MANAGEMENTCOMMUNICATIONACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to these important contributors.
The Marriott School at Brigham Young University for providing many of the resources needed to create this open
textbook.
The Friends of the Harold B. Lee Library and Jennifer Paustenbaugh, University Librarian, at Brigham Young University,
for generously supporting our efforts from start to finish.
Dr. William Baker for being a role model and inspiration for so many of us.
Our students, who light up the world as they enter to learn and go forth to serve.

Producing this open textbook was a group effort.
Lisa Thomas (Lead author and project manager)
Julie Haupt, Andy Spackman, Karmel Newell, Kurt Sandholtz, Melissa Wallentine, Liz Dixon, Crickett Willardsen, Sue
Bergin, Mariana Richardson (Writers and contributors)
Linda Christensen, Valene Middleton, Leslie Kawai, Scott Taylor, Lara Burton, Duane Miller, Kacy Faulconer, Ryan
Starks, Warren Brunson, Shayne Clarke, Rick Murdock, Ross Storey (Reviewers, editors, cheerleaders)
Clarissa Oliphant (Slide design genius), Mallory Reese (Research assistant extraordinaire)

Want to use this resource?
You can use this online textbook freely as long as you follow our Creative Commons license to attribute the original
source. You can also subscribe to our learning activities, assignment prompts, and testing materials for a small fee.
If you’re interested in adopting this curriculum or learning about our textbook creation process, please get in touch!
Email us at byumcom@gmail.com.

Kurt Sandholtz, Director
Lisa Thomas, Assistant Director
The Management Communications Group
Marriott School Of Business, Brigham Young University
This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Last updated 11 May 2020

CONTENTS

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

WHY?
Be a Skilled Communicator
WRITE
Look Good in Print
PLAN
Think Before You Write
ORGANIZE
Structure Matters
BUILD
Create Clarity & Coherence
RESEARCH
Find the Answers
FORMAT
Make Your Message Inviting

8 REVISE
9 MANAGE
10 PERSUADE
11 SHOW
12 PRESENT
13 BRAND
14 WORK
Zoom Out – Zoom In

Getting Things Done…With People

Be Convincing

Show What You Mean

Stand & Deliver

Manage Your Personal Brand

Get the Job

CHAPTER

1WHY?
BE A SKILLED COMMUNICATOR

CONTENTS
4

WRITE FOR BUSINESS

7BE A TOP HIRE

9

BECOME A LEADER

10 STAY CONNECTEDLINK & LEARN
Required
Reading

This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andShareAlike
4.0work
International
License.
This
is licensed
under aCreative Commons
Attribute and ShareAlike
Attribute the original source at mcom320.net.
Emailbyumcom@gmail.com if you would4.0
likeInternational
to adopt the curriculum.
License.This chapter updated 11 May 2020.

Tips &
Optional

ExamplesActivityThis is Chapter 1

2

This will be one of the most useful courses you’ll take in college.
Writing and communicating well matters. In this course, you’ll learn how to communicate your best
ideas to your most important audiences.
•

WRITE FOR BUSINESS. Clear and concise writing gets noticed and leads to action.

•

BE A TOP HIRE. Demonstrated communication skills improve your job prospects.

•

BECOME A LEADER. Effective communication skills help you lead.

•

STAY CONNECTED. Appropriate communication helps you stay connected in your networks
and relationships.

Get ready to explore ways to manage projects and people, design great-looking documents, andpresent your ideas clearly and confidently.

HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR WAKING HOURS?

70

We spend approximately@%of our time communicating.
3

SECTION ONE

WRITE FOR
BUSINESSALUMNI ADVICE

Communication is the heart of business. Short emails,
complex reports, private chats, impassioned pitches,
formal presentations, and team meetings move
information and ideas around an organization, definestrategy, and drive decisions.
Business communication is concise, direct, clear, andcompelling.

Management Communication “wasone of the toughest classes of myundergrad, but I learned lessons I use
every day in business.”

James Clarke
Founder of Clearlink and Clarke Capital Partners

4

WRITE TO BE UNDERSTOOD
Clear and Concise Writing
All writing styles, including business writing, can be written clearly without losing meaning. Plain language is a term used
to describe writing that is clear and concise. Many businesses and governments are revising traditionally dense, hard-tounderstand text using plain-language principles. Below is an example from PlainLanguage.gov.
FEMA’s Winter Preparedness Safety Tips
BEFORE

AFTER

Timely preparation, including structural and non-structural
mitigation measures to avoid the impacts of severe winterweather, can avert heavy personal, business andgovernment expenditures. Experts agree that thefollowing measures can be effective in dealing with thechallenges of severe winter weather.

William Strunk and E. B. White

Severe winter weather can be extremely dangerous.
Consider these safety tips to protect your property andyourself.

“A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, aparagraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason
that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and amachine no unnecessary parts.”
5

THE BUSINESS AUDIENCEYour audience dictates your business writing style. Keepthe following points in mind when composing:•Your audience is busy. Busy (and business) readers
want concise, no-nonsense information.

•

Your audience is analytical. Readers want solid
evidence and transparency.

•

Your audience is increasingly international. Even
though English is the global language of business,
avoid language that could create misunderstandings
or confusion for non-native English speakers.

•

Your audience is decisive. Business communication
often leads to decisions. Provide well-reasoned
recommendations.

•

Decision makers are critical of time wasters.
Business moves quickly, so give only pertinent
information. Make that information reliable andeasy to access.

BUSY
ANALYTICAL
INTERNATIONALDECISIVE
CRITICAL

6

SECTION TWO

BE A
TOP HIRE
Employers are hungry for people with communicationand leadership skills. Job market research firm
Burning Glass reports, “Writing, communication skills,
and organizational skills are scarce everywhere.
These skills are in demand across nearly every
occupation—and in nearly every occupation they’rebeing requested far more than you’d expect based onstandard job profiles.”

ALUMNI ADVICE“The majority of business
communication today happens throughemail and social platforms, so I’m evergrateful for the critical business writing
foundation that I gained through[Management Communication].
I would recommend it to anyone.”
Eric Farr
Principal at BrainStorm
Brigham Young University, Economics, 1996

7

HIRE THE BEST WRITER
Employers are eager to hire good writers because clear
writing demonstrates clear thinking. Read about badbusiness writing in this Harvard Business Review article:

EMPLOYERS WANT GOOD COMMUNICATORS Bad Writing is Destroying Your Company’s Productivity.

Problem-Solving Skills

Top responses employers gave when asked what attributes they lookfor when hiring new college graduates.
LEADERSHIP

91.2%
86.3%

Ability to Work in a TeamA 2020 survey reveals that written and verbal
communication skills are in the top seven attributes
employers are looking for when hiring new college
graduates (see Figure 1.1).

ABILITY
TO WORKIN A TEAMWRITINGSKILLS

Strong Work Ethic

80.4%

Analytical/Quantitative
SkillsPROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS

79.4%

Communication Skills (Written)

77.5%

VERBAL COMMUNICATION

72.5%

Leadership
Communication Skills (Verbal)
FIGURE 1.1

69.6%

National Association of Colleges and Employers“If you are trying to decide among a few people to fill a position,
hire the best writer. . . . Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking. Great writers know how
to communicate. They make things easy to understand. They can put themselves insomeone else's shoes. They know what to omit. And those are qualities you want inany candidate. Writing is making a comeback all over our society...Writing is today's
currency for good ideas.”
Jason FriedFounder of Basecamp, Author of ReWork

8

SECTION THREE

BECOMEA LEADER
You become a leader by using your communication skills tolearn from people, coordinate their efforts, shareknowledge, communicate high standards, and inspire.
In their book, The Extraordinary Leader, researchers
Zenger and Folkman report that communicating“powerfully and prolifically” enhances leadershipcompetencies, including even seemingly unrelated ones
like technical competence or strategic development.
Powerful communication is a skill—and a habit—that
enhances all other skills.

In your other classes, you’ll spend long hours deepening
your technical knowledge in your chosen field. However, if
you leave college unable to pitch a new idea to your team,persuade an investor, or clarify data for a client, yourinfluence will be blunted and much of your effort wasted.
Hone your communication skills and you will be able topowerfully contribute solutions to your workplace andenhance your own career.

“Power comes not from knowledge
kept but from knowledge shared.”Bill Gates in Time Magazine

9

SECTION FOUR

STAY
CONNECTED
Human connection is valuable to health, safety, peace, and success. We spend
the majority of our waking time in communication activities, driven toconnect—and stay connected—with other people.
Part of good business communication involves understanding another’s point ofview, delivering bad news clearly but diplomatically, maintaining trust throughethical and honest messaging, and using language to encourage and motivate ateam.
Your study of business communications will not only help you increase yourworkplace skills and employable value, but will also help you to live well,understand others, stay connected, and accomplish your goals.

You can use these skills inevery area of your life…
RELATIONSHIPS You look upset. Wantto talk about it?
NEIGHBORHOOD Empty lot cleanup
party this Saturday at 10 a.m. Bring arake. Donuts provided!
COLLEAGUES Does everyone
understand the new reporting
policy?
CITY The new bond is an essential
tool for improving our transit system
for the following three reasons . . .

10

IN CONCLUSION
By practicing concise and direct communication, you’ll become more effective in business, a moresought-after hire, a more influential leader, and a more connected human being.

Let’s get started.

11

LEARN MORE
Bennett, Jeanette. “10 Coolest Entrepreneurs: James Clarke.” Utah
Valley 360, December 11, 2015.
http://utahvalley360.com/2015/12/11/coolest-entrepreneursjames-clarke/, accessed February 2017.
Bernoff, Josh. “Bad Writing Is Destroying Your Company’s
Productivity.” Harvard Business Review, September 6, 2016.
https://hbr.org/2016/09/bad-writing-is-destroying-yourcompanys-productivity , accessed February 2017.
Burning Glass Technologies. “The Human Factor” (PDF file). November
2015. http://burning-glass.com/wpcontent/uploads/Human_Factor_Baseline_Skills_FINAL.pdf ,accessed February 2017.
Wiens, Kyle. “I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’sWhy.” Harvard Business Review, July 20, 2012.
https://hbr.org/2012/07/i-wont-hire-people-who-use-poo ,accessed February 2017.
Fox, Tom. “Dealing with conflict in the workplace.” The Washington
Post, May 21, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/onleadership/wp/2015/05/21/dealing-with-conflict-in-theworkplace/?utm_term=.b1c8cc3c6d24 , accessed February 2017.

Friedman, Esther M. et al. "Social strain and cortisol regulation in
midlife in the US." Social Science & Medicine 74, no. 4 (2012): 60715. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.11.003 , accessed
February 2017.
Gates, Bill. “Bill Gates New Rules.” Time, April 19, 1999.
http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2053895,00.ht
ml , accessed February 2017.
Harris, Lynda. “The Cost of Bad Writing.” NA Business + Management
29, no. 8 (2015): 15, accessed February 2017.
Hartung, Kyle John, and Daniel Gray Wilson. “Conversational Moves
That Matter.” Adult Education Quarterly 66, no. 3 (2016): 254-272,
accessed February 2017.
Loranger, Hoa. “Plain Language is for Everyone, Even Experts.”
Nielsen Norman Group. October 8, 2017.
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/plain-language-experts/ ,accessed October 2017.
Morgan, Blake. “Why Every Employee At Your Company Should Have
Communications Training” Forbes, January 24, 2018.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2018/01/24/whyevery-employee-at-your-company-should-havecommunications-training/#20e13d6a279d , accessed April 2020.
NACE. “Job Outlook 2020.” November 18, 2015.
https://www.naceweb.org/talent-acquisition/candidateselection/key-attributes-employers-want-to-see-on-studentsresumes/ , accessed April 2020.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

ARTICLES

12LEARNLEARN MORE
MORE
Plain Language: Improving Communications from the Federal
Government to the Public. May 2011. Accessed June 23, 2017.
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/index.cfm.
Stewart, Bri. “10 Coolest Entrepreneurs: Eric Farr.” Utah Valley 360,
December 11, 2015.
http://utahvalley360.com/2015/12/11/coolest-entrepreneureric-farr/ , accessed February 2017.
White, Myron L. “How Badly Does Management Want Good BusinessWriting?” Journal of Business Communication 3, no. 2 (1966): 1516, accessed February 2017.

Fried, Jason, and David Heinemeier Hansson. Rework. New York, NY:
Crown Business, 2010.
Garber, Peter R. 50 Communications Activities, Icebreakers, andExercises. (Amherst: HRD Press, Inc., 2008.) PDF e-book.
http://plankcenter.ua.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2018/08/50CommunicationActivitiesIcebreakersandExercises.pdf , accessed April 2020.
Strunk, William, and E. B. White. 2000. The Elements of Style. New
York: Longman.
Zenger, John, and Joseph Folkman. The Extraordinary Leader. New
York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, 2009.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

BOOKS

13

CHAPTER2WRITE
L O O KG O O DI N

P R I N T

Look Good in Print
When you write for business, write correctly. Simple mistakes can embarrass you
and cost your company real money. As evidence, read this New York Times article
about the million-dollar comma: Lack of an Oxford Comma Could Cost MillionsIn Chapter 2 we’ll touch briefly on 22 fundamentals of good writing. We selected
these by counting and categorizing the most common mistakes in a large sample
of student papers. In other words, our approach is neither comprehensive nor
random, but pragmatic. We want to help you avoid the most common pitfalls.



REMEMBER:

Throughout this text,
any link marked withthe blue eyeball icon
is required reading.
You may be tested on
the content.

Grammar Rules. Some of the fundamentals are grammatical, reflecting the rulesthat govern how sentences are constructed in the English language. These rules
have fairly definitive right and wrong answers (although grammar rules do
evolve; witness the recent acceptance of the singular “they” by some media
outlets).
Style Guidelines. Other fundamentals relate to style: preferred constructions
that, while not based on grammar rules, represent recommended practice. Manyorganizations have their own style guides listing particular do’s and don’ts.
Always follow your employer’s style guide (if available). For purposes of thiscourse, consider sections 2A – 2C your basic in-class style guide. You
are responsible for learning and applying the 22 fundamentals contained inthese three chapters.

TIP: Each of the 22 fundamentals will be identified aseither a grammar rule or style guideline. We don’t
expect you to memorize which are which; we simply
include this information for those who are curious.

This is Chapter 22

Let’s get started . . .
Click on each of these titles to read the content and watch the supporting videos.

2A Syntax and Word Choice
2B Punctuation Plus
2C Verbs

Fundamentals 1 - 9

Fundamentals 10 - 16

Fundamentals 17 - 22

Proceed to online resources if you need further clarification and practice.
Remember, applying these fundamentals is now your responsibility.

Need quick access? Remember this link:

bit.ly/mcom320fundamentals

3

Suggestions?

Click HERE

IN CONCLUSION
If you were blessed with an amazing English teacher, this content may come easily. If you
weren’t that lucky, you’ll have to work harder.
This may be your last chance to learn to produce strong, clear writing without errors.
We’ve done our best to make it relatively painless.
You’re welcome!

This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Attribute the original source at mcom320.net. Emailbyumcom@gmail.com if you would like to adopt the curriculum.
This chapter updated 11 May 2020.

CHAPTER

3PLAN

THINK BEFORE YOU WRITE

CONTENTS
4

PURPOSE6

AUDIENCE

9STRATEGY

12 STRUCTURE
LINK & LEARN
Required
Reading

This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andThis work
isInternational
licensed underaShareAlike
4.0
License.

Creative Commons Attribute and ShareAlike

Attribute the original source at mcom320.net. Email
International
byumcom@gmail.com if you4.0
would
like to adoptLicense.
the curriculum. This chapter updated 11 May 2020.

Tips &
Optional

ExamplesActivityThis is Chapter 3

2

Without a plan, writing can be frustrating.
You’ve experienced the desperate boredom of listening to a rambling presentation andthe frustration of reading a confusing email that never makes a clear point. Even if you
have a short message or are rushed, save your audience’s time by planning your message
well before delivering it.
To plan a message, follow the steps in the acronym PASS:
1. Define your PURPOSE
2. Consider your AUDIENCE
3. Develop a STRATEGY
4. Build a STRUCTURE

3SECTION ONE

Clearly define your purpose before you start writing. Decide what you wantyour audience to know, feel, and do after reading your message.

ASK PURPOSE-DEFINING QUESTIONS Your employees have not been accurately documenting company expenses.
As a result, your company is losing money. You want to address this issue.
Before you compose an email to them, answer the following questions:
What INFORMATION do I want to share?

I want the employees to understand the new protocol forsubmitting invoices.
What FEELING do I want to convey?

I want to encourage employees to be more conscientious
about how they spend the company’s money.
What ACTION do I want to occur?

I want employees to submit invoices that include a detailed
explanation of project expenses.
.

INFORMATION?
FEELING?
ACTION?

PURPOSE

4

COMPOSE A MESSAGE STATEMENTIn Writing Well for Business Success, Sandra Lamb encourages business writers
to define their purpose by composing a message statement. “Think throughwhat you want to communicate until you can concisely state your complete
message in a single sentence—a message statement. The simpler and shorter,
the better.” Condensing your thoughts into one short sentence will clarify yourpurpose. For example,NO

YES

In this memo I want to explain toeveryone what is meant by casual
dress, especially shorts, collarless
shirts, and business dress, as
opposed to business casual. I willtalk about the new company
policy regarding the dress code, tosee what people think and try to
get them to follow it.

I want to explain our company’s
new “business casual” dress codeand get employees to comply with
it.

“Think through what you
want to communicate
until you can concisely
state your complete
messagein a single
sentence.”

3.1

Write a message statement for
an important email you needto write soon. Does it affectthe outcome?

Sandra Lamb, author
Writing Well for Business5

INFORMATION?
FEELING?
ACTION?

SECTION TWO

AUDIENCE
Who will be reading your message? Always write with your audience in mind. Ask
yourself the following questions before you write:
KNOW. What does my audience already know about my subject? How will I makemy message interesting and relevant to them? Do they know my qualifications?
FEEL. Will my audience have positive, negative, or neutral feelings about mymessage? How should I address those feelings?
DO. What action should my audience take based on my message? How will I
motivate them to take that action?

DO

KNOW
FEEL
6

INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCES
When doing business with people from another country,
research their expectations for business behavior andcommunication.
JAPAN

Never use yourchopsticks to point
during a meal.

MAKE IT RELEVANT
Everyone has time and resource constraints, so your firstgoal should be to help your audience see why yourmessage matters to them. In Business Writing, Natalie
Canavor explains, “There is one universal to count on: selfinterest. We react to things and make decisions based on‘what’s in it for me.’”PICTURE YOUR AUDIENCERUSSIAMIDDLE EAST

Avoid raising
your voice—it’sa sign of
weakness.

Don’t put your feetup; showing the solesof your feet isdisrespectful.

Choose a country and learn something about its
cultural business expectations

Try creating a mental picture of your audience before you
write. When world-famous investor Warren Buffett
composes Berkshire Hathaway’s annual report, he writes
with his sisters in mind. Doing so helps him to avoid jargon
because he writes as if he were talking to them and tries to
explain concepts in terms they can understand. He informs
by using plain English. If, however, he were sharing thesame information with one of his colleagues, his approach
would reflect their shared knowledge.

• Quick Guide to Going Global
Note: To access some of• ProQuest CultureGrams
these databases you may• Global Road Warrior
need to sign into your library

3.2

Read Warren Buffett’s preface to the Plain
English SEC Filings Handbook. Try to emulate
his understanding of audience in your next
email.

account first.

7

TEST YOUR MESSAGE
What might be obvious to you because of yourbackground, education, and training might not be obvious
to your audience. Harvard professor Steven Pinker refers
to this phenomenon as "The Curse of Knowledge." Does
your audience understand the terms you are using? Can
they make the connections you are making? Don’t
oversimplify. Supply information at your audience’s levelof knowledge and experience. Test your message byhaving someone read it who has a similar background to
your audience.

CONSIDER PRIVACY AND SECURITY
ISSUES
Consider a possible secondary audience. Even if you think
your document is electronically secure, write your email as
if your conversation is not private. Hackers uncovered
secure emails of Sony executives that revealed a generallack of professionalism from the executives. This hurt the
professional image of a respected global company.
Compose your emails with the widest possible readershipin mind, and remember that written words can easily
go viral.

@

Be aware that

ANYONEmight read yourbusiness emails. Plan
carefully and write
consciously.
8

SECTION THREESTRATEGY
Never underestimate the power of emotion in the decision-making process. More than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle
introduced three rhetorical strategies that are still relevant today: ethos, logos, and pathos. Research increasingly
demonstrates that our emotions are pre-cognitive. In other words, the way we feel often precedes and influences how weprocess facts.

R
Strategies LOGOSPATHOS Rhetorical ETHOS
Emotion, values.

Emotional appeal doesn’tnecessarily mean an argument
devoid of facts and logic.
Remember, the first step inplanning is to think throughwhat you want the audience
to know, feel, and do.

Credibility, trust.

Part of being credible isknowing the facts. We’ll
explore the importance of
research and evidence in
Chapter 6.

Logic, reason, proof.

Decision makers tend to beanalytical thinkers who prize
logical arguments supported
by data. We’ll coverdeveloping arguments in
Chapter 10.

9

HOW, WHAT, WHY, WHEN, AND WHERE
HOW

Choose the communication channel that best supports your content and most appeals to youraudience. Would a paper document, an electronic message, or an in-person conversation be best?
Different communication methods involve different costs; speeds of delivery; and non-verbal, nonwritten cues (such as voice inflection and body language).
For example, face-to-face dialogue enables richness of both verbal and non-verbal communication,
but such conversations do not have the permanence of written documents. While emails can be
efficient, they do not have the personal touch of a handwritten note or the urgency of a text
message. A formal report might package information better than a long email.
All such factors play into your choice of channel. The impact of one communication channel overanother can determine whether your message is received in the way you intended.

WHY

Emphasize why the audience needs to read your message. You have seconds to capture youraudience’s attention before another message or task distracts them. This is true in communication
to senior executives, in marketing to new consumer audiences, and in situations with skeptical or
unfamiliar audiences. Make your message relevant and let readers know why they should keep
reading.
Even when you have bad news to share, find a starting point that helps your audience understandwhy your message matters to them. Think of questions your reader will have and answer themquickly and clearly.

Note the preferred communication channels of your key businesscontacts. Does your boss ignore emails but respond to texts?
Message people where they are paying attention.

10

HOW, WHAT, WHY, WHEN, AND WHERE
WHAT& WHERE

When formulating a strategy, be aware of the context. What professional pressures weigh upon
your audience—both from within and without their organization? What industry-wide problems
affect them? What personal biases might influence them at the moment? What internal or external
factors may shape the way your message is received? Context for a message is like the weather foran event; it affects everything and can’t be ignored.

WHEN

Deliberately pace the delivery of your content. What time of day should you send that email orhand-deliver that report? Readers appreciate directness, so introduce vital information right away
instead of slowly winding up to it. Keep your tone upbeat and friendly to avoid being seen as abrupt.
Deliver delicate, disappointing, or disturbing news with more context and less directness. We’ll coverstrategies for delivering bad news in CH 10: PERSUADE.
Most of all, remember to be concise. If you take too much time to explain or deliver your message,
the audience will likely move on to another more pressing matter or communication.

Check out the Best Time of Day to Send an Email11

SECTION FOUR

STRUCTURE
The human brain is wired to look for order, patterns, andstructure—chaotic and poorly structured messages quickly
lose a reader’s respect and interest. Make that brain
preference work for you by building clear frameworks into
your writing.
The next chapter (CH 4: ORGANIZE) will explore this process
in detail.

12

IN CONCLUSION
The
steps require work, but the process is worth it. Being aware of PURPOSE, AUDIENCE,STRATEGY, and STRUCTURE as you plan your work will turn potentially mushy, untidy, and costly
messages into sharp and effective ones.
Plan well.

13

LEARN MORE
ARTICLES
Buffett, Warren. “Preface.” In A Plain English Handbook: How toCreate Clear SEC Disclosure Documents. Office of Investor
Education and Assistance. Washington, DC: US Securities andExchange Commission, 1998.
https://www.sec.gov/pdf/handbook.pdf, accessed February
2017.
Bradley, Diana. “Lessons from Sony Hack: Be Careful What You
Email.” PR Week, December 19, 2014.
lhttp://www.prweek.com/article/1327386/lesson-sony-hackcareful-emai, accessed February 2017.
Ellering, Nathan. “What 10 Studies Say About The Best Time To
Send Email.” CoSchedule Blog, CoSchedule.com, March 23,
2016. http://coschedule.com/blog/best-time-to-send-email/,
accessed February 2017.
Lerner, Jennifer S. et al. “Emotion and Decision Making.” Annual
Review of Psychology 66 (2015): 799-823.
http://www.annualreviews.org.erl.lib.byu.edu/doi/pdf/10.114
6/annurev-psych-010213-115043, accessed February 2017.

Sleek, Scott. “The Curse of Knowledge: Pinker Describes a Key
Cause of Bad Writing.” Observer 28, no. 6, (2015).
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-curse-ofknowledge-pinker-describes-a-key-cause-of-badwriting#.WJVjwrYrLq0, accessed February 2017.

BOOKS
Canavor, Natalie. Business Writing in the Digital Age. Los Angeles,
CA: Sage Publications, 2012.
Garner, Bryan A. HBR Guide to Better Business Writing. Boston, MA:
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2012.
Gladwell, Malcom. David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the
Art of Battling Giants. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company,
2013.
Lamb, Sandra E. Writing Well for Business Success. New York, NY: St.
Martin’s, 2015.
Pinker, Steven. The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to
Writing in the 21st Century. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2014.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

14

LEARNLEARN MORE
MORE
Roman, Kenneth, and Joel Raphaelson. Writing That Works; How to
Communicate Effectively In Business. New York, NY:
HarperCollins, 2000.

WEBSITES
Berkshire Hathaway. “Annual and Interim Reports.”
http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/reports.html, accessed
February 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

15

CHAPTER

4ORGANIZE
S

T R

U C

T U R

E

M

A

T T E

R

S

CONTENTS
4

ORGANIZE INFORMATION6OUTLINE

13 USE 4A STRUCTURE
LINK & LEARN
Required
Reading

This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andThis work4.0
isInternational
licensed underaShareAlike
License.

Creative Commons Attribute and ShareAlike

Attribute the original source4.0
at mcom320.net.
InternationalEmail
License.
byumcom@gmail.com if you would like to adopt the curriculum. This chapter updated 11 May 2020.

Tips &
Optional

ExamplesActivityThis is Chapter 42

We don’t like chaos.
Have you ever been frustrated while searching for something important in your junk drawer, in piles of paper on your desk,or in unlabeled boxes in the basement?
Chaos can make us uncomfortable not only in our physical surroundings, but also in our communications. Communicating
works better when we follow a few basic organizing principles so that our audience knows what to expect.

This chapter will introduce you to the following:•

The importance of organizing your written and oral
communication.

•

A few helpful ways to impose structure by using an outline.

•

An organizing template that can be applied to nearly all
business communications: the 4A structure.

GET ORGANIZED

1.8

Cottrill Research

HOURS
The amount of time
an average office
employee spends
searching for
information per day.

FIGURE 4.1

3

SECTION ONE

ORGANIZEINFORMATIONIn business communication, a jumbled stream ofthoughts—in a voicemail, a report to your boss, or anemail to a supplier—carries a meta-message that you’re
incompetent. Beyond limiting your career prospects,
rambling messages can also cost your company clients or
tarnish its image, resulting in direct financial losses.

Thoughtless &Unprepared

1

2

3

ACTION

Smart &
Capable4

STRUCTURE FOR CLARITY
Powerful communication requires organization. Chapter 3
introduced the PASS acronym:

Identify the PURPOSE
Know the AUDIENCE

The work of organizing begins long before you start putting
any words on a page, screen, or slide. Like building a house,
constructing a message begins with putting up the frame—
creating the bare bones structure and then finishing thedetailing after.
Framing a message is called outlining.

Choose the STRATEGY
Create a STRUCTURE
In Chapter 3, we explored writing with a purpose, writing for
an audience, and choosing a strategy. In this chapter we focus
on creating a message structure.
An unorganized message causes your reader to waste timetrying to understand it.

Organized informationis understood more quickly andremembered
UP TO
40% BETTER.
Matt Abrahams: Insights by Stanford Business

5

SECTION TWOOUTLINE
Digital word processing has enabled us to spew words onto the screen and thenrearrange them as needed. However, this composition method often produces long,unorganized messages. Investing time in an outline will improve the clarity, flow, andbrevity of your message. Outlining forces you to do your thinking first, producing
smarter, more powerful messages.
We’ll examine three approaches to outlining:

TOP-DOWN APPROACH

MIND MAPPINGBOTTOM-UP APPROACH

Discipline your message structure.

Associate visually.

Create order from chaos.

When you already know the main
subtopics to address.

When you want to visually
explore multiple aspects.

When you have information but
need structure and direction.

6

TOP-DOWN OUTLINEOUTLINING AS DISCIPLINE
Top-down outlines work well when you have a clear idea ofwhat you want to say. Producing a top-down outline allows you
to logically order your ideas and provide sufficient support foreach idea.
Read through the sample alphanumeric outline for asales presentation to the right (Figure 4.2).
Notice that the alphanumeric outline uses Roman numerals to
indicate the major sections and letters of the alphabet todenote subsections. Arabic numerals indicate sub-subsections,and so on.
A top-down outline is an excellent way to organize yourmessage, especially if you have a well-developed set of ideas
or structure to start with.

SALES MEETINGSAMPLE ALPHANUMERIC OUTLINE

I. Introduction
A. Build rapport
B. State your purpose (this is where your agenda
goes. See the “4A Outline”.)

II. Customer needs
A. Identify the “job to be done”
B. Establish the competitor’s performance
C. Identify gaps in the competitor’s offering
III. ProductA. Describe superior head-to-head performance
B. Introduce your product’s unique features
C. Highlight other advantages: cost, quality,
convenience, “cool factor,” etc.
IV. Summary and call to action
A. Emphasize advantages of your solution
B. Gain commitment to purchase
FIGURE 4.2
Need a refresher on alphanumeric outlines?
Review Purdue OWL’s Types of Outlines: Alphanumeric
Outlines.

7

MIND MAPSOUTLINING AS ASSOCIATION
If your ideas are not fully developed, or if you’re more of avisual thinker, you may prefer a mind map to a formal
outline. The term “mind map” was coined by Tony Buzan,although the technique is centuries old. Figure 4.3
summarizes creating a mind map.

4.1

Create a mind map of the sales presentation outline on theprevious page. What is gained by the mind-map approach?
What, if anything, is lost?

THE PROCESS OF MIND MAPPING
1. Write the main idea in thecenter of a blank page. This
gives you room to branch out inall directions.

4. Expand your subcategories withmore branches and keywords.
This will allow you to further
refine your ideas.

2. Identify subcategories of themain idea and assign each a
KEYWORD. Single words are
more powerful and memorable.
Choosing a single word forces
you to think clearly andconcisely.

5. Draw CURVED branches.
Straight lines feel mechanical;
curved lines feel organic. You
want your mind map to feel likea living, breathing organism.

3. Draw BRANCHES from yourcentral image with labels foryour subcategories. Draw subbranches for the conceptualcomponents of each category.
Make use of color.

6. Add IMAGES to the branches
and sub-branches if you’remore visual. Pictures captureideas more succinctly andcreatively than do words.

FIGURE 4.3

Religion

Sanctions

Diversecustomers

Traditions

Inner
conflicts
Socialnorms

CULTUREInternational
conflicts

POLITICS
Exchange
Rate

Laws

CHALLENGES OFA GLOBALORGANIZATION

Fuel
Technology

ECONOMY

Exports

Trade
laws

RESOURCES

Productivity

Tariffs

COMMUNICATIONSDemographics

Collaboration

Geography
Flexibility

Technology

8

BOTTOM-UP OUTLINEOUTLINING AS CREATION
Bottom-up outlining is a wonderful antidote for writer’s block. It can be used when writing alone or in a group. Follow threesteps: brainstorm, cluster, and sequence. Figure 4.4 gives an example of outlining a reporting email.

1. Brainstorm

2. Cluster

3. Sequence

Think about your idea and write down
whatever comes to mind. Don't holdback. Capture all the facts, keywords,
concepts, stories, analogies, diagrams,
and related ideas you can think of.

Next, look for patterns in your brainstormed list. Group related items
together. Make clusters of meaningand stay open to new ideas. Notice
any unusual associations between
facts.

Finally, look at your clusters andsequence them in a way that builds
meaning. Pay attention to logicalprogression. Make sure youraudience has adequate information
at each step to follow your argument.

• Due dates moved to last day ofmonth (Opening)• Change takes effect immediately• People who worked on the project
and their hours. (Closing)• Who determined the changes?
• Tasks completed (Project Status)• Status of incomplete tasks (ProjectStatus)• Who to contact with questions?
(Resources)

FIGURE 4.4

SEQUENCE• Due dates moved to last day ofmonth• Change takes effect immediately• People who worked on the project
and their hours.
• Who determined the changes?
• Tasks completed• Status of incomplete tasks• Who to contact with questions?

CLUSTERBRAINSTORM

END-OF-MONTH PROJECT REPORTING EMAILOPENING• Due dates moved to last day of themonth
RESOURCES• Who to contact with questions
PROJECT STATUS• Tasks completed• Status of incomplete tasks
CLOSING• People who worked on the project andtheir hours

9

TIPS FOR SEQUENCING AND ORGANIZINGFOLLOW THE RULE OF THREETELL A STORY

Whether writing a long report or a short email, Bryan
Garner, author of HBR Guide to Better Business Writing,suggests that you start with three main points. By
narrowing the focus, you are forced to reason before you
write. Garner asserts that our brains prefer groups ofthree. Take advantage of this innate preference andoutline in groups of three.

The oldest and most satisfying structure is a story. When
you are writing a longer piece or giving a presentation,
telling a story can be an effective structure: Set the scene,build interest and add tension by showing a problem,
need, or pain. Finally, resolve it all with your brilliant
insights and clear thinking. Figure 4.5 shows the elementsof a story arc.

1

2

conflict3

climaxFIGURE 4.5

conflictconflict

STORY ARC
conflict

beginning

resolution

middleend

10

CONVERT YOUR OUTLINE INTO HEADINGS
Headings organize your message and serve as “signposts”—which makes reviewing and finding information
quick and easy for readers. Use your outline to write yourheadings, tighten your key phrases, and make sure yourpoints have parallel structure. Most word processors havean outlining feature that automatically converts youroutline into a hierarchy of headings.

4.2

FIGURE 4.6

OUTLINE
I.

II.

III.

Create an outline by brainstorming, clustering,and sequencing your ideas on how a small
business could take advantage ofcrowdsourcing. Create headings from theoutline.

FINAL PAPER

A.
B.
C.
A.
B.
A.
B.

11

CHOOSE THE RIGHT SEQUENCE
Below, author Sandra Lamb’s six common ways to sequence a message are applied to the practical example ofrecommending the purchase of a new office computer. Read through to see which sequencing options best fit the purpose.

SEQUENCING OPTIONS: PURCHASE OF A NEW OFFICE COMPUTER
FIGURE 4.7

SEQUENCE

DESCRIPTION

EXAMPLECHRONOLOGICAL

What happened first, second,and so on

Itemize the computer models according to which ones you researched first,
second, and so on. (Probably NOT the best way to share the information forthis scenario.)SPATIAL

According to physicalplacement—the location of
items in relation to other items

Order the analysis according to their country of design or manufacture: model X
is designed in China, model Y in South Korea, and model Z in the United States.
(Again, probably not the best way to present the information.)

COMPARATIVE

The pros and cons of different
options

Evaluate the various computer models by comparing features such as storage
space, cost, screen size, reliability, and so forth.
(This could be the best choice.)

ANALYTICAL

Based on the steps of criticalthinking; answering a series of“whys?”

Answer a series of questions that are important to your audience: Why isstorage space an important criterion? Why does this computer cost more thanthe other models? Why does this computer have low reliability scores?

IMPORTANCE

Advancing from least to mostimportant information or viceversa

Sequence the information according to what matters most to your audience. If
cost were most important, begin with cost and show how that narrows the
choices, then continue with the next most important factors such as reliability
and performance.

CAUSE-AND-EFFECT

How causes interact with effects

List the “causes” (or reasons) that led to the “effect” (the search for a newcomputer system), then present your recommendation. (In this case, causeeffect becomes problem-solution.)

12

SECTION 4

4A
STRUCTURE
After you create an outline to clarify and sequence your content, build asolid structure for your message.
In previous writing classes, you may have learned a three-part approach
to writing an essay: introduction, body, and conclusion. We modify thisapproach to be business- and brain-friendly. We add an agenda and rename the sections to better reflect business style. This approach isrepresented by four A’s:

Attention | Agenda | Argument | Action

4A

ATTENTIONAGENDA
ARGUMENT

Take a minute to memorize this “4A” structure.

ACTION

13

4A

ATTENTION
Why should your audience spend precious time and attention on your message?
This is the first question you must answer. Hook your audience by opening with acompelling statistic, a descriptive metaphor, a relevant story, or a penetrating
question—but keep it brief. In a short email, you might give key context details
that motivate attention.
AGENDAAn old public-speaking tip states that you should “tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell‘em” at the beginning of a speech. This concept is crucial to business
communication. Your agenda previews the body of your message—usually in one
sentence—and prepares the reader for the main points you’re going to make.
ARGUMENT
Your argument is the meat of your message. It includes your main points
supported by solid evidence and logic. Keep in mind the Rule of Three and keep
your argument simple and memorable by not exceeding three supporting points.
ACTIONBusiness communication often ends with a call to action. Your closing should not
only summarize but also identify next steps (if appropriate), letting your audienceknow what you’d like them to do based on the information you’ve shared.

14

IN CONCLUSION
Don't leave your audience wandering hopelessly around in your message. Create an outline toorganize and sequence your ideas. Use the 4A structure to build your outline and guide thecomposition of your message:•

Capture your audience’s ATTENTION•

Specify your AGENDA•

Craft a strong ARGUMENT•

Deliver your call to ACTION

15

LEARN MORE
ARTICLES
Gallo, Carmine. “Thomas Jefferson, Steve Jobs, and the Rule of 3”
Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2012/07/02/thomas-jefferson-steve-jobs-and-the-rule-of-3/#3306fb541962, accessed
October 2017.

BOOKS
Garner, Bryan A. HBR Guide to Better Business Writing. Boston,
MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2012.
Lamb, Sandra E. Writing Well for Business Success. New York, NY:
St. Martin’s, 2015.
Minto, Barbara. 2009. The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing andThinking (3rd edition). Harlow, UK: Pearson Education Ltd.

WEBSITES
Purdue Online Writing Lab. “Types of Outlines and Samples.”
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_proc
ess/developing_an_outline/types_of_outlines.html , accessed
April 2020.
Tony Buzan. “Home.” http://www.tonybuzan.com/, accessed
February 2017.

VIDEOS
MacGrercy Consultants. “How to Make a Mind Map.” YouTube,published May 6, 2009.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLWV0XN7K1g, accessed
February 2017.

s(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

16

CHAPTER

5BUILD
CREATE CLARITY & COHERENCE

CONTENTS
4

PARAGRAPHS

7EMAIL MESSAGESLINK & LEARN
Required
Reading

This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andThis work4.0
is International
licensed underaShareAlike
License.

Creative Commons Attribute and ShareAlike

Attribute the original source at mcom320.net. Email
4.0
International
License.
byumcom@gmail.com if you
would
like to adopt
the curriculum. This chapter updated 11 May 2020.

Tips &
Optional

ExamplesActivityThis is Chapter 52Building strong paragraphs createsa foundation for good writing.
Start building your message by combining
sentences into paragraphs.
Because emails are simply sets of paragraphs—
and the most common form of businesswriting—we’ll also discuss best practices forbusiness email construction.

3

SECTION ONE

PARAGRAPHS
Readers don’t like solid walls of text. Long paragraphs seem todemand too much time and effort. When you break messages into
short paragraphs—highlighted by headings, guided by transitions,and framed by white space—you make your message more inviting.
In general, aim for paragraphs with three to five sentences.
Occasionally, you might use a single-sentence paragraph foremphasis. Other times, you might need a longer paragraph tocomplete your thought.

¶

Most paragraphs
should be about

3 to 5sentences long.

Owl: Purdue Online Writing Lab

4

BEGIN WITH A TOPIC SENTENCE
The first sentence in each paragraph should introduce yourtopic and inform the reader of the paragraph’s purpose.
These topic sentences provide a framework for yourparagraph and allow you to deliver content on a unified
theme. Write topic sentences clearly so that busy readers
can get the gist of your argument by skimming the topic
sentence of each paragraph.

NO

Develop your arguments and examples by carefully
selecting evidence-based details that lead your audience todraw the conclusions that you want them to make. Read theexamples in Figure 5.1 to see how to show, not tell.

SHOW don’t TELL

Read Bryan Garner’s
article Writing Emails
that People Won’t
Ignore.

YES

She’s not a good
employee.

She missed the last four
employee meetings, showed up
late for two client meetings, andlost key sales data.

Our sales team isdoing great.

Our team made 35% more sales
this quarter than during thethird quarter last year.

There are not enoughfunds for pay raises.

Our analysis shows that we needto increase productivity by 8% or
reduce expenses by 3% to afford
a pay raise of 5%.

The retail industry is
not what it used to be[vague].

Traditional retailers struggle tocompete with the wide margins
and low overhead of online
retailers. [specific]

SUPPLY SUPPORTING DETAILSAdvance from the general to the specific―both withinparagraphs and from paragraph to paragraph. Concrete,
specific details give your claims (and you) credibility. As
author Bryan Garner asserts: “People don’t care about—oreven remember—abstractions the way they do specifics.”

SHOWING

Supporting details: Seventy-one
percent of shoppers believe they
will get a better deal online thanin stores.

FIGURE 5.1

TELLING V.

5

TRANSITION EXAMPLES
Establish a sequence

At first, consumers are hesitant to buy
online, but after just a few online shopping
experiences, they seem to prefer online
shopping.

Set up a contrast

And yet, nothing can quite replace theexperience of traditional shopping.

Provide an example

For example, online shopping carts do notlead to online dressing rooms. Merchandisefrom online stores cannot be tried on—oreven touched—before purchasing.

Add a point

Processing returns also feels inconvenientand expensive for most shoppers.

Even though returning online merchandise
is easier than it has been in the past,
packaging items for mailing and paying forshipping still feels burdensome.

Conclude

On the whole, consumers are shifting toonline shopping with increasing loyalty.

FIGURE 5.2

Concede a point

MAKE SMOOTH
TRANSITIONSTransition words and phrases guide readers not
only from paragraph to paragraph in adocument, but also from point to point withinparagraphs. When used well, transitions don’t
call attention to themselves.
Awkward Transition: And thus we can deducethat online sales play an important role in theretail industry.
Smooth Transition: Clearly, online sales play animportant role in the retail industry.
Transitions might give emphasis, add points,
set up contrasts, establish sequences, signal
conclusions, or orient readers. See Figure 5.2 atleft for some examples.
Keep a list of transition words nearby to help
you form links in your writing.
6

SECTION TWOEMAILMESSAGESALUMNI ADVICE

Let’s look at the principles of good paragraph writing in action
by applying them to email messages for business.
Most email messages are short and direct. Follow the 4A’s tograb readers’ attention, structure your content, and close
your email message.

Never SEND an email before
proofreading it.

!

Be friendly, but don’t gush. Giveyourself a budget of ONE
exclamation point per email.

“In my emails, I bold my key action
items or questions and then change thecolor to something that stands out. This
one addition helps me to get a better
response rate and helps people toanswer my questions. It doesn't work all
the time (people are people), but it
does help.”
Stephen Godfrey
Senior Technical Consultant,
Master of Information Systems,
Brigham Young University, Class of 2014

7

EMAIL APPLICATION ONE

USE PARAGRAPHSThe example on the left is an uninviting wall of text. The right example uses paragraphs to divide the meaning into sections
and make the email more visually appealing. Which would you rather read?

NO

YES

To:
Brad Smith <brad.smith@email.com>
From: Bryce Jones <brycej@email.com>
Subject: I had an idea

To:
Brad Smith <brad.smith@email.com>
From: Bryce Jones <brycej@email.com>
Subject: Let’s Collaborate

We’re expanding our marketing efforts into Arizona, and I think our two
companies would benefit by collaborating on a custom health-cost software
package. We’ve nearly finished our health-cost analysis algorithms. If you arestill working on your health-cost visualizations, I believe that our analysis
package and your visualization package together would give us both an edge
on the market. If you are interested, let’s have our teams meet and work out
details on the APIs this month. I’ve attached a list that Jen Clark, our market
research analyst, put together of businesses in the Phoenix area that would
benefit from our co-developed application. Jen has strong connections, andwe’d be happy to share our connections with you if we proceed on thisexciting project. Let’s discuss this by phone. Are you free on Monday or
Tuesday?

We’re expanding our marketing efforts into Arizona, and I think our two
companies would benefit by collaborating on a custom health-cost software
package.

