Week 2 - 1/18 - 1/22

Monday

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day ~ no class meeting

Wednesday

Basics of Professional Communications

• The overall emphasis for communications in this class (because it is so in the workplace) will be on professionalism. All communications, regardless of genre (email, memo, blog, webpage, report, etc.) should be professional and appropriate in format, tone, and content. Because you will be judged in the workplace at least partially on your level of professionalism, part of your grade on every single piece of communication in this class will be determined by how professional it is in all three respects.

• The importance of format/design, as well as tone, and content: a large part of what people think of you is determined in the first few seconds ~ by appearance alone. This is the reason you "dress for success" when going to an interview or an important meeting or presentation.

In addition to making the right impression, dressing professionally gives you an edge, illustrating the old axiom: "if you look good, you feel good, and if you feel good, you do good" (we won't complain about the diction; old axioms are known for their expressions of basic truths, not their grammar).

The same is true when you "dress up" your written communications. Readers/Audiences make subconcious judgements about you and the importance of what you have to say the instant they see your piece of communication. That judgement is reinforced or refuted by the tone and content of what they're reading. So all three need to be as professional as you are.

• Writing Effective Memos.  *Note: All documents for this class that are not identified as belonging to a specific genre (such as cover letter, resume, report, etc.) should be prepared in memo format as outlined in this in-class discussion.

Friday

• WDA, 333-40 ~ pay particular attention to the "Ten Habits of Successful Emailers"  These are the criteria by which your emails in this class ~ and as a professional ~ will be evaluated
• "Boss's Angry Email Sends Shares Plunging"
• "A Stinging Office Memo Boomerangs" (if you get the free account at the New York Times)
• Read Gareth's Tips on Sucks-Less Writing

Check out Week 3 . No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments.