Professional Writing and Speaking

467 Pages·2020·93.811 MB·English

by  William H. Baker, Matthew J. Baker, Vincent D. Robles

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Professional
Writing
&
SpeaKing
SthEd;noe
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William H. Baker
Matthew J. Baker
Vincent D. Robles
/0\oun
~ Publlihlng
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MMnging Editor: Mimhew J. Baker
o,,.lgn nnd Lnrout: Mnuhew J. Baker
C.over Deilgn: William 11. Baker
Illustrations: William H. Baker. Mauhew ). Baker. and \1neeut D. Robles
C.(Jpyrigh1: 2020 William H. Baker, Manhew J. Baker, and Vincent 0. Robles
ALL RIGIITS RESERVED
No p,irt of this wo,-k may be reproduced, stored. or distributed In any form or by
an}' means wllhout the written perml5slon o(thc publlshel'. Plca~t' purehase only
authorized dectronk edltfo11s an<l dC> not partldpate ln or encouragt' e-lectronlc
piracy of copyrightable malerials.
ISBN: 978-1-7351843·0·2
f<Or more infonnntlon or permission to use: material from this te:xl or product,
contact:
Noun Publishing
Spanish 1:ork. Utah
Uniled States of America
1-801-22$-0637
nou1,[email protected]
Contents
1 • Managing with Communication ................................. 1
lntetpersonal and Social Effectiveness ........................................................... 2
Ma.nagemenl Effec;tiveness ............. , ... ,, ....... , ...................................................... 13
Chapter Summory ................................................................................................. 33
2 • Planning and Organizing Content ........................ 37
Plan the Writing ................................................................................................... 38
Creale and Organize the lnfocmation ............... , ............................................... 48
Chapter Summary ................................................................................................. 56
3 • Composing Business Messages ............................... 59
Document and Paragraph Attributes ............................................................... 60
OABC Wriling Pattern and Message Categ°'ies ............................................ 70
Chapter Summary ................................................................................................. 93
4 • Enhancing Messages Visually ................................ 98
Headings ................................................................................................................. 99
Art ........................................................................................................................ 101
Typography ........................................................................................................... 119
Spaoing .................................................................................................................. 122
Chapter Summaiy ............................................................................................... 124
5 • Reviewing and Revising .......................................... 128
Understanding the Revision Prooess ............................................................. 129
Step 1--Review and Revise the Oe1ign ........................................................... 132
Stop 2--Roviow and Reviso tile Orgoniz.otlon ................................................ 134
Step 3-Revlew and Revise the Contont ................. 136
Step 4-Revi&w and Ravis& the Style ... 139
Chapter Summary .................................... . .. ............... 142
6 • Communicating with Social Media ....................... 146
Undorstonding Social Modia and Its Functions .............................................1 47
Communicating with Socia! Media . .. ...... 150
Chapter Sumrnary ............................................................................................... 173
7 • Communicating for Employment ........................... 177
Choo&ing o Caroar .............................................................................................. 178
Flnd-,g Job Openings ........ 179
Preparing Employment Documents ................................................................. 183
Preparing fOf lntewiews ................................................................................. 194
Preparing follow-Up letters and Recommendation Documents .............. 206
Negotiating and Accepting Employment Offers ............................................ 209
Chapter Summary ............................................................................................... 210
8 • Solving Problems and Writing Proposals ......... 213
Solving Probletns ............................................................................................... 214
