order of importance
▪ Top left
▪ Bottom right 1
▪ Bottom left
▪ Top right 2

8-15
Use a Grid for Graphic Unity
▪ Grid—2 or 3 imaginary columns on page;
may be subdivided
▪ All elements lined up in columns
▪ Creates pleasing symmetry
▪ Unifies long documents

8-16
Use Decorative Devices in Moderation
▪ Use decorative devices sparingly
▪ Add interest/emphasis with dingbats,
clip art     
▪ Use color for main headings, not details
In North America, red
usually means danger

8-17
Designing Brochures
Use this process to create effective
brochures
1. Determine your objectives
2. Identify your target audiences
3. Identify central selling point
4. Choose image you want to project
5. Identify objections; brainstorm ways to
deal with them
8-18
Designing Brochures, continued…
6. Draft text to see how much space it
takes
7. Select visuals to accompany text
8. Experiment with different papers and
layouts
9. Make every choice a conscious one
▪ Color – Font – Layout – Paper
10. Polish prose and graphics
8-19
Brochure Design Principles
▪ Put central selling point on cover
▪ Use a visual that tells a story
▪ Use grid to align elements
▪ Repeat graphics; use contrasting sizes,
shapes
▪ Use color effectively

8-20
Brochure Design Principles,
continued…
▪ Make text look appealing
▪ Use no more than two fonts
▪ Avoid italic type and underlining
▪ Use small tab indents
▪ Insert plenty of white space
▪ Use ragged right margin
▪ Don’t put vital points on back of reply
coupon

8-21
Designing Web Pages: Text
▪ Help surfing audience learn
about Web page sponsor
▪ Offer contents list, link to
each part
▪ Make clear what audience
will get if they click a link
▪ Put most important info at
top of page
▪ Start with important words
8-22
Designing Web Pages: Visuals
▪ Use white or light background
▪ Keep graphics small
▪ Provide visual variety
▪ Unify pages; show sponsor on each
▪ Include link to homepage on every
page

8-23
Designing Web Pages: Visuals,
continued…
▪ Use little animation; let audience
control its use
▪ If page includes sound, put off button
where users can see it at once

Visit Xenogene, a Web design

company. Thumbnails show
sample Web page designs

8-24
Designing Web Pages
Common Web page design mistakes
▪ Audiences cannot read text
▪ Content that doesn’t answers questions
▪ Difficult navigation and search tools
▪ Complex and lengthy forms
▪ Bugs, typos, or corrupted data
▪ Outdated content

8-25
Usability Tests
▪ Watch someone use document to do
a task
▪ Ask user to think aloud during task
▪ Interrupt at key points to find out what
user thinks
▪ Ask user to describe thought process
afterwards
▪ Ask user to put + and - signs in
margins to show likes and dislikes
8-26
 Chapter 9
Creating Visuals and Data
Displays
▪Using Visuals
▪Visual Design Guidelines
▪Integrating Visuals
Visuals
▪ Help make data
meaningful
▪ Help communicate
points
▪ Enhance oral
presentations

9-2
Use Visuals To…
▪ Present ideas completely
▪ Find relationships
▪ Make points vivid
▪ Emphasize material
▪ Present material concisely, with less
repetition

9-3
Visual Design Guidelines
1. Check quality of data
2. Determine story you want to tell
3. Choose visual that fits the story
4. Follow conventions for designing
visuals
5. Use color and decoration with restraint
6. Be sure that visual is accurate, ethical

9-4
1. Check Quality of Data
▪ Check data comes from reliable source
▪ Check you have data for all factors you
should consider
▪ Do not use visuals of unreliable data

9-5
2. Determine Story You Want to Tell
Good stories may
▪ Support a hunch you have
▪ Surprise or challenge knowledge
▪ Show unexpected trends or
changes
▪ Have commercial or social
significance
▪ Provide information needed for
action
▪ Be relevant to audience
9-6
2. Determine Story You Want to Tell
To find stories
1. Focus on a topic
2. Simplify the data on that topic and convert
number to simple units
3. Look for relationships and changes
4. Process the data to find more stories

9-7
3. Choose the Right Visual for the
Story
▪Use table when ▪Use pie chart
audience needs to show parts
exact values of a whole
U.S. Children’s Sizes European Children’s Sizes
9 27
10 28
11 29 1st Qtr
12 30 2nd Qtr
3rd Qtr
13 31 4th Qtr
1 32
1 1/2 33
2 34

9-8
3. Choose the Right Visual for the
Story, continued…
▪Use bar chart to ▪Use paired
compare items, charts to tell
show relationships complex stories
100
90
80
70
60 East
50 West
40 North
30
20
10
0
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

9-9
3. Choose the Right Visual for the
Story, continued…
▪ Uses line charts to
▪ Compare items
100
90
80

over time 70
60 East
50 West

▪ Show frequency or 40
30
20
North

distribution 10
0
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

▪ Show correlations

9-10
3. Choose the Right Visual for the
Story, continued…
▪Use photographs to ▪Use drawings to
▪Create a sense of ▪ Show dimensions
authenticity ▪ Emphasize detail
▪Show item in use

9-11
3. Choose the Right Visual for the
Story, continued…
▪Use maps to emphasize location

9-12
3. Choose the Right Visual for the
Story, continued…
▪Use Gantt charts to show timelines
Kick-off Meeting
Determine criteria for exploring each option
1

Select most feasible option based on criteria

2

Determine what levels of training, education

3 and communication will be necessary for
implementing the option
Interim Meeting

Develop plan for assessing option

4 implementation

5 Develop an implementation plan

Determine resources and responsibilities are

6 necessary to complete tasks

7 Determine critical path to estimate time

required to complete all tasks

▪ bi-weekly status calls

▪ Final Presentation

Week 9/10 9/17 9/24 9/30 10/7 10/14 9-13

3. Choose the Right Visual for the
Story, continued…
▪Perspective makes graphs hard to read

! !
9-14
4. Follow Conventions for
Designing Visuals
Six Parts of Every Visual
1. Title that tells story visual shows
2. Clear indication of what data are
3. Clearly labeled units
4. Labels or legends identifying axes, colors,
symbols, etc.
5. Source of data used to create visual
6. Source of visual if not your work

9-15
5. Use Color and Decoration with
Restraint
▪ Audiences interpret color based on
contexts
▪ Color connotations vary among cultures
and professions
▪ Red = go in China; stop in U.S.
▪ Blue = masculinity in U.S.; criminality in
France; strength/fertility in Egypt
▪ Use minimum shading and lines
▪ For B&W graphs, use shades of gray
9-16
6. Be Sure Visual is Accurate,
Ethical
▪ Make sure audience does not have to
study visual to learn main point
▪ Distinguish between actual and
estimated or projected values
▪ Include the context of data
▪ Avoid perspective and 3-D graphs
▪ Avoid combining with multiple scales
▪ Use images that are bias-free
9-17
Integrating Visuals into Your Text
▪ Refer to every visual in your text
▪ Refer to the table or figure number, not
the title
▪ Ex: Table 10 shows a detailed comparison…
▪ Ex: Data in Figure 6 reveals a marked trend of…
▪ Put visual as soon after reference as
space and page design permit
▪ Ex: As Figure 3 shows (page 10), …
▪ Ex: (See Table 2 on page 14)
9-18
Integrating Visuals into Your Text,
continued...
▪ Summarize main point of visual before
the visual itself
▪ Amount of discussion depends on
audience, complexity of visual, and
importance of point
▪ After visual, evaluate the data, discuss
its implications
▪ Weak: Listed below are the results.
▪ Better: As Figure 4 shows, sales doubled in the
last decade.

9-19
Chapter 10
Making Oral Presentations
▪Purposes ▪Designing Slides
▪Planning ▪Choosing Information
▪Choosing the Kind ▪Organizing
▪Adapting to Audience ▪Delivering
▪Planning Opening / ▪Handling Questions
Closing ▪Group Presentations
Purposes in Oral Presentation

 Guides choice of strategy and content

 Informative—inform or teach audience
 Persuasive—motivate audience to act or believe
 Goodwill—entertain and validate audience
 Make purpose as specific as possible
 Not introduction

10-2
Planning Presentation Strategy

 Strategy—plan for reaching

specific goals and audience
 Simplify details, visuals, words,
and sentences
 Make simpler than written
message to same audience

10-3
Planning Presentation Strategy

 Analyze audience as you

do for written message
 Think about physical
conditions in which you’ll
speak
 Adapt message to
audience and situation

10-4
 Choosing the Kind of
Presentation

 Monologue—presenter speaks without interruption

 Guided discussion—
 Speaker presents issues audience agreed to earlier
 Presenter serves as facilitator, tapping audience knowledge
 Interactive—a conversation, like sales presentations

10-5
 Adapting to Your Audience

 Don’t seek major opinion change in one

presentation
 Make ideas relevant to audience by linking
what you say to their interests
 Show audience that topic affects them directly

10-6
Planning Strong Opening and
Closing
 Positions of emphasis
 Interest audience and emphasize key
point
 Memorize opener and closer

10-7
 Four Strong Openers

1. Startling statement
2. Narration or anecdote
 Things that happened to you
beat canned stories
 Parables that contain point of
talk make best stories

10-8
 Four Strong Openers, continued…

3. Question
 Listen to audience answers
 Use answers in your talk
4. Quotation

10-9
 Planning PowerPoint Slides

 Include main points, not details

 Elaborate on slides as you talk

10-10
Designing PowerPoint Slides

 Use a consistent background

 Use a big font

44 to 50 point for titles

32 point for subheads
 28 point for examples
 Use bullet-point phrases, not sentences
 Use clear, concise language
10-11
Designing PowerPoint Slides,
continued…

 Make only three to five points per slide

 Customize your slides
 Logo
 Photo
 Chart
 Use animation to control flow, build interest
 Too much distracts the audience

10-12
 Choosing Information

 Select information that is interesting and persuasive

to audience
 Plan to answer audience’s questions and objections
 Limit to three main points
 Show relationship between main points
 Link points to knowledge audience has

10-13
 Choosing Data

 Determine what data to present in visuals

 Make data decisions based on what the audience
needs to know
 Present statistics and numbers in ways that are easy
to hear
 Reduce number to two significant digits

10-14
 Five Organization Patterns

1. Chronological—past, present, and future

2. Problem-causes-solution—symptoms,
causes, suggestions
3. Pro-con—give all reasons in favor; then,
those against it
4. 1-2-3—discuss three aspects of topic

10-15
 Five Organization
Patterns, continued...

5. Excluding alternatives—
 Explain symptoms
 Explain obvious solutions
 Show why they won’t work
 Discuss workable solution

10-16
 Creating an Overview

 Tell what you’ll cover first, second, and third

 Helps audience know what to expect
 Prepares audience for tracking and remembering
your points
 Offers clear signpost as you end each point

10-17
 Effective Delivery: Fear

 Be prepared
 Analyze audience
 Organize thoughts and
content
 Design visuals
 Rehearse opener and closer
 Check out room and
equipment

10-18
 Fear, continued…

 Use only normal amount of caffeine

 Avoid alcoholic beverages
 Re-label your nerves
 Not fear - scared – nervous
 Say adrenaline – energetic – excited

10-19
 Fear, continued…

 Contract muscles; then relax them

 Start with feet and calves
 Move to shoulders, arms, and hands
 Take few deep breaths from diaphragm
 Pause, look at audience before speaking
 Focus on communicating, not feelings
 Use energy in gestures, mobility

10-20
 Effective Delivery: Eye Contact

 Make eye contact with individuals in audience

 Even before you start speaking
 Hold gaze about 5 seconds

10-21
 Effective Delivery: Voice

 Make voice easy to listen to

 Find and use your optimum pitch
 Talk loudly enough so entire audience can
hear
 Vary volume, pitch, and speed
 Sound energetic and enthusiastic

10-22
Voice, continued…

 Enunciate—Say all
sounds in each word
 Hardest to hear words
starting / ending with f, t,
k, v, d
 Reduce uhs/ahs/umms
by rehearsing talk several
times
10-23
 Effective Delivery:
Standing and Gesturing

 Place feet apart for good balance; flex

knees
 Walk if you want to
 Move purposefully; don’t pace
 Stand still for formal talk or if on camera
 Don’t block screen showing your visuals
 Use natural gestures for emphasis
 Big, confident ones work best
10-24
 Effective Delivery: Notes

 Put notes on cards or sturdy paper; number

them
 Use 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 cards, instead of 3 x 5
 Use long phrases or complete sentences
 Jot down details, examples you’ll use

10-25
 Notes, continued…

 Indicate where you’ll refer to visual

 Look at notes infrequently
 Hold notes high so head doesn’t bob up and down

10-26
 Effective Delivery: Handling
Questions

 Anticipate questions; prepare to answer

them
 Tell audience early how you’ll handle
questions
 Don’t nod to show you understand question
 Look directly at questioner
 Look at entire audience as you answer

10-27
 Handling Questions,
continued…

 Don’t say, That’s a good question!, unless

you say it every time
 Repeat question before you answer
 Link answer to purpose and points made
 Reword hostile or biased questions

10-28
 Group Presentations

 Introduce each group member

 Pay close attention to other members when they
present
 Plan transitions
 Enforce time limits strictly
 Coordinate visuals for coherence
 Practice, practice, practice!

10-29
 Chapter 11
Building Résumés

▪Definition ▪Electronic Résumés

▪Job Hunting ▪Social Networking
▪Guidelines Sites
▪Kinds of Résumés ▪Honesty
▪Résumés Information
Résumé Definition
▪ Persuasive summary of qualifications
for employment
▪ Makes you look well organized, prepared
▪ Highlights your unique qualifications
▪ Helps you try for an even better job
▪ Shows you how to prepare for job market

11-2
Job Hunting

▪ Check services of career

placement office
▪ Join extracurricular organizations
▪ Find jobs/internships that give you
experience
▪ Note which courses you like

11-3
Job Hunting, continued…
▪ Conduct a self-assessment
▪ Take personality and aptitude tests
▪ Ask yourself some questions:
▪ What skills and strengths do I have?
▪ What achievements have given satisfaction?
▪ What work conditions do I like?
▪ Do I prefer firm deadlines or flexibility?
▪ What kind of work/life balance do I want?
▪ Where do I want to live?
▪ Use the Internet to research jobs
11-4
How Employers Use Résumés
▪ To decide whom to interview
▪ To screen applicants by scanning or
skimming
▪ To assess what they assume is your
best work
▪ To prepare for job interviews
▪ To get final approval for selected
applicants
11-5
Guidelines: Length
▪ Fill at least one page
▪ Average résumé these
days: 2 pages
▪ Put most important
information on page 1
▪ Put at least 10 lines on
page 2
▪ Include Name and Page 2

11-6
Guidelines: Emphasis
▪ Emphasize your achievements
▪ That are most relevant to position applied for
▪ That show superiority to other applicants
▪ That are recent

11-7
Guidelines: Emphasis,
continued…
▪ To emphasize information:
▪ Put it at top or bottom of page
▪ Set it off with white space
▪ Give it in a vertical and/or bulleted list
▪ Include it in an informative heading

11-8
Guidelines: Details
▪ Give evidence to support your claims
▪ Convince reader
▪ Separate you from other applicants
▪ Use numbers and descriptions
▪ Omit details that add no value

11-9
Guidelines: Writing Style
▪ Be concise (brief, but complete)
▪ Use phrases and sentence fragments
▪ Never use I; use me or my if you must
▪ Use more action verbs than nouns
▪ List items in parallel form

11-10
Guidelines: Layout and Design
▪ Experiment with layout,
fonts, and spacing
▪ Consider creating
letterhead to use for
your résumé and
application letter
▪ Use headings for
reading ease

11-11
Guidelines: Layout and Design,
continued…
▪ Work with fonts, bullets, and spacing
to highlight information
▪ Use more than one but less than three
fonts
▪ Use color sparingly
▪ Use at least 10-pt type
▪ Use white space to group items
▪ Select good quality 8½ x 11 paper

11-12
Kinds of Résumés: Chronological
▪ Summarizes what you did in time line
▪ Starts with most recent events:
reverse chronology
▪ Includes degrees, job titles, dates

11-13
Kinds of Résumés: Chronological,
continued…
▪ When to use—
▪ Your education, experience closely
related to job for which you’re applying
▪ You have impressive job titles, offices, or
honors

11-14
Kinds of Résumés: Skills
▪ Emphasizes skills you’ve used, rather
than the job in which you used them or
the date
▪ De-emphasizes job titles, employment
history, dates

a.k.a. functional résumé

11-15
Kinds of Résumé: Skills, continued…
▪ When to use—
▪ Your education and experience not usual
route to applied job
▪ You’re changing fields
▪ You want to show broad experience from
▪ Paid jobs
▪ Volunteer work
▪ Extracurricular activities
▪ College courses

11-16
Résumé Information
▪ Essential
▪ Name and contact information
▪ Education
Always separate categories
▪ Experience
▪ Omit unfavorable information

For over 7 items,

use subheading

11-17
Résumé Information, continued…
▪ Optional
▪ Career Objective
▪ Summary of
Qualifications
▪ Honors and Awards
▪ Activities
▪ References
▪ Portfolio

11-18
Résumé Information: Contact Info
▪ Use full name, even if you have a
nickname
▪ Center one address; type two side by
side
▪ Provide professional e-mail address
▪ Provide phone (cell or land) where you
can be reached during the day
▪ Omit age, marital status, race, sex, and
health 11-19
Résumé Information: Career
Objective
▪ Make it sound like employers’ job
descriptions
▪ Make it brief—2 lines at most
▪ Tell what you want to do, level of
responsibility you want
▪ Targeted to a job at a specific company

11-20
Résumé Information: Summary of
Qualifications
▪ Show knowledge of specialized
technology in your field
▪ List accomplishments
▪ Be specific; include numbers and
amounts
▪ Include as many keywords as you can

11-21
Résumé Information: Education
▪ First main category in these cases—
▪ Earn new degree
▪ Need degree for job you’re seeking
▪ Can present the information briefly
▪ Put it later in these cases—
▪ Need page 1 for another category
▪ Lack degree that other applicants may
have

11-22
Résumés Information: Education,
continued…
▪ Cover 4-year and graduate degrees
▪ Include junior college if it gave you other
expertise
▪ Include study abroad, even non-credit
courses
▪ Give degrees, dates, schools, and cities
▪ May list short, descriptive course titles
▪ Include GPA—if it’s good—and what
it’s based on: 3.4/4.0
11-23
Résumé Information: Honors and
Awards
▪ New college graduates put on page 1
▪ Include Honors and Awards if listing
more than three items
▪ Use Honors and Activities if listing
fewer than three items

