.
POSTSCRIPT: 1 February 2007
--EFFECTIVE E-MAIL (and other workplace correspondence).  If you missed any of the questions on tonight's quick quiz, review Chapter Eight in World of Work and all of the supplementary readings (both online and hard-copy).  A few reminders concerning Chapter Eight:
1. Consider how the "Basic Principles of Workplace Correspondence" (pp. 190-194) echo points that we considered in our first class meeting, and note how the editors have revisited the principle of "so-whats" (originally discussed in our meeting on Jan. 25). 
2. Know the basic format of a modern business letter (page 196) as well as some of the minor variations that apply in particular situations (pp. 208-225). 
3. Keep in mind the importance of the subject line and the first sentence in an e-mail: focus your topic in the subject line; deliver your main point in the first sentence.  (Such points, of course, are simply extensions of the "you attitude.")  However, contrary to some of the examples in Chapter Eight of WoW, do not rely on e-mail for messages longer than two or three paragraphs. In such cases, put your main point in the body of the e-mail, with reference to the supplementary information in an attachment. (For an example, see the guidelines for the report that was due on January 18.)
Over the next few weeks, we'll continue to examine good and bad examples of workplace correspondence. Again, I invite you to provide examples from your own workplace.
--"YOU-ATTITUDE."  We've discussed the importance of maintaining a you-attitude in all areas of professional communication, and this evening (in the "I-" and "we-focused" sales letter from the Volkswagen dealer) we considered the consequences of ignoring the needs and interests of our readers.  We'll be revisiting this concept throughout the term.
--ASSIGNMENTS. As the SYLLABUS notes, "All work should be turned in on time." I may accept late work, but it's unlikely I'll respond to it.  If you ever have trouble completing an assignment, simply send me an e-mail before the deadline. The e-mail address for English 7100 appears at the top of the syllabus and on every page of this course site.  See the "reminder" at the end of the postscript for January 25 regarding when I check (and reply to) e-mails.
--EDITING: Cutting the Clutter.  This evening we focused on the value of cutting the clutter out of our professional writing by (1) choosing an effective format (with appropriate headings and subheadings); (2) relying on concise citations to avoid the distraction of "he said" and "she said"; (3) using numbered or bulleted lists, as appropriate; (4) using active voice wherever possible and eliminating redundancies. We'll apply other strategies throughout the term.
--EDITING: Parallelism.  By now you should have a solid understanding of parallel structure and be able to apply the principle to your own writing.  You'll find many examples of effective parallelism (at both the sentence level and the document level) in the minutes submitted by Kerry and Karla for our class on January 25.
--EDITING: A Look Ahead.  Each week we'll emphasize different editing and proofreading issues, from revising sentences to punctuating correctly.   (Professionals categorize and distinguish these chores under various headings, such as hard editing, technical editing, copy editing, and proofreading: see "How to Edit and Proofread a Manuscript").  Such topics reflect our concern not only for "clarity" and "correctness" but also for "consideration."  Put simply, forcing a reader to puzzle out what we intended to say is inconsiderate.   Likewise, faulty writing reflects poorly on the writer: just a couple of simple errors may indicate carelessness, at best; wordiness and pretentious diction suggest a misguided effort to impress rather than to inform; and misused words and meaningless expressions betray the writer's ignorance.  Finally, poor writing may be costly in a literal way.  For an international perspective on this issue, please skim Gerry Ball's "The Cost of Poor English" (from the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce).
--NOTE-TAKING.  Class minutes (like the previews and postscripts on this page) are not meant to be comprehensive records of class meetings, and, of course, they are not substitutes for your own note-taking.  I'm making this observation because studies on memory suggest that participants in a seminar (a) are generally more engaged than students who simply listen to a lecture, but (b) often recall less of the material presented because they take fewer notes and focus more on their own contributions than on the information provided by others.  Please check out the Cornell Note-Taking System for Seminars and Conferences--a simple but effective method for making the most of your time.    
--RESOURCES.  Throughout the term, whenever possible, I'll add to our RESOURCES page links to relevant exercises and articles that supplement class discussions and activities on a variety of topics.  I encourage you to do two things:
(1) check out these resources as soon as possible after I've posted them: doing so should help you to understand and apply the concepts introduced in class and in our text;
(2) locate similar online resources that you consider to be particularly helpful, and then send me the links via e-mail so that we can share them with the rest of the class.