Writing Proposals .............................................................................................. 230
Chapter Summary ••.••••••••••..••••..••....•••...••..••...•.••.••..••.....•.••..•.••...•••.••••.•.•••..••••..•. 238
9 • Conducting Business Research ........................... 249
S~condary Research .......................................................................................... 250
Primary Research ............................................................................................... 262
Chapter Summary ............................................................................................... 272
10 • Writing Business Reports .................................... 275
O8finition of Business Reports ........................................................................ 276
Report Writing Process .................................................................................... 277
Business Report Ca1egories ............................................................................. 292
Review and Revision or Repo,ts ...................................................................... 298
Chapter Summary ............................................................................................... 300
11 • Designing Visual Aids ............................................ 322
Slldoshows ........................................................................................................... 323
Handouts ................ ... 344
Videos ..................... . .. ...... 346
Chapter Summary . .. ...... 350
12 • Giving Business Presentations ............................ 352
Preparing tho Message .......... .. ...... 354
Preparing the Media ............... .. ...... 369
Preparing the Messenger ........ 371
Preparing a Team ......................................., ... . ..., ..................... 378
Chapter Summary ............................................................................................... 360
Appendix A ........................................................................ 384
Sentence Basics .................................................................................................. 384
Appendix 6 ........................................................................ 441
Ooournonl Formats .............................................................................................. 441
Preface
We 11rc excited about the 5th od11fon of Prq/i!.,·sinnal Writil1g and SpeakinK (formcrl)'
Wriri,ig a,u/ Speo1ing fiw H11Ji1tf'.u}. We have put our besi efforts into creating ii
book thn1w lll pr~ nt maximum vnluc ICI all who read it.
We huvo mcludcd 01l 1he crillcul and timckss com111u111cauon ins1gh1s fmm prcvioui1
cditiom1 and uddcd 111UR)' new one, that ,1lign whh ll'tnd! in today'll chang111g profcs11ioru1I
cm1ir(11uucnt. We have made c.vcry effort to cnlmncc the text with reader-friendly language
and page design. We hope this book will strengthen your communication skills both in the
cla:iSmom and in your rrofcssiomtl workplnce,
Highlight!> of thii; book include the following;
• Tirutks11 communiu lion princi11le1, Timcl~s 1,rinciplcs thai endure the dynamic11
and tcchnoloi;.icol chan1>cll of today's profes~lonal wort1,lncc.
■ Brain-fric-ndly lcarnin}t framc-wurks. OABC, HA1'S, and olhcr mnemomcs to hdp
you leam and remember timeless princ-1ples for wri1ing. speukm;;. imd des1gnmg.
■ Hflpful workplace-c-xamplcs. Dc,zens of :wimple documenis to show how lo apply the
book's commumcnllon pnnciplts 111 v11ried profc:ss1on11I contexts.
■ Ccmvc-nicnt forn111t c8ook fomml that provules instont book ncc1:s,i m on-campus.
d111toncc-.lcon11ng, nnd professional environrncnls.
We lhank lnslrut.1ors and students who have given valuab1e feedback on eurlicr
edition~ 1'hdr suggestioni. h.ave helped mnke the book whut i1 is toda)', Lnstly, we want
to exprcs,;; our deep appredn1ion 10 our iiamilics and spouses for lhcir rl)ticnc:c: nnd help
during 1hi1-update.
We hope you hkc th1!1 book nnd will lind it a useful resource.
- WHham H. Haker
- Matthew J. Baker
- Vinccm D. Roblei;
Managing with
Communication
Ori;.aniznlions arc created to get results. . 1-\ sport..-. c<1uipmcnt manufacturer, for cxumplc,
fiCCks to mnkc product:; 11ml people will bu)' so the company c,m mnke money. Ile•
cnuse or the complexity of n111nufac1uring and m11rkc1tng b-ports equipmcn1. 1he ciom~lft)'
lures numerous people m help with the process. Someone dc11ignt the producm1. someone
crc11tc.s as.scmbly lines with proper equipment, someone buys su1,plics, so111conc arranges
financmg. many people work on the assembly lmc, someone advcrliscs lhc product. und
somoonc ships the product. l:.a-c-h position is expected to gci results, and all the small results
combmc to achieve the overall org11m1.at1on result:;.