11-24
Résumé Information: Honors and
Awards, continued…
▪ Include entries that add to your
professional image
▪ Listings in recognition books (Who’s Who)
▪ Awards from professional societies
▪ Major awards from civic groups
▪ Academic honor societies
▪ Varsity letters

11-25
Résumé Information: Experience
▪ Use heading that works best for you
▪ Include this information for each job
held—
▪ Position or job title
▪ Organization
▪ City and state
▪ Dates of employment
▪ Job duties; other details

11-26
Résumé Information: Activities
▪ Critical for new college graduates
▪ Include this kind of information—
▪ Volunteer work and student
organizations
▪ Professional associations
▪ Activities involving talent or responsibility
▪ Varsity or intramural athletics
▪ Leadership roles

11-27
Résumé Information: References
▪ May omit to make résumé fit one page
▪ Omit “References Available Upon Request”
▪ List 3 to 5 persons
▪ New graduates include 1 professor, 1 employer
or adviser—minimum
▪ Choose persons who can comment on work
habits, leadership skills
▪ Don’t list relatives even if you worked for them
▪ Omit personal or character references

11-28
Résumé Information: References,
continued…
▪ Ask the person’s permission
▪ Jog their memory of your work
▪ Keep list up-to-date
▪ List this information—
▪ Name and title
▪ Organization
▪ City and state
▪ E-mail and phone number

11-29
Résumé Information: What to Omit
▪ Personal information
▪ Controversial activities or
associations
▪ High school facts
▪ Trivial items

11-30
Electronic Résumés: Scannable
To help résumé scan correctly
▪ Use a standard 12-point typeface
▪ Use a ragged right margin
▪ Don’t italicize or underline words
▪ Don’t bold text
▪ Don’t use bullets or tabs
▪ Use as many pages as you need

11-31
Electronic Résumés: Scannable,
continued…
To help résumé scan correctly
▪ Use keywords (noun or adj.)
▪ Print on high-quality paper
▪ Don’t fold or staple pages
▪ Mail paper copies in flat page-sized
envelope

11-32
Electronic Résumés: E-mail
▪ Make good first impression with
simple subject line
▪ Don’t use current employer’s e-mail
for job search
▪ Set up free, Internet-based e-mail
account
▪ Understand that e-mail isn’t confidential
▪ Avoid cryptic or silly e-mail addresses:
cutiepi@yahoo.com
11-33
Electronic Résumés: E-mail,
continued…
▪ Heed specific directions
of employers for proper
format for submission
▪ Include brief cover letter
in e-mail; mention
attachment
▪ E-mail it to yourself to
see how it will look

11-34
Electronic Résumés: Web
▪ Include e-mail link at top of résumé
under your name
▪ Omit addresses and phone numbers
▪ Insert links to various parts of résumé
▪ May link to Web pages that give
information about you
▪ List of courses or documents you wrote

11-35
Electronic Résumés, Web continued…
▪ Remove all dates; replace employer
names with generic descriptions
▪ Make small changes at least every two
weeks
▪ Remove résumé when you have a job

11-36
Social Networking Sites
▪ Remove unprofessional material such as
▪ Pictures of beer at your computer
▪ Descriptions of last party
▪ Remove negative comments about
current or past employers and teachers
▪ Remove political and social rants
▪ Remove any personal information that will
embarrass you on the job
▪ Check your blog for writing aptitude
11-37
Honesty

ALWAYS BE
HONEST ON
YOUR RÉSUMÉ !!!
11-38
 Chapter 12
Writing Job Application
Letters
▪Letters vs. Résumés
▪Employer and Job Research
▪Solicited Letters
▪Prospecting Letters
▪E-mail Application Letters
▪Professional Image
▪Application Essays
Résumés vs. Job Letters
Résumés Job Letters
Adapted to a position Adapted to needs of
one organization

Summarizes all your Shows  you know

qualifications organization,  how
your qualifications can
help it, and  how you
differ from other
applicants
12-2
Résumés vs. Job Letters, continued…
Résumés Job Letters
Avoids controversial Explains complicated
material situations (e.g., career
change or gap in
employment)

Uses short, parallel Uses complete

phrases and sentences in well-
fragments written paragraphs

12-3
Employer and Job Research
▪ Use the internet
▪ Seek an internship
▪ Tap into the hidden
job market
▪ Conduct information
interviews
▪ Solicit referral
interviews

12-4
Job Application Letters: Content
and Organization
Focus on…
▪ Qualifications for major requirements
of job
▪ Points that separate you from other
applicants
▪ Points that show your knowledge of
organization
▪ Qualities that every employer is likely
to value
12-5
 Job Application Letters: Two
Kinds
▪ Solicited letter—to
apply for a job the
organization
announced

▪ Prospecting letter—
to apply for an
unannounced
position
12-6
Job Application Letters:
Techniques
▪ Do these things in both kinds:
▪ Address letter to a specific person
▪ Name specific position you’re applying for
▪ Be specific about your qualifications
▪ Show how you differ from other applicants
▪ Show knowledge of the organization and
position
▪ Refer to your résumé (enclose it)
▪ Ask for an interview
12-7
Organize Solicited Letters
1. State that you’re applying; name the job
▪ Tell how you know about job
▪ Show that you have main qualifications job
requires
▪ Summarize other qualifications
2. Develop your main qualifications in detail
▪ Be specific about what you’ve done
▪ Relate achievements to work you will do in
new job

12-8
Organize Solicited Letters,
continued…
3. Develop other qualifications, even if
not required
▪ Show what separates you from other
applicants
▪ Illustrate knowledge of the organization
4. Ask for an interview
▪ Tell when available to interview and to
begin work
▪ End on a positive, forward-looking note
12-9
Organize Prospecting Letters
1. Catch the reader’s interest
2. Create bridge between attention-getter
and your qualifications
3. Develop your strong points in detail
▪ Be specific
▪ Relate what you’ve done in past to what you
could do now
▪ Show knowledge of organization
▪ Identify the role you wish to fill

12-10
Organize Prospecting Letters,
continued…
4. Ask for an interview
▪ Tell when you’re available
▪ End with a positive, forward-looking
statement

12-11
E-mail Application Letters
▪ Choices
▪ Paste traditional letter
into e-mail screen
▪ Edit letter so it fits one
e-mail screen
▪ Include name as part of
subject line
▪ Put the job number/title
in the first paragraph
12-12
E-mail Application Letters,
continued…
▪ Use standard business letter
features
▪ Keep line length to a maximum of
65 characters
▪ Omit ALL CAPS and emoticons
▪ End with your name and e-mail
address

12-13
Create a Professional Image
▪ Create letter in a program that
features spell check
▪ Use a standard 12-point font
▪ Address letter to a specific person,
including correct courtesy title
▪ Don’t mention relatives’ names
▪ Omit personal information not
related to job
12-14
Create a Professional Image,
continued…
▪ Use a conservative writing style,
unless applying for a creative job
▪ Edit carefully and proof several
times—only perfect is good enough
▪ Print on the same paper used for
résumé
▪ Use a computer to print envelope
address
12-15
Professional Image: Writing Style
▪ Use smooth, concise writing style
▪ Use technical jargon of your field
▪ Avoid businessese and stuffy words
▪ Use a lively, energetic style that makes
you seem real

12-16
Professional Image: Positive
Emphasis and You-Attitude
▪ Avoid words with negative
connotations
▪ Show how your background applies
▪ Don’t plead or apologize

12-17
Professional Image: Positive
Emphasis and You-Attitude,
continued…
▪ Don’t use you when you mean
yourself or all people
▪ Use I infrequently; revise to use me or
my instead
▪ Avoid starting every paragraph with I
▪ Begin sentences with phrases or clauses

12-18
Professional Image: Paragraph
Length and Unity
▪ Make first and last paragraph fairly
short—4 or 5 typed lines maximum
▪ Vary paragraph length
▪ Cover only one subject in long paragraphs
▪ Divide paragraphs that cover two or more
topics

12-19
Professional Image: Letter
Length
▪ Write at least three paragraphs
▪ Keep to one page
▪ Tighten each sentence
▪ Use slightly smaller margins
▪ Select a font size one point smaller
▪ Use 2 pages, if needed
▪ Put at least six lines of text on page 2
▪ Use extra space to add details about
your experience
12-20
Professional Image: Editing and
Proofreading
▪ Edit and proofread carefully!
▪ Check content one last time
▪ Don’t reveal frustration with job search
▪ Check your tone
▪ Don’t beg or show too much gratitude
for commonplaces such as reading
the letter

12-21
Professional Image: Follow-Up
▪ Don’t be a pest
▪ Contact employer after
two or three weeks, if
you hear nothing
▪ One week is OK to
check if materials have
been received

12-22
Application Essays
▪ Chance to expand on your best points
in more detail
▪ Uses essay format instead of letter
▪ Capture readers’ interest and show
you are exceptional
▪ Insert personality into writing
▪ May use anecdotes that
▪ Show you developing as a professional
▪ Outline future goals
12-23
Application Essays: Writing Guides
▪ Follow directions closely
▪ Use focal point/unifying theme
▪ Catch reader’s attention in opening
▪ Use vivid and unique details
▪ Avoid unsupported generalities and clichés
▪ Employ topic sentences
▪ Reveal your personal voice
▪ End with strong conclusion
12-24
 Chapter 13
Interviewing for a Job

▪21st Century Interviews

▪Interview Strategy
▪Preparation
▪Interview Channels
▪Interview Customs
▪Kinds of Interviews
▪Final Steps for a Job Search
21st Century Interviews
Most employers expect you to:
▪ Participate in multiple interviews
▪ Be assertive
▪ Follow instructions to the letter
▪ Take one or more tests
▪ Be approved by the team you’ll join
▪ Provide samples of the work you’re
applying to do

13-2
Interview Strategy
1. What about yourself do you want the
interviewer to know?
2. What disadvantages or weaknesses
do you need to minimize?
3. What do you need to know about the
job and the organization to decide on
a job offer?