PREVIEW: 1 February 2007
--MINUTES.  Beth and Michael will take charge of the minutes for this evening's class.
--EDITING SKILLS.  We'll apply the principle of "cut the clutter" (see postscript for Jan. 11: editing tips) in a few quick exercises.
--STYLE GUIDES. Be sure to bring along your copies of The Business Style Handbook.  We'll examine and compare a few standard guides, and (more importantly) we'll put our own handbook to use.
--LISTENING SKILLS.  We'll conclude our discussion of listening skills.   If you didn't have an opportunity last week to discuss the good or bad listening skills of a colleague, I'll invite you to do so this evening.
--"YOU-ATTITUDE."  We'll examine a few specific ways of applying this strategy in written communications.
--COMMUNICATING with E-MAIL.  We'll apply the tips and principles that I've asked you to review (in our text and in online readings) for this evening's class.

POSTSCRIPT: 25 January 2007
--MINUTES.  Karla and Kerry took charge of the minutes for this evening's class.  Each week, I'll post the minutes on Sunday evening (if they have arrived by then).  This Sunday I'll also post the schedule of minute-takers for the rest of the term.
--LISTENING SKILLS.  Next week--after you have read the handout "Listen Up!"--we'll continue our discussion of listening skills.   If you didn't have an opportunity this evening to discuss the good or bad listening skills of a colleague, I'll invite you to do so in next week's class.
--CLASSROOM COMMUNICATION.  Be alert but not offended: if you go off-topic during a class discussion, I'll interrupt you.  
--FIRST REPORT.  Before we next meet I'll be responding to each of you briefly by e-mail regarding these initial self-evaluations.   Generally, I won't be assigning letter grades to short exercises and reports such as this first one: presume your work is satisfactory  unless I tell you otherwise--in which case I'll clearly and directly explain why.  If you do exceptionally good work on any assignment, I'll be sure to note that as well.  Of course, work not submitted at all earns a zero. 
--MEMO FROM THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH (aka National Academy of Educational Research, aka the National Academy and Association for the Advancement of Educational Research, aka AAER).  This memo from 2001 is a small anthology of written communication blunders and idiocies.  Put simply, everything about this memo (beginning with the fact that it is a memo) is wrong.  Over the next few weeks, we're going to look closely at several of the problems illustrated here (problems related to format, layout, grammar and usage, style, and professional conventions) so that we can avoid them in our own work.  Btw, although its address has changed, AAER still hosts a website: http://inet4.swtjc.cc.tx.us/aaer/Default.htm.   (To my relief, the names of no AASU faculty appear on the membership page.)
--EDITING SKILLS.  This evening we discussed the importance of maintaining grammatical consistency in lists of any kind: that is, parallelism or parallel structure.  If you have any questions about this matter, let me know right away.   As a general practice, after we review an editing topic in class, I'll presume that you all understand the topic and can apply the relevant principles in your own work. So if you're ever perplexed over a topic we've discussed, don't hesitate to shoot me an email. I'll be happy to provide you with additional information, opportunities to practice, and whatever other help you may need. Next week we'll return to the topic of cutting the clutter. We'll also draw some distinctions between and among the processes of revising, editing, and proofreading.
--"YOU-ATTITUDE."  In our list of the 4 C's of professional communication (clarity, conciseness, correctness, consideration), the final c might be defined simply as the "you attitude": consideration of and for the needs and interests of the audience (the reader, the colleague, the customer).  Please read this short article (followed by a brief exercise), "Focus on 'You' Instead of 'I' and 'We'" (excerpted from Effective Business Communications, Murphy & Hildebrandt).
--THANK YOUs.  A short but genuine thank-you note, memo, or letter (depending on the person, the subject, and the occasion) might be viewed as an extension of the "you attitude."  And we're not talking tips or turkeys here (or any other sort of institutionalized bonus) but sincere expressions of gratitude to deserving individuals in the workplace.  We'll have a bit more to say next week. (See assigned handout, "Leading by Saying 'Thank You.'")
--"HOW YA DOIN'?"  Phatic communion (or phatic communication) can be defined as "small talk as a social lubricant."   Such small talk may be used as a way of instigating a more meaningful conversation--or of avoiding such a conversation.  I won't be taking a poll, but you might want to consider how much of your typical conversational day is limited to phatic exchanges.
--REMINDERS.  A quick reminder of a few points mentioned in our first class meeting:
(1) I check class e-mails only late in the evening, Sunday through Thursday.  Any e-mails that you send during the day on Thursday, for instance, won't be read until after class is over. 
(2) I'll be happy to meet individually with you at our mutual convenience--as long as you make an appointment (just call the office or send an e-mail) at least a day ahead of time.  No drop-ins, please.  (See the SYLLABUS.)