Bryce

We’ve nearly finished our health-cost analysis algorithms. If you are stillworking on your health-cost visualizations, I think that our packages together
would give us both an edge on the market.
Take a look at this list that Jen Clark, our market research analyst, put
together of businesses in the Phoenix area that would benefit from our codeveloped application. Jen has strong connections, and we’d be happy toshare them with you if we proceed on this project.
If you’re interested, our teams could meet and work out details on the APIs
this month. Let’s discuss this by phone. Are you free on Monday or Tuesday?
Bryce

8

EMAIL APPLICATION TWO

USE VISUAL SIGNPOSTS AND TOPIC SENTENCES
Visual signposts catch the reader’s eye. Bold text, bullet lists, and indents all highlight your important points.
Topic sentences help readers “get” your message even if they simply skim your email.

NO

YES

To:
Amy Wright <amy.wright@email.com>
From: Adam Kim <akim@email.com>
Subject: Get better soon!

To:
Amy Wright <amy.wright@email.com>
From: Adam Kim <akim@email.com>
Subject: Report on June 12 meeting

Amy,

Amy,

Sorry you missed the meeting last week! That cold sounds really rough. Letme know if there’s anything I can do to help.

I hope you’re feeling better. Here’s a quick report on the June 12 meetingthat you missed:

It was a good meeting. Not as much rambling as usual. We just covered
the basics like the new client list, the ongoing audit, the yearly initiatives.
Nothing new to report that you wouldn’t have guessed. Oh, and HR cameby and gave us all an update on the new health insurance. It looks really
good. It will cost most of us less and should cover more. I’m stoked. Oh,
yeah, and we’re supposed to send any tweets about the company on tosomeone in CX. Then they’ll take over. Well, get better soon.

• CLIENTS New clients are up slightly. We have lost Case and Quest
but signed FastUP and one startup with promise (Coral).

Adam• AUDIT The audit drags on but is projected to finish by August.
Victoria needs your billing files by the end of this month.
• CX INITIATIVE Using Twitter as a customer response tool has
increased interaction with our millennial clients by 75%. Libby willcontinue overseeing our Twitter account—she’s been phenomenal!
• HEALTH INSURANCE Our new health insurance (Advantage) will
cost us 7% less and cover 15% more. Here’s the link to the signup
form. It’s due by 5 p.m. next Friday, June 25.
Looking forward to having you back in the office soon. Take care.
Adam

9EMAIL APPLICATION THREE

INCLUDE SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Support your ideas, but find the balance between giving enough and too much information. You don’t want to overburden
your reader, but you need to be credible. Use hyperlinks or attachments to provide more specific details.

NO

YES

To:
Melanie Morgan <mmorgan@email.com>
From: Raj Singh <rajie@email.com>
Subject: Update on office furnitureTo:
Melanie Morgan <mmorgan@email.com>
From: Raj Singh <rajie@email.com>
Subject: Update on office furniture

I’m so stoked that we get to buy new office furniture. My back has been
killing me lately and I’m thinking it might be this dumb chair I’ve been sitting
in. It’s definitely not as comfortable as it looks. Hahaha. And there’s the desks.
No cord pull holes at all, just a slab, and the workmanship is so shoddy thatit’s always wobbling whenever I push back to go get snacks. (Forty times aday.) So yes, we definitely need new furniture. We get to decide what to buy.
We could go to Ikea, or we could order online. Brad said we have a budget of$2,500. What are you thinking? Should we even try to match the stuff in theback office, or just get something comfortable? I am thinking we should justgo for comfort, but I don’t know. I’ve started looking at the manufacturers
and it looks like SitSmart, PosturePod, Wellesley, and BrainComfort are good.
We have to decide whether we want to go local or order it shipped to us. I
have so many things I want in a good chair, like posture control and heightcontrol, also mesh so we don’t get too hot in the summer. But those are more
expensive. I don’t know. It’s all so complicated, but I’m glad we get an
upgrade!

Brad finally approved a budget of $2,500 for new office furniture!

Raj

I’ve attached a spreadsheet listing our current inventory. Hopefully, withthe budget, we will be able to replace all of our desks and chairs.
I researched replacements, focusing on stability, cord access ports,
lumbar support, and height adjustment. I’ve narrowed our options to thefollowing:
Local (already assembled):• SitSmart at OfficeBarn• BrainComfort at Furnishall
Online (assembly required):• Wellsley from ModernOffice,• PosturePod from Saunders
Look these over and let me know what you think—you may have otherfeature priorities. Let’s make a decision by Thursday at noon.
Raj

10EMAIL APPLICATION FOURUSE TRANSITIONSTransitions help your audience follow the path through your email and understand the relationship between your paragraphs.
Note: transitions are in green to help you notice them—no need to color them in actual emails.

NO

YES

To:
TEAM
From: Doug DeWitt <doug.dewitt@email.com>
Subject: I have an idea

To:
TEAM
From: Doug DeWitt <doug.dewitt@email.com>
Subject: New phone approach is working (and cupcakes!)

Team members,

Team members,

Our website looks a lot better since the update, and I really like the newbrochures. Thanks for helping to increase sales this month.
You’ll find some cupcakes in the break room. Feel free to help yourself.
Maybe some of the changes we have been trying to make have worked? Itlooks like you have been smiling more and listening better, and maybe you
have not been using the same old memorized pitch? I really want to keep up
the momentum we were getting last month.
Remember the steps we talked about last month about being cheerful on
calls and customizing your responses. It really makes a difference.
Keep up the good work. Management is really happy about the new website
and brochures, but you guys and your work are the main thing.
Sincerely,
Doug

Congratulations on a 16% increase in sales this month—our highestmonth-to-month improvement yet. Well done! Take a moment tocelebrate your achievement by enjoying some cupcakes in the breakroom.
In an effort to keep up the momentum, I want to review some of thepositive steps that we implemented last month.
Before answering the phone, smile as you make the connection. After
greeting callers, listen carefully to their concerns—before you begin to
make a pitch. Once you think you know the purpose for their call, reflect
on what they said, and then customize the pitch to their concerns. No
more memorized responses, please.
As you demonstrated last month, YOU are the ones who make thebiggest difference when it comes to sales. Of course, we are grateful forrecent improvements to our website and brochures, but when it comesto closing the deal, you make it happen. In short, you are irreplaceable.
Doug

11

BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONTECH TIPSTEXTING
Texting is becoming more common in business. Generally, save texting at
work only for quick questions or reminders. Information you may needto reference again is best conveyed via email. To get a handle on texting
for business, read GetVoip’s infographic: The 10 Commandments ofBusiness Texting,  which shares such essential reminders as “Thou
Shalt Not Text Bad News” and “Thou Shalt Not Text Sensitive orPrivileged Information.”

EMOJI :)
In your first professional emails, don’t use emoji. Acceptable use is still
evolving, and you can’t be sure how your recipient will react to seeing
them in your email. But if you find that your correspondent uses them
freely, go ahead and respond in kind. As with exclamation points, usethem sparingly. Emoji can improve the energy and humor of an email,but too many make you look immature and overeager.

WHAT ABOUT GIFS?
Communicating with funny internet
GIFs is classic office fun, but bewary of using them in more
traditional workplaces.
However, the use of GIFs and othervisuals is increasing. Organizations
like General Electric and Disney now
have official collections available
on giphy.com.
You might create a GIF to illustrate
an office process or demonstrate atrend. In 2015, Google sent an
animated GIF to a reporter insteadof replying “No Comment”— getting
its message across very quickly.

Stoke your imagination!
Pretend the bars are moving.

Create a GIF to add
motion to amessage, illustrate aprocess, or highlighta trend.

Unclear exactly what a particular emoji means?
Check out the definitions in the Emojipedia.
GIF credit: Giphy.com

12

IN CONCLUSION
Use these examples to start building clear, concise paragraphs today.
Create paragraphs deliberately by using strong topic sentences, meaning-clarifying transitions, and just theright amount of detail.
When you use paragraphs to write strong emails and reports, your messages are more likely to be read . . .
and acted upon.

13

LEARN MORE
ARTICLES
Garner, Bryan A. “Write E-mails That People Won’t Ignore.” Harvard
Business Review, February 21, 2013.
https://hbr.org/2013/02/write-e-mails-that-people-wont,accessed February 2017.
Gill, Barry. “E-mail: Not dead, only Evolving.” Harvard Business
Review, June 2013. https://hbr.org/2013/06/e-mail-not-deadevolving, accessed February 2017.
Glickman, Jodi. “The Biggest Mistake People Make After Receiving a
Favor.” Harvard Business Review, January 19, 2011.
https://hbr.org/2011/01/the-biggest-mistake-ppl-make-af,
accessed February 2017.
Grech, Matt. “The 10 Commandments of Business Texting[Infographic].” GetVoip.com Blog, October 3, 2016.
https://getvoip.com/blog/2016/10/02/business-texting/,
accessed February 2017.

BOOKS
Canavor, Natalie. Business Writing in the Digital Age. Los Angeles,
CA: Sage Publications, 2012.
Garner, Bryan A. HBR Guide to Better Business Writing. Boston,
MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2012.

WEBSITES
Effective Technical Writing in the Information Age. “Transition
Words.” https://www.eeducation.psu.edu/styleforstudents/c1_p14.html, accessed
February 2017.

Tan, Cheryl Lu-Lien. “Mind Your Email Manners.” The Wall Street
Journal, April 15, 2015. https://www.wsj.com/articles/mindyour-email-manners-1429117413 , accessed April 2020.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

14

CHAPTER6RESEARCH
F

I

N

D

T

H

E

A

N

S

W

E

R

S

CONTENTS
4PRIMARY AND SECONDARY RESEARCH

7

SECONDARY SOURCES
WHERE SHOULD I LOOK?