13-3
Preparation: Final Research
▪ Read
▪ Web pages
▪ Newsletters
▪ Annual reports
▪ Trade journals
▪ Ask people you know about the
organization
▪ Find out who will interview you and
research them, if possible
▪ Determine salary ranges for job/location
13-4
Preparation: Travel Planning
▪ Find building and closest parking
▪ Plan how much time you’ll need to get
there
▪ Leave time margins for unexpected
events (e.g., traffic jams, broken
elevators)
▪ Plan transportation and schedule, if
flying
13-5
Preparation: Attire
▪ Meet interviewer’s dress expectations
▪ Make conservative choices; traditional
dark suit is most common
▪ Research organization’s culture, if
possible, and dress a step above
▪ Wear comfortable, shined shoes in
good condition

13-6
Preparation: Attire, continued…
▪ Style hair conservatively
▪ Wear understated jewelry and makeup
▪ Avoid perfume and cologne
▪ Present flawless personal hygiene

=
13-7
Preparation: Professional Materials
▪ Extra copies of your résumé
▪ Notepad, pen, and list of questions
▪ Copies of your work or a portfolio
▪ Reference information

A low-cost briefcase
will carry these items

13-8
Interview Channels
▪ Campus interviews
▪ Know protocols and expectations
▪ Provide good details and professional
stories about your work
▪ Focus on 3-4 selling points

13-9
Interview Channels, continued…
▪ Phone interviews
▪ Narrows list of candidates
▪ Take notes, but don’t let it interrupt your
answers
▪ Ask for verbal feedback
▪ Smile, lean forward, and gesture when
speaking
▪ Eliminate background noise
▪ Focus on 3-4 selling points
13-10
Interview Channels, continued…
▪ Video interviews
▪ Preparing a video
▪ Practice answers ahead of time
▪ Capture your best performance
▪ Be thorough
▪ Participating in videoconference
▪ Prepare a practice video ahead of time
▪ Keep your answers under two minutes
13-11
Interview Practice
▪ Put on the clothes you’ll wear
▪ Practice everything
▪ Entering a room
Answering out loud
▪ Shaking hands is much harder
▪ Sitting down than answering in
▪ Answering questions your head!

▪ Use video equipment if available

13-12
Interview Customs: Behavior
▪ Practice active listening
▪ Do not monopolize interviews with
lengthy monologues
▪ Never say anything bad about current
or former employers, including
schools
▪ Be enthusiastic
▪ Be yourself—your best self

13-13
Interview Customs: Behavior
▪ Review your accomplishments; know
your self-worth
▪ Remember these basics
▪ Look at people when you talk; don’t mumble
▪ Sit up straight; mind your table manners
▪ Turn your cell phone off
▪ Order non-messy foods
▪ Look for signs of organizational culture
13-14
Interview Customs: Note-Taking
▪ Record the following briefly
during or right after the
interview
▪ Interviewer’s name (or names)
▪ Advice given to you
▪ What they liked about you
▪ Negative points discussed
▪ Answers to your questions
▪ When you’ll hear from them

13-15
Interview Customs:
Interview Sections
▪ Opening (2 to 5 minutes)
▪ Conversation to set you
at ease
▪ Easy questions or
information about
company

13-16
Interview Customs:
Interview Sections, continued…
▪ Body (10 to 25 minutes)
▪ Answer questions that let you show and
tell your strengths
▪ Deflect questions that probe weaknesses
evident on your résumé
▪ Ask questions when opportunity arises
▪ Watch the time; get in your key points

13-17
Interview Customs:
Interview Section, continued…
▪ Close (2 to 5 minutes)
▪ Summarize your key accomplishments
and strengths
▪ Listen to find out what happens next

13-18
Kinds of Interviews: Behavioral
▪ Asks you to describe past behaviors,
such as
▪ Using writing to achieve goal
▪ Making a decision quickly
▪ Working under a tight deadline
▪ Taking a project from start to finish
▪ Probes you to think about what you
did and discuss what you would do
differently
13-19
Kinds of Interviews: Situational
▪ Puts you in a situation similar to those
you’ll face on the job
▪ Tests problem-solving skills and ability
to handle problems under time
constraints and minimal preparation
▪ Focuses on the future

13-20
Kinds of Interviews: Stress
▪ Puts you under stress to see how you
handle pressure
▪ Requires demonstration of job skills on the
spot
▪ Presents opportunity to change what
causes physical stress
▪ Allows you to answer stressful questions
assertively
▪ Rephrase questions that put you on the
defensive, including illegal and sexist questions
▪ Treat them as requests for information
13-21
Kinds of Interviews: Group
▪ Multiple candidates interviewed at once
▪ Prepare two-minute story of how you fit
the job; practice it before interview
▪ Arrive early to meet people
▪ Make good eye contact with everyone

13-22
Kinds of Interviews: Group
▪ Participate in the discussion
▪ Look engaged (even when you’re not)
▪ Watch body language
▪ Be conscious of how you’re interacting
with other people
▪ Avoid getting caught in a combative
situation

13-23
Final Steps for a Job Search:
Follow-Up
▪ Follow-Up Phone Calls
▪ Show enthusiasm for the job
▪ Reinforce positives from interview
▪ Overcome negatives from interview
▪ Provide information to persuade the
interviewer to hire you

13-24
Final Steps for a Job Search:
Follow-Up, continued…
▪ Follow-Up Written Messages
▪ Thank the interviewer for useful
information and any helpful action
▪ Remind interviewer what s/he
liked about you
▪ Use company jargon; refer to
specifics of interview
▪ Show enthusiasm
▪ Refer to the next move
13-25
Final Steps for a Job Search:
Negotiating Salary and Benefits
▪ Wait for job offer to talk about
salary
▪ Find out going rate for work
you’d do
▪ Avoid naming a specific salary
▪ Negotiate package, not just
starting salary

13-26
Final Steps for a Job Search:
Accepting a Job Offer
▪ Know what’s important to you; for
example
▪ Are you willing to take work home?
▪ Would you want firm deadlines or flexible
schedule?
▪ What kinds of opportunities for training
and advancement are you seeking?
▪ Where do you want to live?
▪ Plan what to say at time of job offer

13-27
Final Steps for a Job Search:
Accepting a Job Offer, continued…
▪ Ask for 2 weeks to accept or reject offer
▪ Make acceptance contingent upon
written job offer
▪ Let other interviewers know when you
accept a job

13-28
 Chapter 14
Sharing Informative and
Positive Messages
▪Overview ▪Subject Lines
▪Purposes ▪Managing Information
▪Information Overload ▪Audience Benefits
▪Common Media ▪Ending
▪Organization ▪Varieties
Informative and Positive Messages
▪ Informative message - receiver’s
reaction neutral
▪ Positive message - receiver’s reaction
positive
▪ Neither message immediately asks
receiver to do anything

14-2
Primary Purposes
▪ To give
information or
good news to
audience
▪ To have receiver
view information
positively

14-3
Secondary Purposes
▪ To build good image of sender
▪ To build good image of sender’s
organization
▪ To build good relationship between
sender and receiver
▪ To deemphasize any negative elements
▪ To eliminate future messages on same
subject
14-4
Information Overload
▪ Employees are bombarded
with junk mail, sales calls,
spam, and other ads
▪ Even routine
communications are
becoming overwhelming

WARNING: Protect your

communication reputation!
14-5
Common Media: Face-to-Face
Contact
▪ Use face-to-face contact to
▪ Visit a colleague
▪ Build a business relationship
▪ Save multiple calls or e-mails
▪ Engage in dialogue or
negotiation
▪ Acquire something immediately
▪ Avoid leaving a paper trail
▪ Increase visual and aural cues
14-6
Common Media: Phone Calls
▪ Use phone calls to
▪ Convey appropriate tone
▪ Save multiple phone calls or e-mails
▪ Acquire something immediately
▪ Avoid leaving a paper trail

14-7
Common Media: Instant Messages
and Text Messages
▪ Use IMs and TMs to
▪ Be less intrusive (than
visit or phone call)
▪ Ask questions on tasks
that fellow colleagues
are working on
▪ Leave a communication
trail

14-8
Common Media: Letters/Memos
▪ Use letters to
▪ Send messages to people
outside your organization

▪ Use memos to
▪ Send messages to people
within your organization

14-9
Common Media: E-mail
▪ Use e-mail to
▪ Accomplish routine business
activities
▪ Save time
▪ Save money
▪ Allow readers to deal with
messages at their convenience
▪ Communicate accurately
▪ Provide details for reference
▪ Create a paper trail
14-10
Organization
▪ Start with good news or the most
important information
▪ Clarify with details, background
▪ Present any negative points positively
▪ Explain any benefits
▪ Use a goodwill ending
▪ Positive
▪ Personal
▪ Forward-looking
14-11
Subject Lines
▪ Serves three purposes
▪ Aids in filing, retrieving
▪ Tells readers why they should read
▪ Sets up message

14-12
Subject Lines, continued…
▪ Specific
▪ Differentiate message from others on
same topic
▪ Concise
▪ Usually less than 35 characters
▪ Appropriate for the pattern of message
▪ Must meet situation and purpose

14-13
Subject Lines—E-mail

▪ Specific, concise, and catchy

▪ Include important information/good news
▪ Name drop to make connection
▪ Make e-mail sound easy to deal with
▪ Create new subject line for reply when
▪ Original becomes irrelevant
▪ Re: Re: Re: Re: appears

14-14
Managing Information in E-mails
▪ Give audience information they need
▪ Consider your purpose
▪ Develop a system that lets people know
what is new if you send out regular
messages
▪ Use headings and bullets in long
e-mails

14-15
Managing Information in E-mail,
continued…
▪ Put the most vital information in e-mails,
even if you send an attachment
▪ Check message for accuracy and
completeness
▪ Remember e-mails are public
documents

14-16
Audience Benefits
▪ Use audience benefits
when
▪ Presenting policies
▪ Shaping audience’s
attitudes
▪ Stressing benefits
presents the audience’s
motives positively
▪ Introducing benefits that
may not be obvious
14-17
Audience Benefits, continued…
▪ Omit benefits when
▪ Presenting factual information ONLY
▪ Considering audience’s attitude toward
information does not matter
▪ Stressing benefits makes audience seem
selfish
▪ Restating them may insult audience’s
intelligence

14-18
Ending
▪ Not all messages end same way
▪ Goodwill ending – focuses on bond
between reader, writer
▪ Treats reader as individual
▪ Contains you-attitude, positive emphasis
▪ Omits standard invitation
▪ Ex: If you have questions, please do not
hesitate to call.

14-19
Varieties: Transmittals
▪ Tell reader what you're
sending
▪ Summarize main points
▪ Give details to help
reader grasp message
▪ Tell reader what will
happen next

14-20
Varieties: Summaries
▪ Conversation summary
(internal use)
▪ Identify…
▪ People who were present
▪ Topic of discussion
▪ Decisions made
▪ Who does what next

14-21
Varieties: Summaries,
continued…
▪ Document summary
▪ Start with main point
▪ Give supporting evidence or details
▪ Evaluate document if audience wants
such advice

14-22
 Summaries, continued…
▪ Client / customer visit
summary
1. Put main point (in your
company’s view) in first ¶
2. Use umbrella paragraph; name
points
3. Give details to support your
conclusions; use lists, headings
to make structure clear

14-23
Varieties: Thank-You Notes
▪ Make people willing
to help you later
▪ May be short; must
be prompt
▪ Must be specific to
seem sincere

14-24
 Varieties: Positive Responses to
Complaints
▪ Mention rectification in first
sentence
▪ Don’t talk about decision
making process
▪ Don’t say anything that
sounds grudging
▪ Give reasons for mistake
only if it reflects responsibly
on the company

14-25
 Chapter 15
Delivering Negative
Messages
▪Overview
▪Purposes
▪Organizing
▪Parts
▪Tone
▪Alternative Strategies
▪Varieties
Negative Messages
▪ Information conveyed is negative
▪ Audience’s reaction is negative
▪ Message does not benefit them
▪ Usually they experience
disappointment or anger
▪ Varieties Rejections, Policy changes not
refusals benefiting customer
Poor performance Disciplinary notices
appraisals
Insulting, intrusive Product recalls
requests
15-2
Primary Purposes
▪ To give reader negative news
▪ To have receiver read, understand, and
accept message
▪ To maintain as much goodwill as possible

15-3
Secondary Purposes
▪ To build good image of
communicator
▪ To build good image of
communicator’s
organization
▪ To avoid future messages
on same subject

15-4
Purposes
▪ Want audience to feel
▪ They have been taken
seriously
▪ The decision is fair and
reasonable
▪ If they were in your
situation, they would
make the same
decision

15-5
Organizing Negative Messages:
Clients & Customers
1. When you have a reason that the
audience will understand and accept,
give the reason before the refusal
2. Give the negative information, just
once
3. Present an alternative or compromise
4. End with positive forward-looking
statement
15-6
Organizing Negative Messages:
Superiors
1. Describe problem clearly
2. Tell how it happened
3. Describe the options for fixing it
4. Recommend a solution and ask for
action

15-7
Organizing Negative Messages:
Peers & Subordinates
1. Describe problem objectively, clearly
2. Present an alternative or
compromise, if available
3. Ask for input or action, if possible
▪ May suggest helpful solutions
▪ Audience may accept outcomes better

15-8
Context Crucial in Messages
▪ Do you and audience have good bond?
▪ Does organization treat people well?
▪ Has audience been warned about
possible negatives?
▪ Has audience accepted criteria for
decision?
▪ Do follow-ups build goodwill?

15-9
Parts of Negative Messages
▪ Subject lines
▪ Buffers
▪ Reasons
▪ Refusals
▪ Alternatives
▪ Endings
▪ Apologies

15-10
Parts: Subject Lines
▪ Put the topic, not the specific negative
▪ Use negative subject lines when the
audience—
▪ May ignore message
▪ Needs information to act
▪ Keep in mind not everyone reads all
their messages
▪ Be cautious of neutral subject lines

15-11
Parts: Buffers
▪ Buffer—neutral or
positive statement that
delays the negative
▪ Use a buffer when—
▪ Audience values harmony
▪ Buffer serves another
purpose
▪ You can write good buffer

15-12
Parts: Buffers
▪ Five most common types of buffers
▪ Positives/good news
▪ Fact or chronology of events
▪ Reference to enclosures
▪ Thank the audience
▪ General principle

15-13
Parts: Reasons
▪ Clear, convincing reasons precede
refusal
▪ Prepare audience for refusal
▪ Help audience accept refusal
▪ Don’t hide behind company policy
▪ Show how policy benefits audience
▪ If no benefit, omit policy from message

15-14
Parts: Refusals
▪ Put refusal in ¶ with reason to deemphasize
▪ Imply—don’t state—refusal if you can
▪ Make it crystal clear
▪ Finalize message on subject
▪ Don’t write 2nd message to say no

15-15
Parts: Alternatives
▪ Offers way to get what
audience wants
▪ Shows you care about
audience’s needs
▪ Returns audience’s
psychological freedom
(freedom of choice)
▪ Allows you to end on
positive note
15-16
Parts: Endings
▪ Refer to a good alternative at end
▪ Best endings look to future
▪ Avoid insincere endings:
▪ Please let us know if we can be of
further help.

15-17
Parts: Apologies
▪ Don’t apologize
▪ If correcting only small error
▪ When not at fault
▪ Do apologize
▪ Only once
▪ Early in message
▪ Briefly
▪ Sincerely
▪ By focusing on how to correct situation
15-18
Tone in Negative Messages
▪ Tone—implied attitude of the author
toward the audience and subject
▪ Show you took request seriously
▪ Use positive emphasis and you-attitude
▪ Think about visual appearance
▪ Consider timing of message

15-19
Alternative Strategies
▪ Recast the situation
▪ As positive message
▪ As persuasive message

15-20
Varieties: Claims
▪ Needed when something has gone
wrong
▪ Use direct organization pattern
▪ Give supporting facts and identifiers
▪ Avoid anger and sarcasm or threats
that you will never use company again

15-21
Varieties: Rejections and Refusals
▪ Requests from external audience
▪ Try to use a buffer
▪ Give specific reasons
▪ Give alternative, if any
▪ Requests from internal audience
▪ Use knowledge of culture, individual to
craft reply

15-22
Varieties: Disciplinary Notices and
Performance Appraisals
▪ Present directly—no buffer
▪ Cite specific observations of behavior
▪ Not inferences
▪ Include dates, quantities
▪ State when employee may return to
work, if disciplinary action is taken

15-23
Varieties: Layoffs and Firings
▪ If company likely to fold, tell
early
▪ Give honest reasons for firing
▪ Unrelated face-saving reason
may create legal liability
▪ Avoid broadcasting reasons to
avoid defamation lawsuit
▪ Deliver orally; backup in
writing
15-24
 Chapter 16
Crafting Persuasive
Messages
▪Purposes ▪Acting Promptly
▪Persuasive Strategies ▪Tone
▪Credibility ▪Varieties
▪Threats ▪Organizing Sales/Fund-
▪Organizing Raising Messages
▪Objections ▪Writing Style
Purposes
▪ Primary
▪ To have audience act or change beliefs
▪ Secondary
▪ To build good image of the communicator
▪ To build good image of communicator’s
organization
▪ To cement a good relationship
▪ To overcome any objections
▪ To reduce or eliminate future messages on
subject
16-2
Choosing a Persuasive Strategy
1. What do you want people to do?
2. What objections will audience have?
3. How strong a case can you make?
4. What kind of persuasion is best for
organization and culture?