PREVIEW: 25 January 2007
--MINUTES.  I'll be asking two of you to take minutes this evening, as explained in class on January 11.  For imperfect examples of two methods of keeping minutes (narrative format and bullet format: consider adopting a combination of the two methods), see these entries from the ENGL 7100 class of Spring 2005.  This evening, in fact, we'll be covering some of the same information included in these minutes from two years ago. A few suggestions:
- Be sure to make an effort to keep track of observations and suggestions made by your colleagues in class.  (See Jan. 11th postscript on "note-taking.")
- Use parallel structure in bulleted lists, but don't feel compelled to put everything into bullets (an explanatory sentence or two can come in handy--see the next item).  In the first set of sample minutes, a simple way of helping to maintain parallel structure would be to put the references to pages in our text (a useful item, btw) in parentheses alongside the heading rather than in a distinct bullet beneath it.  
- Attempt to explain briefly the primary purpose of each main class activity.  And if you're ever unsure of the purpose of a class activity, please ask me!  If I've puzzled one person, I've probably puzzled many.
--ASSIGNED READINGS.  This evening I'll invite you to illustrate the concepts of "the you-attitude" and the "so-what principle." We'll also consider a few examples of effective and ineffective e-mails.
--LISTENING SKILLS.  I'll be asking you to report on what you discovered from observing the listening skills of one of your colleagues (see ASSIGNMENTS for this evening).
--INTRODUCTORY REPORT (via E-MAIL).  I'll respond to the reports that arrived by last week, as assigned.

POSTSCRIPT: 11 January 2007
--SYLLABUS.  Next weekend, after reading your introductory reports, I'll be making a few updates to the course SYLLABUS (including the section on Grading, Attendance, and Participation).  Don't wait until then, however, to read the syllabus. Please send me an e-mail now if you have any questions.
--MUTUAL SUPPORT.  Though it's not necessary to notify me before (or after) you miss a class, you do want to make sure that you stay in touch with a classmate--someone who can collect handouts in your absence and fill you in on any class activities that you missed.  (See SYLLABUS on Grading, Attendance, and Participation.)  By now you should have exchanged your phone number and e-mail address with at least one other member of the class.
--MINUTES.  As explained in this evening's class, starting with our meeting on January 25 you'll be working in pairs to take, edit. and electronically submit minutes for each class.  If you'd like to volunteer to take the minutes on Jan. 25 (and get at least one chore out of the way early), please send me an e-mail beforehand.
--NOTE-TAKING.  We discussed the importance of keeping track of observations and suggestions made by all members of the class.  As experienced students, you probably have the habit of favoring the professor's remarks in your class notes.  In our meetings (as well as in our notes and minutes), we need to be attentive to the ideas of everybody in the room.  Attending to everyone's comments (whether or not we agree) is, of course, a key leadership listening skill.
--LISTENING SKILLS.  According to our introductory handout, listening is a critically needed skill in business.  Yet our textbook (like most business communication texts) pays scant attention to this important topic, which we'll return to throughout the term.  Purely optional (for now): check out How To Be an Effective Listener. 
--EDITING TIPS.  Each week, we'll devote a short segment of class time to reviewing one or two topics related to editing skills.  (I'm also hoping that at least one of you will choose editing and proofreading as the subject for your class presentation later in the term.)  It's not too soon to begin relying on The Business Style Handbook as a reference guide.   Purely optional: If you'd like to get a head start on our next meeting,  check out Strategies for Reducing Wordiness (at St. Cloud State's LEO site) and our own Cut the Clutter and Common Redundancies.
--EXAMPLES OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATIONS.  As mentioned in this evening's class, as much as possible we'll be drawing on real-world examples as we apply various communication theories (beginning with the basic principles of clarity, conciseness, consideration, and correctness).  Please be on the lookout for (and pass along to me) workplace examples of particularly effective or particularly ineffective communications--including e-mails, memos, instructions, reports, and the like.   Before sharing these examples with the rest of the class, we'll remove the names of individuals and businesses to avoid embarrassing anyone. 
--COMMUNICATING with E-MAIL.  Please make this correction to the last handout of the evening, "Leading with Electronic Communications: E-Mail."  On page 2 (by the heading "E-mail TIPS") and again on page 3 (under "Critique"), please change the reference "page 120 in BCM" to "pages 53-56 in World of Work."  In class on January 25, we'll consider a few more do's and don'ts when using this ubiquitous form of business communication.  Purely optional: If you ever feel overwhelmed by the number of e-mails you have to deal with, check out "Overcoming E-mail Overload."

04 February 2007