STRATEGIES
10 SEARCH
HOW SHOULD I LOOK?

11 EVALUATING SOURCES
12 DOCUMENTING SOURCES
13 PLAGIARISM
This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Attribute the original source at mcom320.net. Emailbyumcom@gmail.com if you would like to adopt the curriculum. This chapter updated 11 May 2020.

LINK & LEARN
Required
Reading

Tips &
Optional

ExamplesActivityThis is Chapter 62

Do Your Research
In the early 1980s, Coke was losing the Cola Wars. Panicking, Coca-Cola executives assumed Coke needed
to be sweeter to compete with Pepsi. On 23 April 1985 they threw out Coca-Cola’s century-old recipe andintroduced New Coke. Outrage was immediate. Customers organized boycotts and filed lawsuits. Sales
plummeted. Less than three months later, Coca-Cola announced a return to Coca-Cola Classic.
Disastrous business decisions often begin withseemingly reasonable assumptions. Effective
management is evidence-based. Before
making decisions, you need facts, not gut
feelings; and if you want to be convincing, youneed data. Here’s how to get it.

3

SECTION ONE

PRIMARY AND SECONDARYRESEARCH
Evidence can come from primary or secondary
research. The strongest arguments are based on both.
Primary Research. When you conduct a survey,
compile sales reports, or perform an experiment,
you’re creating new information. That’s primaryresearch.
Secondary Research. When you consult an analyst’s
report, search through scholarly or news articles, orpull data from a government website, you’reaccessing information that already exists. That’s
secondary research. Seeing what’s already been
discovered can save you time and money.

Primary
Research

Secondary
ResearchCreating orgathering new
information

Using existing
information

Less expensive

X
X

May have copyright or
licensing restrictions

X

Faster

Tailored to fit yourspecific needX

May require additional
expertiseX

You own the results

X

4

RESEARCH VOCABULARYQUANTITATIVE RESEARCH uses highly structured and standardized
methodologies to gather or analyze numerical data.
EX: Asking customers to rate their satisfaction, counting actual return
visits, determining if any correlation exists.
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH uses data that cannot be easily quantified,often related to opinions, feelings, and experiences.
EX: Inviting a handful of customers to participate in a focus group where
they discuss their desired product features.

BALANCE
Don’t ignore research thatconflicts with your position. Your
audience is likely to come acrossit anyway.
Address it upfront, and show why
your recommendation should still
be followed. A balanced
approach helps decision
making.

RELIABILITY indicates whether a tool or method produces consistent
results. A reliable test or experiment will produce the same results
when repeated.
VALIDITY A test is valid if it actually measures what it is intended tomeasure. A poorly designed study may not account for all factors,
making it difficult to draw valid conclusions.
TRANSFERABILITY A research study is more useful if its results can begeneralized or transferred to other contexts.

COVFEFERESEARCH

LITERATURE REVIEW A rigorous review of pertinent research available
on a subject. Learn more from this handout from the University ofNorth Carolina-Chapel Hill and from this example: International Small
Business Journal.
5 5

SECTION TWOSECONDARY SOURCES
Secondary research can take you many places, but
you’ll usually start with an internet search. In
addition to the open web, use specialized searchengines to dig deeper.

How can I access it?
Industry associations may publish the information
you want. Check their websites and be willing to send
emails and make phone calls.

Let’s start with this question:

Government sources are usually free but can bedifficult to navigate. News sources are often available
online. If not, try your library for access.

“How many people go skiing in
Utah each year?”(Oh, and the answer? 5.1 million. . .good market.)
Who might be gathering information like this?
If you want to research the winter sports market,
you might start with a trade association, like
SnowSports Industries America or the Utah Ski &Snowboard Association. The Utah state government
might also have an interest in tracking such data.
And local newspapers or industry newsletters mightpublish articles on the topic.

Get the best of both worlds: Searchscholarly articles to lay a solid
foundation. Then pull in specific details
about the current case from news
sources.

6

Scholarly Journals
Use scholarly sources to establish a strong foundation. Articles
published in journals often go through a peer review process
where other experts determine whether they meet thestandards for that discipline. This process takes time but
improves reliability and establishes authority.
Examples: Academy of Management Review, Journal ofConsumer Psychology, Econometrica

THE WEB IS LIKE AN ICEBERGSURFACE WEB

Wikipedia

GoogleBing

News Sources and Magazines
Use news sources to find the most current information on a
topic or to see how popular opinion is trending.

Examples: Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Harvard Business
Review, BusinessInsider.com

Trade and Industry Sources
Use trade and industry sources to get both current andauthoritative insight. Written by and for practicing
professionals about issues important to that industry today,
they provide you a model for the industry’s writing style.
Examples: Advertising Age, The Progressive Grocer,
SupplyChainBrain.com

DEEP WEBMultilingual Databases

Medical Records
Legal Documents
Scientific Reports
Academic Information

Conference Resources
Competitor Websites
Organization-specific
Repositories
Subscription Information

Other secondary sources include reports published by industry
analysts or think tanks, data published by trade associations or
government websites, and official documents like financial
statements or court filings. When you’re trying to findinformation, ask yourself, “Who would be interested ingathering this information, and how can I find out if they makeit available?”

DARK WEB
Illegal information
TOR-Encrypted sites

Drug Trafficking sites
Private Communications

7

SECTION THREE

SEARCH STRATEGIESSEARCH OPERATORSYour library has access to databases of scholarly, news, andindustry sources like EBSCO, ProQuest, and LexisNexis thataren’t freely available on the internet. These advanced
search engines and controlled environments allow you toprecisely manipulate your results with search operators.
The most common are the Boolean operators AND, OR,
and NOT.
Linking your search terms with AND tells the search engine
you want to see only results that include both concepts. OR
tells the engine you’ll accept results that have any one ofyour terms. NOT excludes any results with that term.

Ski AND Utah

Ski OR UtahSki

NOT UtahSearching with Boolean
operators returns thecontent in green.

8

COMMON DATABASE OPERATORSWHAT ABOUT GOOGLE?
When it comes to the information needs ofdaily life, search engines like Google
keep getting better at reading our minds.
(Hungry? Bored? Curious?)
Google can also be a powerful tool forserious research (Google Scholar), but you
can make your searching more effective
by using advanced search.

Operator

EffectExample*Truncation: returns any word withthat beginningski*(returns ski, skis,
skiing, skier, etc.)?

Wildcard

wom?n(returns women or
woman)“”

Phrasing: only that full, exact phrase
will be accepted“Park City”()

Nesting: similar to order ofoperations, nesting
compartmentalizes the effect ofoperators(”Park City” OR
Solitude OR
Sundance) AND ski*nearX

Proximity: search terms must be
located within X number of words ofeach otherski* near5 Utah

the term must appear atatleastX Frequency:
least X number of times

atleast3 ski* AND
Utah

Improve your search skills
by reviewing the tips in this infographic.
30 Advanced Google Search Tricks

Activity 6.1

Use Google to find sources about the useof social media for crisis management. Try
a simple search and then some advanced
techniques. Now try it out in a library
database using the operators in the table.

9Having trouble?
NARROW, BROADEN, AND SEPARATE
If you’re getting plenty of results, narrow your search by adding more
specific concepts. You can also filter your results by date, peer-review
status, or subject tags. If you aren’t seeing many results, broaden yoursearch by adding synonyms.
If your concepts haven’t been connected by previously publishedresearch, you might be breaking new ground. Great! Try conducting
separate searches for each concept, and then you can contribute to
the global conversation by bridging those concepts in your own
writing.

As you conduct searches, skim the results for different
wording to use in your next search.
When you find a relevant source, look at its bibliography
to follow the sources it cites.

Librarian

STUCK? Librarians live to serve.
Save yourself an hour’s frustration bytaking five minutes to ask for help.

10

SECTION FOUREVALUATING SOURCES
Whenever you encounter a new information source,whether it’s a scholarly journal, a website, or yourroommate’s cousin’s girlfriend’s Twitter feed, you needto consider whether citing that source as evidence will
strengthen or undermine your position.
To judge the credibility of a source, put it through a
CRAP test. Assess these factors:‣ Currency‣ Reliability‣ Authority‣ Purpose or Point of View

Currency
Reliability

Authority

Purpose orPoint of View

11

DOES YOUR SOURCE PASS
THE CRAP TEST?
Currency‣ How recently was it published or updated?
‣ How current are its sources and content?

Reliability‣ Is the information organized, written, and presented well?
‣ Are sources cited and easily verifiable?
‣ Do the conclusions follow from the evidence?
‣ Does the site have a .com, .edu, .gov, or .org domain, and what does
this suggest about its reliability?

ONLINE CREDIBILITY
Fake news, social media bias, andsponsored content: how good are
you at judging the credibility ofwhat you read online?
Researchers at Stanford have foundthat we’re not as good as we think
we are, with 80% of middle school
students mistaking ads for a realnews story, and…

Authority‣ Who are the authors?
‣ What are their credentials?
‣ Have they been cited by other sources on the topic?
‣ Can they be contacted?