16-3
Three Aspects of Persuasion
▪ Argument—reasons or logic
communicator offers
▪ Credibility—audience’s response to
communicator as source of message
▪ Expertise, image, relationships
▪ Emotional appeal—making audience
want to do as communicator asks

16-4
Building Credibility
▪ Be factual—don’t exaggerate
▪ Be specific—if you say X is better, show
in detail how it is better
▪ Be reliable—if project will take longer or
cost more than estimated, tell audience
immediately

16-5
Use a Direct Request Pattern
When…
▪ Audience will do what you ask without
resistance
▪ You need response only from people
who can easily do as you ask
▪ Audience may not read all of the
message

16-6
Use a Problem-Solving Pattern
When…
▪ Audience may resist doing what you
ask
▪ You expect logic to be more important
than emotion in the decision

16-7
Use a Sales Pattern When…
▪ Audience may resist doing what you
ask
▪ You expect emotion to be more
important than logic in the decision

16-8
Why Threats Don’t Persuade
▪ Don’t produce permanent change
▪ May not produce desired action
▪ May make people abandon action
▪ Produce tension
▪ People dislike/avoid one who threatens
▪ Can provoke counter-aggression

16-9
Organizing Direct Requests
1. Ask immediately for the information
or service you want
2. Give audience all the information
they need to act on your request
3. Ask for the action you want

16-10
Organizing Problem-Solving
Messages
1. Catch audience’s interest by mentioning
common ground
2. Define problem you share with audience
3. Explain solution to problem
4. Show that advantages outweigh
negatives
5. Summarize additional benefits of
solution
6. Ask for action you want
16-11
Developing Common Ground
▪ Suggest you and audience have
mutual interest in solving problem
▪ Analyze audience to understand
biases, objections, and needs
▪ Identify with audience to find common
goals

16-12
Dealing with Objections
▪ Specify time, money required to act
▪ May be less than audience fears
▪ Example:
▪ Filling out the forms should only take 10
minutes. Your responses will be put into
our database—no more paperwork.

16-13
Dealing with Objections,
continued…
▪ Put time, money in context of benefits
they bring
▪ Example:
▪ Paying $17,500 for all three of us to attend
the summer institute will enable us to get the
thorough instruction we need to train the rest
of the staff.

16-14
Dealing with Objections,
continued…
▪ Show that money spent now will save
money in long run
▪ Example:
▪ By spending $4,000 now, we can upgrade
the labs in time to avoid a $6,500 fine for
noncompliance with the new regulations.

16-15
Dealing with Objections,
continued…
▪ Show that doing as you ask will
benefit something audience cares
about
▪ Example:
▪ By becoming an e-mail mentor, you’ll give an
at-risk student the encouragement he or she
needs to stay in school.

16-16
Dealing with Objections,
continued…
▪ Show audience need for sacrifice to
achieve larger, more important goal
▪ Example:
▪ If we each work just four additional hours
each week, we’ll be able to keep the shelter
open 24 hours a day, which will qualify us for
the new urban development grant.

16-17
Dealing with Objections,
continued…
▪ Show that advantages outweigh the
disadvantages
▪ Example:
▪ Although relocating support staff to the fourth
floor means losing storage space, having
everyone in a central location will increase
our efficiency greatly.

16-18
Reasons to Act Promptly
▪ Show that time limit is real
▪ Example:
▪ Returning the enclosed form by July 1 will let
us include your responses in our Executive
Board presentation on July 15.

16-19
Reasons to Act Promptly,
continued…
▪ Show that acting now will save time or
money
▪ Example:
▪ When you return the acceptance notice before
October 1st, you will be guaranteed the lower
interest rate.

16-20
Reasons to Act Promptly,
continued…
▪ Show the cost of delaying action
▪ Example:
▪ The prices quoted are good until the first of
next month. After that, everything will
increase 5%.

16-21
Building Emotional Appeal
▪ Storytelling
▪ Psychological description
▪ Create word picture for audience’s senses
▪ Hear
▪ See
▪ Smell
▪ Taste
▪ Touch
▪ Help audiences imagine themselves
doing, enjoying what you ask
16-22
Tone in Persuasive Messages
▪ Be courteous
▪ Give solid reasons for requests
▪ Make requests clear
▪ Give enough information for audience
to act
▪ Tone down requests to superiors
▪ I expect you to give me a new computer.
▪ If funds permit, I’d like a new computer.
16-23
Varieties of Persuasive Messages:
Performance Appraisals
▪ Cite specific observations, not inferences
▪ Include specific suggestions for
improvement
▪ Identify two or three areas that the worker
should emphasize in the next month or
quarter

16-24
Varieties of Persuasive Messages:
Recommendation Letters
▪ Be specific
▪ Tell how well, how long
writer knew applicant
▪ Give details about
applicant’s work
▪ Say whether writer
would rehire applicant

16-25
Sales and Fund-Raising Purposes
▪ Primary
▪ To motivate audience to act (send
donation, order a product)
▪ Secondary
▪ To build good image of communicator’s
organization
▪ To strengthen commitment of audiences
who act
▪ To make audiences who do not act more
likely to act next time
16-26
Organizing Sales/Fund-Raising
Messages: Opener
▪ Makes audience want to read entire
message
▪ Use of these main types
▪ Questions
▪ Narration, stories, anecdotes
▪ Startling statements
▪ Quotations
▪ Sets up transition to letter body
16-27
Organizing Sales/Fund-Raising
Messages: Body
▪ Answers audience’s questions
▪ Overcomes audience’s objections
▪ Involves audience emotionally
▪ Long letters work best: 4 pages ideal
▪ Short letters, e-mail work too

16-28
Organizing Sales/Fund-Raising
Messages: Body Content
▪ Information any audience can use
▪ Stories about history of product or
organization
▪ Stories about people who use product
▪ Word pictures of audiences enjoying
benefits offered

16-29
Organizing Sales/Fund-Raising
Messages: Action Close
▪ Tells audience what to do
▪ Makes action sound easy
▪ Offers audience reason to act now
▪ Ends with positive picture
▪ May recall central selling point

16-30
Using a Postscript
▪ Reason to act promptly
▪ Description of premium audience
receives
▪ Reference to another part of package
▪ Restatement of central selling point

16-31
Strategy in Sales Letters:
Satisfying Need
▪ Tell people of need product meets
▪ Prove that product satisfies that need
▪ Show why product is better than
similar ones
▪ Make audience want to have product

16-32
Dealing with Price
▪ Link price to product’s benefit
▪ Link price to benefits your company
offers
▪ Show how much product costs each
day, week, or month
▪ Allow customers to charge sales or pay
in installments

16-33
Strategy in Fund-Raising Appeals:
Vicarious Participation
▪ Use we to talk about the cause
▪ At end, use you to talk about what
audience will be doing
▪ Show how audience’s dollars help solve
the problem

16-34
Fund-Raising Letters
▪ Provide lots of information to
▪ Persuade audiences
▪ Give evidence to use with others
▪ Give image of strong, worthy
cause to non-supporters
▪ Suggest other ways audiences
can help

16-35
How Much to Ask For
▪ Link gift to what it will buy
▪ Offer a premium for giving
▪ Ask for a monthly pledge

Always send a
Thank You
to every donor

16-36
Logical Proof in Fund-Raising
Messages
▪ Body must prove that—
1. Problem deserves attention
2. Problem can be alleviated or solved
3. Your group is helping to solve problem
4. Private funds are needed
5. Your organization will use funds wisely

16-37
Writing Style
1. Make text interesting
▪ Tight
▪ Conversational
2. Use psychological description: vivid
word pictures
▪ Describe audience benefits
▪ Describe problem product solves

16-38
Writing Style, continued…
3. Make message sound like a letter, not
an ad
▪ One person talking to another
▪ Informal: short sentences and words,
even slang
▪ Create a persona—character who writes
the letter

16-39
 Chapter 17
Planning and
Researching for Reports
▪Steps
▪Formal vs. Informal
▪Report Classifications
▪Report Topics
▪Types of Research
▪Sources
 Steps in Report Writing

1. Define the problem

2. Gather necessary data
3. Analyze the data
4. Organize the information
5. Write the report

17-2
 Formal vs. Informal Reports

 Formal reports contain formal elements:

 Title page
 Transmittal

 Table of contents
 List of illustrations
 Informal reports may be memos, letters, e-mail,
sales figures, etc.

17-3
 Report Classifications

 Information reports collect data for

reader
 Sales reports
 Quarterly reports

17-4
 Report Classifications, continued…

 Analytical
reports interpret data but do not
recommend action
 Annual reports
 Audit reports
 Make-good or pay-back reports

17-5
 Report Classifications, continued…

 Recommendation reports recommend

action or a solution
 Feasibility reports
 Justification reports
 Problem-solving reports

17-6
 Report Classifications, continued…

 Some reports combine information, analytical,

and recommendation types
 Accident reports
 Credit reports
 Progress reports
 Trip reports
 Closure reports

17-7
 Defining Report Topics

 Real problem
 Importantenough to be worth solving
 Narrow but challenging
 Real audience
 Able to do recommended actions

17-8
 Defining Report Topics,
continued…

 Data, evidence, and facts

 Conveys severity of problem
 Proves that recommendation will solve problem
 Available to report writer
 Comprehensible to report writer

17-9
 Purpose Statement

 Makes three things clear:

 Organizational problem or conflict
 Specifictechnical questions that must be answered to
solve problem
 Rhetorical purpose the report is designed to achieve
 Explain - Recommend – Request - Propose

17-10
 Research Types

 Primary research gathers new data

 Surveys

 Interviews

 Observations

 Secondary research retrieves new data that

someone else gathered
 Library research
 Online searches
17-11
 Criteria for Evaluating Web
Sources

 Authors
 What person or organization sponsors site?
 What credentials does author have?
 Objectivity
 Does site give evidence to support claims?
 Does it give both sides of issues?
 Is the tone professional?

17-12
 Criteria for Evaluating Web
Sources, continued…

 Information
 How complete is information?
 What is it based on?
 Currency
 How current is the information?