How docs everyone get rcsuhs'? Mainly. with cO'cc1ivc communicauon! Communica•
lion is che mos1 vnol skill of num11gcrs, Good plonning.. org11niz.ing. moniloring. and leading
nll dc1>cnd on good communicodon. f,'uwndul man:igcmcnl, maltcllng m1mJgc111cnt.
op«alions man:1gc.mcnt. human resource managc:1ucnt, and l\'Scan,h and de,dopment .all
1
depend on goodcommumcallon. Communic.ation 1s the mean-"' by which managccs manogc.
Mann,gcmcnt communic,illion cncomp1L."scs how well you spc11k, write, listen, rend,
11nd in1cract with ye>ur fellow profcsi.ionnls. bo1b inside and musidc the orgnni1.111ion, As
Chapter 1 • Managing with Communication Professional Writin S eakln • 2
ii rei;ult, )'Our communicn1ion !ikills wdl grca1ly influence your 11dvnnccmcnt your :mlary,
1
11nd your job scL-urit)'. Comnmnicntion affects everything in your cnr«r.
lhe lirst rwm or this chapter discusse11 imponnnt interpersonal knowledge ond skilh1
you need for l'juocotdm.g in professional organ11.auon,. 'l'hc second piut or this clmptcr
eonecnlmtcli on the-nuina;;cmcnl skill:; you need for gelling result:; through other:;.
After you have sludied this chapter, you i;hould be able to do the followlng:
• Ocmonsmue cffccli\'C !iociul skills. including convc.nwilion, listening. .:md ne1working
skills.
• Dcmonstrutc commonly cxpcctc-d nwnncu and profcsi1ioru1I c1iqucuc.
■ Apply your knowledge .ind abililles in working with nnd achieving success 1hrough
othoo;.
Interpersonal and Social Effectiveness
emplo)•crs consis1cntly role interpersonal ell"ccu\1cncs11 us n high 1niori1y in hiring new
employees. Interpersonal effectiveness Is critical 111 till levels of an org..1nh:111ion. 1 hiii
section d1scu..,scs the 1m1x,rtaooe of sc,c111I intdhgenoe-. trust. convers.ilion and hstcnlng,
networking, and manners nnd etiquette.
Social Intelligence
1'hc oeadcmfo nnd 1cchmeal knowledge )'<>u gi1in 111 college is impon11n1 ror performing
your bpce1fic lallks. but the relationship aspcc1 of your work mus1 never be O\'etlooked. In
Caci. Goleman (1995) states 1hut inlcrpcrsom1I and social skills will hove a i:;rc11tcr impacl on
bu..,incs.~ i;uc.ccss than academic knowledge. Further. Oardnc--r( 1993) suggests four abilities
to be socially cffcctl\'c-sdf abili1ics, including s,c.lf-11wnrcness nnd sclf-mnn11gcmcnt. and
othCT 11bilitici;, including sociul 3w11rcncsi; nnd rclatillnship monngcmcnt (sec ·ruble I.I), In
othCT words, you need to be aware ofimd man□gc yourself and 10 be uwore ofund manage
your rclauoniihip~ with othcN.
T1bl• 1, 1 Gardner's Fottr Socio/ Eff6Clivaness Factors
Relationship managemont
Salf Abllltlos . 1'he "~If' row 1n the matrix indicatcll thllt you should be aware of your
own emotmns and nutnage them appropriately. For inslaoc<.\ 1f you're-in a meeting und
somoone cri1kizcs an idea you have llfoposed, your natural tendency is to become angry
and 1i1<;h back nl the person. Hut )'OIi cnn·1d o thnl wilhout social conscqucnc-C$. lnstc:ad,jus1
suy 10 yourself. ··1 know rm ungry right oow. but I must su1y culm and net mtionall)'. .. B)·
being uwnrc of your own cmouon11 nnd ketping lhcm under conlrol, you prevent ncgo11vc
eonscquencc.s nnd enhanec your credibility with your pc.tu.