Monday, September 29, 2008

Response to Melissa Bonneville

I have also stumbled across good sources of research when I really wasn't looking for it. It is kind of funny how that happens sometimes. When you start delving into a particular subject and check its sources you find even better information. Who doesn't enjoy doing research in the comfort of their own home using the Internet? It is great because no matter what time of day, you can do some research. You really have to be weary of the information found on the Internet though and make sure that it is credible. I have found though that when I head to the library to do research I am for more productive than I am at home. Also at the library you have access to the most credible information that really lays out a solid foundation for quality research.

Friday, September 26, 2008

9.26.08 Chapter 6 & 7

Chapter 6 focuses on reader-centered research. The first point the chapter wants to make clear is that research at work greatly differs from research at school. Obviously your audience is much different in a workplace setting so you need to adjust accordingly. You need to be effecient and you need to be able to produce results that are easy for your audience to find valuable. In order to accomplish this the chapter sets out 7 guidlines that can help guide you to your goal. Of the 7 that it lays out the one that I find most important and that I use the most in my career is "Define your research objectives." If you don't know what you are looking for ahead of time you will waste a lot of time. On occasion at work I will begin to look into a particular product and then end up way off point. For example if all I need to find is the features of a product, sometimes I end up looking into how it is installed or reading case studys of past installations. Does anyone else find themselves doing the same thing?

Chapter 7 is all about transforming your plan into a deliverable. I found the statement about persuasiveness to very true. "Regardless of a segment's size, readers mentally process its persuasive claims and evidence in the same way." How true is that? It kinds of reminds me of what I got from chapter 20. Get to the point as efficiently and effectively as you can. If you can say what you need to in one paragraph, don't stretch it to a page and a half. People don't have time for that. Another important aspect to this is organization. I am learning that headings with bold words go a very long way with the reader. It is important for the reader to be able to pick out the information that is most important to them very easily. When you can organize your communications in a way that is consistent with the way that your regular readers expect, you will be miles ahead.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is a very prevalent form of communication in technical writing. The definition comes in many forms. The one I found to apply best here is "The ability to use language effectively." Rhetoric is also Greek for persuasion. There are three forms of Rhetoric. Ethos comes from ego and is defined as I, we or our. The second form is Pathos and comes from emotion. The final form is Logos which stems from logic. All three are styles of writing that can be used to persuade. Like we learned in class, rhetoric can be found in all forms of technical communications. I use it everyday in my career especially in my e-mails. The form I use most is probably Logos. An example of how I use it in my career is "This project is out of town, we don't have the manpower to staff it and the drawings are not fully engineered." I think when the reader reads that statement they probably understand that I don't think that this is a project we should get involved with. I think I have always used rhetoric and have never really realized it. Now that I understand where it comes from and how to best utilize it I am sure that I will use it even more.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Chapter 4 &16

After reading chapter 4 I have a better grasp on the importance that planning plays in writing. Chapter 4 focuses on how to reader-centered approach to planning. It lays out guidelines on how to plan communications in order to better reach your reader. I could really identify with guideline one, "Identify the information your readers need." That has to be the most important piece of this whole puzzle. When writing you have to grasp what your readers will want to hear. Once you do that you can write to them specifically and make the communication to the point and more efficient.

Chapter 16 concentrates team communication. It discusses two types of team structures, leadership and distribution of tasks. The main difference between the two is that in a leadership structured team a single person is designated as the leader and usually make the decisions and in a distribution of tasks structure, decision making is usually done as a consensus. Depending on the size of the team, I usually prefer to work on teams where task and decision making is done collaboratively. I think that sharing responsibility in a group setting encourages all members involved to be active and allows for good results. I think it would be interesting to do some research and what things employees really enjoy about teams and also what they don't enjoy.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Response to Holley Schmeck Chapter 3 post