17-13
 Surveys, Questionnaires, and
Interviews

 Survey—questions large groups of people,

called respondents or subjects
 Questionnaire—written list of questions that
people fill out
 Interviews—a structured conversation with
someone who will be able to give useful
information

17-14
 Characteristics of Good
Survey Questions

1. Ask only one thing

2. Are phrased neutrally
3. Avoid making assumptions about the
respondent
4. Mean the same thing to different people

17-15
 Question Types

 Closed questions—limited number of possible

responses
 Open questions—unlimited responses possible
 Branching questions—direct subjects to different
parts of questionnaire based on answers to
earlier questions

17-16
 Question Types, continued...

 Multiple choice—make the answer categories

mutually exclusive and exhaustive
 Probes—follow up original question to get at
specifics of a topic
 Mirror questions—paraphrase content of last
answer

17-17
 Sample Types

 Convenience sample—set of subjects who are

easy to get
 Judgment sample—group of people whose
views seem useful
 Random sample—each person in group has
equal chance of being chosen

17-18
 Citation and Documentation

 Citation—attributing an
idea or fact to its source in
report body
 Documentation—listing
bibliographic information
readers would need to
locate original sources

17-19
 Chapter 18
Writing Proposals and
Progress Reports
▪Proposals Overview
▪Class Research Proposals
▪Proposals for Action
▪Sales Proposals
▪Business Plans and
Funding Proposals
▪Progress Reports
Proposals
▪ Argue for the work that needs to be
done and who will do it
▪ Offer a method to find information,
evaluate something new, solve a
problem, or implement a change
▪ Created for projects that are longer or
more expensive than routine work
▪ Stress benefits for affected audiences
18-2
Proposals
▪ Two goals
▪ Get the project accepted
▪ Get your organization accepted to do job
▪ Competitive proposal—compete for
limited resources
▪ Noncompetitive proposals—have
no competition

18-3
Questions a Proposal Must Answer…
▪ What problem are you going to solve?
▪ Why does the problem need to be
solved now?
▪ How are you going to solve it?
▪ Can you do the work?
▪ Why should you be the one to do it?
▪ When will you complete the work?
▪ How much will you charge?
▪ What exactly will you provide? 18-4
Style for Proposals
▪ Make clear and easy to read
▪ Anticipate and answer questions
audience may have
▪ Support generalizations with data
▪ Stress benefits throughout
▪ Use expected format

18-5
Style for Proposals, continued…
▪ Stress beginning and ending
▪ Edit carefully
▪ Make final check for all sections
requested
▪ Insure that appearance gives good
impression
▪ Allow enough time for approvals

18-6
Class Research Proposal Sections
1. Introductory paragraph
2. Problem
3. Feasibility
4. Audience
5. Topics to investigate

18-7
Class Research Proposal Sections,
continued…
6. Methods/procedures
7. Qualifications/facilities/
resources
8. Work schedule
9. Call to action

18-8
Class Research Proposal:
Introductory Paragraph
▪ No heading
▪ Summary of topic and purposes—one
or two sentences

18-9
Class Research Proposal: Problem
▪ What problem exists?
▪ Why does it need to be solved?
▪ What relevant background or history
exists?

18-10
Class Research Proposal: Feasibility
▪ Are you sure that
solution can be
found in time
available?
▪ How do you know?

18-11
Class Research Proposal: Audience
▪ Who in organization has power to implement
recommendation?
▪ What secondary audiences might evaluate
report?
▪ What audiences would be affected by
recommendation?
▪ Will anyone in organization serve as
gatekeeper?
▪ What watchdog audiences might read report?
▪ Will there be other audiences?
18-12
Class Research Proposal: Topics
to Investigate
▪ List questions and subquestions
report will answer
▪ Say how deeply you will examine
each factor you plan to cover
▪ Explain why you chose to discuss
some aspects of problem, not others

18-13
Class Research Proposal: Methods
▪ How will you get
answers to research
questions?
▪ Whom will you
interview or survey?
▪ What published
sources will you use?
▪ Give complete
bibliographic references

18-14
Class Research Proposal:
Qualifications
▪ Do you have knowledge and skills
needed to conduct this study?
▪ Do you have access to
information/equipment you will need to
conduct your research?
▪ Where will you turn for help if you
need it?

18-15
Class Research Proposal: Work
Schedule
▪ Gathering information
▪ Analyzing information
▪ Organizing information
▪ Preparing progress report For each activity list:
▪ Writing the draft • Total time
• Completion date
▪ Preparing the visuals
▪ Revising draft
▪ Editing draft
▪ Proofreading report

18-16
Class Research Proposal: Call to
Action
▪ Invite instructor to suggest ways to
improve your plan
▪ Ask instructor to approve your project
so you can begin your report

18-17
Proposals for Action
▪ Recommends new programs or ways
to solve problems
▪ Requires considerable research
▪ Gathers information from outside
organization
▪ Includes benefits for audiences

18-18
Sales Proposals
▪ Used to sell goods or services
▪ Make sure you understand the buyer’s
priorities
▪ Present your products as solving your
audience’s problems
▪ Show benefits for each feature
▪ Use language appropriate for audience

18-19
Sales Proposals Cover Letters
▪ Catch reader’s attention; summarize
up to three major benefits you offer
▪ Discuss each major benefit in order
listed
▪ Deal with objections or concerns
▪ Mention other benefits briefly
▪ Ask reader to approve your proposal;
give reason for acting promptly
18-20
Business Plans and Other Funding
Proposals
▪ Stress needs your project will meet
▪ Show how project will help fulfill goals of
organization you are asking for funds
▪ Show money you already have and how
you plan to use money you get

18-21
Chronological Progress Reports
▪ Summarize progress in terms of goals and
original schedule
▪ Under “Work Completed” heading,
describe what you have done
▪ Under “Work to Be Completed” heading,
describe work that remains
▪ Express confidence in having report ready
by due date

18-22
Task Progress Reports
▪ Use headings that
describe major tasks
your project entails
▪ Under each heading,
discuss work
completed and what
remains to be done

18-23
Recommendation Progress Reports
▪ When easy for reader to accept, use
direct pattern
▪ When likely to meet strong resistance,
use problem-solving pattern

18-24
 Chapter 19
Analyzing Information
and Writing Reports
▪Analyzing Data
▪Choosing Information
▪Organizing Reports
▪Organization Patterns
▪Types of Reports
▪Effective Report Writing
▪Formal Report Parts
Analyzing Data
▪ Analyze gathered data so
report contains tight logic
▪ Take data from reliable
sources
▪ Analyze data with skepticism
▪ Check to see data aligns
with expectations
▪ Identify assumptions used in
analyzing data
19-2
Analyzing Data, continued…
Analyze numbers
▪ Find mean, median, and range
▪ Simplify if fitting: round off, combine
similar units
▪ Chart data to see patterns
▪ Compare to context to
create meaning

19-3
Analyzing Data, continued…
Analyze words
▪ Find out what words
mean to people who
said them
▪ Try to measure words
against numbers

19-4
Analyzing Data, continued…
Analyzing patterns
▪ Look for patterns—points of agreement
▪ Have things changed over time?
▪ Does geography account for differences?
▪ Do demographics account for differences?
▪ What similarities and differences do you
see?
▪ What confirms your hunches or surprises
you?
19-5
Analyzing Data, continued…
Checking your logic
▪ State accurately what data show
▪ Don’t confuse causation with correlation
▪ Look for three causes and three realistic
solutions for each problem
▪ Check identified ideas against reality
▪ Make report useful whatever data show

19-6
Choosing Information
▪ Use only what audience needs to
make decision
▪ How much depends on audience
▪ Supportive—be concise, direct
▪ Neutral or skeptical—give reasons,
explanations
▪ Use appendix for information not
needed as proof

19-7
 Organizing Reports
1. Process information before
presenting it to an audience
2. Divide voluminous
information into three to
seven categories
3. Work with the audience’s
expectations, not against
them

19-8
Report Organization Patterns
1. Compare and contrast
▪ Focus on alternatives or criteria
2. Problem-solution
▪ Identify problem
▪ Explain its causes
▪ Analyze advantages and
disadvantages of possible solutions

19-9
Report Organization Patterns,
continued…
3. Elimination of alternatives
▪ Identifies impractical solutions
▪ Explains why they won’t work
▪ Discusses least practical solutions first
▪ Ends with practical solution
4. SWOT analysis
▪ Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat

19-10
Report Organization Patterns,
continued…
5. a. General to particular
▪ Begins with problem and general effects
▪ Discusses solutions to each part of problem
b. Particular to general
▪ Starts with problem specifics
▪ Moves to discussion of problem implications
5. Geographic or spatial
▪ Discusses problem and solutions by units of
their physical arrangement
19-11
Report Organization Patterns,
continued…
7. Functional
▪ Discusses problem and solutions for
each functional unit
8. Chronological
▪ Records events in the order in which
they happened

19-12
Types of Reports
▪ Informative and closure
▪ Summarize completed work or research that
does not result in action/recommendation
▪ Recommendation
▪ Evaluate two more alternatives and
recommend one of them
▪ Justification
▪ Recommend or justify a purchase,
investment, hiring, or change in policy
19-13
Effective Report Writing
▪ Use these four techniques:
1. Use clear, engaging writing
2. Keep repetition to a minimum
3. Introduce sources and visuals
4. Use forecasting, transitions, topic
sentences, and headings to organize

19-14
Reports Headings
▪ Use single words, short phrases,
complete sentences that indicate topic
in each section
▪ Cover all text until next heading
▪ Topic headings focus on the
structure of the report
▪ Talking headings tell reader what to
expect in each section

19-15
Formal Report Parts: Title Page
▪ Contains four items
1. Report title (top, large font)
2. Prepared for
3. Prepared by
4. Completion (release) date

19-16
Formal Report Parts:
Transmittal Message
▪ Letter if external audience
▪ Memo if internal audience
▪ Purposes
▪ Transmit report
▪ Orient readers to report
▪ Build good image of report
and writer

19-17
Transmittal Message, continued…
1. Transmit report
▪ Tell who authorized report and when
▪ State purpose of report
2. Summarize conclusions and
recommendations
3. Mention any points of special interest;
explain how you overcame problems;
thank people who helped you
19-18
Transmittal Message, continued…
4. Point out any additional research
needed, if any
5. Thank reader for opportunity to do
work and provide contact info

19-19
Formal Report Parts:
Table of Contents
▪ List headings exactly as
they appear in report
▪ Headings included
depends on report
length
▪ List all headings if report
under 25 pages
▪ In long report, list only
first 2 levels
19-20
Formal Report Parts:
List of Illustrations
▪ Helps reader refer to
visuals
▪ Comprises both tables
and figures
▪ Show number, title, and
page number of each
visual
▪ Lists in order of
appearance in report
19-21
Formal Report Parts:
Executive Summary
▪ Tells reader about report
▪ Summarizes recommendation
reasons or describes topics
report discusses
▪ Make it clear, concise, and
easy to read
▪ More formal than other forms
of business writing
19-22
Formal Report Parts:
Introduction
▪ Contains report
purpose and scope
▪ May include
▪ Limitations
▪ Assumptions
▪ Methods
▪ Criteria
▪ Definitions

19-23
Introduction: Purpose Statement
▪ First paragraph identifies three things
▪ Problem report addresses
▪ Technical questions it answers
▪ Rhetorical purposes

19-24
Introduction: Scope
▪ Identifies how broad an area report
covers
▪ Allows reader to evaluate report on
appropriate grounds

19-25
Introduction: Limitations
▪ Affect validity of recommendations
▪ Less valid
▪ Valid only under certain conditions
▪ Often caused by time or money
constraints
▪ Time did not permit random sample
▪ Funding did not permit onsite visit to Fiji

19-26
Introduction: Assumptions
▪ Statements assumed to be true and
used to draw conclusions
▪ Wrong assumptions may make
recommendations invalid
▪ The crew’s equipment will fit on the plane
Examples

they travel in.

▪ The cast will consist of 25 to 30 people,
excluding locals who participate as
extras.
19-27
Introduction: Methods
▪ Explain how you investigated problem
▪ How you chose subjects
▪ When subjects were surveyed
▪ What form of survey was used
▪ Provide a brief description of
significant sources if using only library
or online research

19-28
Introduction: Criteria and
Definitions
▪ Criteria—outlines factors or standards
and importance of each
▪ Definitions—define key terms if some
readers may not understand them

19-29
Formal Report Parts: Background
or History
▪ May cover many years or just
immediate problem situation
▪ Include even if current audience
knows situation

19-30
Formal Report Parts: Body
▪ Longest section of report
▪ Analyzes causes of problem and offer
possible solutions
▪ Presents argument with evidence
▪ Uses headings, forecasting
statements, and topic sentences

19-31
Formal Report Parts: Conclusions
and Recommendations
Conclusions
▪ Summarize key points made in main
part of report

Recommendations
▪ Actions to solve or lessen problem
▪ Based on conclusions

19-32
Formal Report Parts: Conclusions
and Recommendations
▪ Combine recommendations with
conclusions if both sections are short
▪ Neither contain new information

19-33
LISTENING
 Listening

Difference Between Listening & Hearing:

❖ Hearing:
❖ Perceived Sound.

❖ Listening:
❖ Perceived Sound, decoding it, interpret it, and understand it.

❖ Active Listening:
❖ Listening with pay strong attention to the speaker.
 Listening

Comparing Between Reader and Listener:

1. Listener listens to the information just one time.

But Reader can read the information many
times.

2. Listener, usually do not choose the time for

listening. But, the reader might choose the right
time for reading.
 Listening

Comparing Between Listening in

Classroom and Listening in Work:

1. In the classroom, student may take a note from the

instructor, But listener in work may not.

2. In the classroom the instructor may explain the ideas,

give example, and may repeat the ideas more than one.
But in work no chance to repetition or explanation, the
ideas said just ones.
 Listening
Comparing Between Listening in
Classroom and Listening in Work (Cont):

3. In the classroom, usually, the instructor prepares his

topic and facilitates students understanding more
than speaker at work.

4. In classroom, usually, have a Book to study the

lecture, but in work, no such that is available.
 Listening
Comparing Between Listening in
Classroom and Listening in Work (Cont):

5. In classroom you may listen just for information, but in

work you have to listen to information, and for feeling
carefully.

6. In classroom you listen for information to know them,

the student will be tested in them later, but in work,
workers mostly listen to instruction and assignments to
be implemented in certain time.
 Listening

Active Listening strategies:

1. Pay attention.

2. Focus on the speaker's presentation rather than

personality.

3. Avoid making assumption or guessing for what you hear.

4. Listen for feelings as well as for information or facts.

 Listening

First: Pay attention.

1. Pay attention attempts to resist distractions and

tune out noise.

2. Focus your attention to key points of the

presentation.
 Listening

To avoid errors caused by inattention, you

may do:
1. Before the meeting anticipates the answers you
need to get some questions make a list of the
questions you need to get answers vertically, and
then write the answers to each question shortly.

2. At the end of the meeting check your information

with another person.
 Listening

To avoid errors caused by inattention, you

may do (Cont):

3. When the meeting ends, you may write down

the key points shortly.

4. If you missed some information, you may

check with the speaker to complete them.
 Listening

Second: Focus on the other

speaker(s) in a generous way:

❖Means focus on the presentation rather than

the speaker's personal limitations such as
"ugly tie" or language mistakes.
 Listening
To Avoid error caused by focusing
on the speaker flows:

1. Focus on presentation not his appearance or way of

talking.

2. Spend your time on understanding or evaluating what

you listen rather than planning for rebuttal.

3. Attempt to learn something from every speaker you

listen to.
 Listening

Third: Avoid Making

assumptions to guessing.
❖ Manyof listening errors come from making faulty
assumptions. The 1977 Boeing 747 crash with
KLM and killed 576 people.

❖ You should get the full information from the

speaker instead of guessing the missing
information.
 Listening

To Avoid errors caused by faulty

assumptions (guessing).

1. Do not ignore instruction you may think are

unnecessary. You may check with the speaker to
know its importance. Or to have clear
understanding.
 Listening

To Avoid errors caused by faulty

assumptions (guessing). (Cont)
2. Consider the speaker’s background in order to
understand the importance of the message.

3. If you do not understand the message clearly,

paraphrase what the speaker has said and listen
carefully to his/her correction or agreement.
 Listening

Fourth: Listen to the speaker’s

feeling as well as facts.
❖ Watchcarefully the nonverbal language that the
speakers use during his/her speech.

❖ Thiswould give more end information beside the

information you get from speech.
 Listening

To avoid error caused by focusing

only on speech’s facts.
1. Consciously, listen for the speaker’s feelings
(nonverbal language) beside listen to his/her
presentation.

2. Pay attention to tune of voice, facial expression and

other body language.

3. Do not assume that silence means consent

(agreement). You should invite other person to speak
and express his/her opinions.
 Listening

Active Listening:

❖ Listening with attention to the facts and speaker's

feeling (nonverbal communication). So, the
listeners are able to feedback the literal meaning
or speaker's feeling or both.
 Listening

Strategies for Active Listening:

1. Paraphrase the content:
❖ Saying what the speaker said in your own words
2. Mirror the speaker's feelings:
❖ Identify the feeling you think you listened to
3. State your own feeling:
❖ Express what you feeling specially, when you are
angry.
 Listening

Strategies for Active Listening (Cont):

4. Ask for more information or for clarification if

you do not fully understand.

5. Offer help to solve the problem of those who

could not understand the speaker.
 Listening
Blocking Response versus Active Responses:

❖ Blocking Responses means block understanding:

1. Ordering, threatening:
❖ Example: I do not care how to do it, just put the report on
my desk tomorrow.

2. Preaching, criticizing:
❖ You should know the subject better, before discussing it.
 Listening

Blocking Responses means block understanding(Cont):

3. Interrogating:
❖ Why did not you tell me that you did not understand the
instructions?
4. Minimizing the problem:
❖ You think that is bad! You will see I have to do this
week.
5. Advising:
❖ Well, do don't to listen carefully to everything you have
to do, and seeing which items are most important.
 Listening
Active response as a result for Active listening.

1. Paraphrasing the content:

❖ Say to the speaker you are saying that you do not
have time to finish the report by Friday.
2. Mirror feeling:
❖ It sounds like the department's problems really
bother you.
3. Stating one's own feelings:
❖ "I am frustrated that the job is not completed yet,
and I am worried about getting it done on time".
 Listening
Active response as a result for Active listening (Cont).

4. Ask for information or clarification "what parts

of the problem seen most important to solve?“

5. Offering to help solve the problem together.

❖ "Is there anything I could do that would
help?"
 Listening
Acknowledgment:
❖ Toshow the speaker your appreciation to
his\her presentation can be done through:

1. Words: "Thank you for presentation", "Good job "

African American".

2. Nonverbal symbols: such as smiling or nods.

3. Action: to start to do what speaker asked you to do.