You brought up a good point when you mentioned how important it is to understand your audience. I completely agree. When you are writing you have to keep that in the back of your head at all times. Writing can be so much more successful when the reader can relate to what you are writing. I also liked your point about persuasion in writing. Persuasion is such a valuable tool to have in your bag. It can save you time and energy. These two ideas rank right at the top because they are so useful.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Chapter 3 Reading

After reading chapter 3 I could really relate to guideline three. It states "Define your persuasive goal: Analyze your reader's attitudes." The book seems to be right on when it says that persuasiveness is the second of the two essential on the job writing styles and that persuasiveness is present in every communication at work. I completely agree. When I write some sort of communication at work I am usually trying to persuade the reader into doing something. Most commonly it is an action. Things brings me to what we talked about in class, rhetoric. I don't think I fully realized how present it is in my career until we broke it down in class. It was interesting to break rhetoric down into the three categories. Rhetoric is very important to be able to recognize and write in a persons professional life. I think that if you can master it, you are probably more likely to get what you want more often and faster than if you didn't. This raises a question. Is ethos, pathos or logos the most common in the workplace?

Monday, September 8, 2008

Writing To Me

I have never been a huge fan of writing. I am glad I got that one out of the way... It has always been hard for me to actually put pen to paper becuase the words never seem to come out like I intend. Writing is healthy and unfortunately never exercise my right to do it. Maybe this class can change that.

If I had to choose a preferred style of writing, this would be it. No research, no guidelines, just writing. It seems to be the only style where the words really come out of my head with no reservation. I know in the future I am going to be required to write in both my educational life and professional life and maybe this class will lift the gate in my head that has always prevented me from enjoying writing.

This whole blog thing is pretty neat. I have always heard about blogs but never really explored reading one, let alone writing one. I have already started to check out other blogs because I am curious about what others have to say because I now understand what these things can be about. It is really just people letting stuff out of their heads to share with other people. This could end up being therapeutic.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

09.05.08 - Chapter 1, 20, 22

Chapter 1

After reading Chapter 1, I really understand the importance of effective communication. (Because the book says I will earn more money!) All kidding aside, communication is the foundation of any one's career. Without the ability to to convey important messages in the workplace, you might as well stay at home.

There is a significant difference between writing for your educational life and writing for your professional life. Mainly your audience. In your career your communications are usually sent to multiple people and convey a essential business related message. E-mail, memos, transmittal's, and Fax's are some of the most common forms of communication that a person will deal with in the workplace. Other forms you might come across are PowerPoint presentations, spec books, and manuals. In any case, effective communication is key.

In my professional life I am constantly honing my communication skills both verbal and non-verbal. E-mail takes up a lot of my time and is the main form of communication between me, my co-workers, vendors, reps and distributors. I need to be clear and concise in my communications because none of the parties involved have time to try and decipher ineffective communications.


Chapter 20

Chapter 20 tackles reader centered correspondence such as e-mail, memos and letters. It discusses seven guidelines involved in making sure your correspondence gets the job done. The one I found that is the most important to me is "State your main point up." I don't think I can express in this blog without pictures how important this is. Don't beat around the bush. People in the workplace have better things to do than wait for you to either spit or spell it out. I learned that one really quickly once I got out into the workforce and it is chapter 1 in my career bible.

Formatting your communications is very important as well. They need to be neat and professional without being overbearing. Developing templates for your different types of correspondence can be very beneficial when you are in a hurry. You just fill out the new information and go.


Chapter 22

Reader-centered proposals are the focus of chapter 22. This is probably the single most important part of communication. Usually when you are preparing proposals they are very formal. You are either giving proposals to your co-workers, managers and most often, your customers. Being successful in writing proposals is the backbone to any business. If you thing about it, customers expect to be treated like royalty and if you deliver anything less you are either costing the company money or you are standing in the unemployment line.

Since my goal is to attain a degree in MIS, I understand how important this will be in my future. I know that if I don't develop the skills necessary to be effective at writing proposals I might as well go get a job at the zoo taking care of monkeys.