Purpose/Point of view…less than 1/3 of college
students recognized theinfluence of political bias intweets.

‣ What is the author's purpose?
‣ Is the article written at a popular, professional, or professorial level?
‣ Is the author or sponsoring organization values- or mission-driven, andmight that position introduce political, cultural, or ideological bias?
‣ Is the author or organization profit-driven?
‣ How does this purpose or point of view affect the source’s usefulness?
12

CAN I USE WIKIPEDIA IN
MY RESEARCH?
A Wikipedia search can be a good starting point
for gaining a basic understanding of a topic.
Well-written entries include references that leadto additional credible sources. But Wikipedia isderivative by nature, and you can’t reallyevaluate the authority or purpose of Wikipedia
contributors. Instead of citing Wikipedia you
should use it to look for original sources.

Don’t just cherry-pick sources that seem to support yourargument. Evaluate your sources carefully so that you canspeak intelligently about them when someone in youraudience has questions.

Activity 6.3

Evaluate these websites for currency,
reliability, authority, and purpose or point ofview. What does a CRAP test teach you about
their usefulness as sources?
‣ http://www.bls.gov/‣ http://accountingonion.com/‣ http://www.cato.org/‣ http://dhmo.org/‣ http://globaledge.msu.edu/‣ http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/‣ http://www.slate.com/

13

SECTION FIVE

DOCUMENTING SOURCES
Thoroughly documenting your sources not only gives
credit to the original author, but also gives your work
credibility that can’t be achieved any other way.
Cite sources at their point of impact. In formal
documents, cite at the end of the sentence in the form ofa parenthetical author-date reference or a superscript
number referring to footnotes or endnotes. Less formal
documents, especially on the internet, often provide aclearly labeled link to a source—like this textbook does.
When citing sources follow an established style like APA,
Chicago, or MLA. This textbook follows the HBS Style(Harvard Business School Citation Guide), but if yourorganization has a preference or its own “house style,”
follow that instead.

Formal Citations… end of sentence (Richardson, 2017).
— OR —… end of sentence.3

3 Richardson, Marianna. “How to Be Fabulous.”

Marriott Student Review, September 2017.

The Purdue OWL has excellent guides andexamples for all major citation styles.
Reference generators like CiteThisForMe areeasy, but results must be double checked.

14

INTEGRATE YOUR SOURCES
Weave evidence into your writing by quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. These examples demonstrate integrating a source text
about price elasticity in the skiing industry. Avoid accidental plagiarism by learning this skill.
QUOTE
Holmgren and McCracken warn against “making pricing
decisions independent of the other players in the market.”1

ORIGINAL ARTICLE“The positive sign of all cross-price elasticities of demandindicate that other resorts are considered to be
substitutes for the analyzed resort, emphasizing theimportance of not making pricing decisions independentof the other players in the market.”1

PARAPHRASE
When setting prices, ski resorts must consider the prices of theircompetitors since, as Holmgren and McCracken show, skiers arewilling to substitute one resort for another.1
SUMMARIZE
Holmgren and McCracken demonstrate how the close proximityof Utah ski resorts increases price sensitivity for skiers.1 Because
skiers shop for the cheapest lift tickets, a resort must consider its
competitors’ prices when setting its own.
ENDNOTE FOR DIRECT QUOTE

LINK

Sources Cited:
1. Mark A. Holmgren and Vicki A. McCracken, “What Affects
Demand for ‘The Greatest Snow On Earth?’” Journal of
Hospitality Marketing & Management 23, no. 1 (2014): 18.

If you use links, provide meaningful information as well.

In his book, Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth, Jim Steenburgh outlines three difficulties in forecasting Utah’s powderconditions: (1) intervening mountain ranges, (2) steep, narrow topography, and (3) the effect of the Great Salt Lake.

15

SECTION SIX

PLAGIARISM
Failure to properly document your sources, whether intentional or
accidental, is plagiarism. It’s unethical and possibly illegal. Don’t messwith it. Your reputation and peace of mind are at stake, and the more
successful you become, the more closely your every word will bewatched, as these politicians found. CNN: From Speeches to Ph.D.'s:
Politicians Called Out for Copying
Even if you cite your sources, failing to clearly distinguish between yourown words and your source’s words is plagiarism, no matter if you
rearrange or change some of the words. For a complete overview,
consult the Purdue Owl’s site on Plagiarism.
In addition to plagiarism, be aware of copyright and licensing
restrictions. Don’t violate copyright by distributing documents or using
images without proper permission.

X
16

FAIR USE
Fair use is the legal doctrine that allows you to quote copyrighted material
in your research. Section 107 of the Copyright Act gives guidelines fordetermining what qualifies as fair use. Ask yourself these questions:
1. What is the purpose of the use? Non-commercial, educational use is more
likely to qualify as fair use. “Transformative” use, which adds somethingrather than just reproducing the original, is also more likely to qualify.
Examples of transformative use include criticism, parody, news reporting,teaching, and scholarship.
2. What is the nature of the original work? The use of creative works, like art or
unpublished works, is less likely to qualify.
3. How much of the work is being used? Using significant portions of a work is
less likely to qualify.
4. What effect does the use have on the market for the original? The use isunlikely to qualify if it hurts the market for the original.

During college, you may get into the habit of using images and otherproducts copied from the web, feeling that your use qualifies as fair since
it is being employed for educational purposes. Whether it does or not,that excuse ends abruptly when you are employed, so develop good
habits now and save yourself and your company a costly mistake.

Fair use:(NOUN)The legal
doctrine thatallows you toquote
copyrighted
material inyour research.

17

IN CONCLUSION
Make sure that your conclusions and recommendations are based on evidence.
Don’t expect your audience to accept your claims just because you state them as if they
were facts, saying “studies show,” “experts agree,” or “it’s widely accepted that.” Do thework to find the facts.
Conducting effective research and thoroughly documenting your sources will help you toconstruct your own authority and credibility.

LEARN MORE
ARTICLES

Donald, Brooke. “Stanford researchers find students have trouble
judging the credibility of information online.” Stanford Graduate
School of Education: News Center. November 22, 2016.
https://ed.stanford.edu/news/stanford-researchers-find-studentshave-trouble-judging-credibility-information-online, accessed
February 2017.

Gorman, Gary, Dennis Hanlon, and Wayne King. “Some Research
Perspectives on Entrepreneurship Education, Enterprise Educationand Education for Small Business Management: A Ten-year
Literature Review.” International Small Business Journal 15, no. 3(1997): 56-77.
https://www.academia.edu/1016734/Some_research_perspective
s_on_entrepreneurship_education_enterprise_education_and_edu
cation_for_small_business_management_a_tenyear_literature_review , accessed April 2020.
Pinola, Melanie. “Search Smarter: 30+ Google Search Tricks You
Might Not Already Know.” Zapier. July 7, 2016.
https://zapier.com/blog/advanced-google-searchtricks/#operators, accessed February 2017.

Fawzy, Farida. “From speeches to Ph.D.'s: Politicians called out forcopying.” CNN Politics. July 19, 2016.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/19/politics/politicians-plagiarism/,
accessed February 2017.

Pfeffer, Jeffrey, and Robert Sutton.“Evidence-BasedManagement.” Harvard Business Review. January 1, 2006.
https://hbr.org/2006/01/evidence-based-management, accessed
February 2017.

“Google Search Cheat Sheet.” Supple Supply Services.
https://supple.com.au/tools/google-advanced-searchoperators/, accessed February 2017.

“Search Smarter: 30+ Google Search Tricks You Might Not AlreadyKnow” (Infographic). Zapier. July 7, 2016.
https://zapier.cachefly.net/storage/photos/54a7c68be04cccccdd
49ddfb322952db.png, accessed February 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

Cope, Diane G. “Methods and Meanings: Credibility andTrustworthiness of Qualitative Research.” Oncology Nursing Forum42, no. 1 (2014): 89-91.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259462427_Methods_a
nd_Meanings_Credibility_and_Trustworthiness_of_Qualitative_Research , accessed April 2020.

LEARN MORE
“Utah Sets Record for Skier Days in 2018-19.” Ski Utah. May 21, 2019.
https://www.skiutah.com/news/authors/pr/utah-sets-record-forskier-days-in , accessed April 2020.

The Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, “Literature Reviews” (PDF File).
Downloaded from UNC Website.
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/literature-reviews/,
accessed February 2017.

Zenger, Jack, and Folkman, Joseph. “The Data’s in: Honesty Really
Does Start at the Top.” Harvard Business Review, June 1, 2012.
https://hbr.org/2012/06/the-datas-in-honesty-really-do, accessed
February 2017.

WEBSITES
Acadamy of Management. “Acadamy of Management Review.”
http://aom.org/Publications/AMR/Academy-of-ManagementReview.aspx, accessed February 2017.
Advertising Age. “Home.” http://adage.com/, accessed February
2017.
APA Style. “Home.”
http://www.apastyle.org/learn/index.aspx?tab=2, accessed
February 2017.

BOOKS
Blum, Susan D. My Word! Plagiarism and College Culture. Ithaca:
Cornell University Press, 2009.
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers, 7th Edition. St. Martin’s, 2012.
Ferrara, Miranda H., and Michele P. LaMeau. “New Coke: New
Formula Meets Resistance,” in Corporate Disasters: What Went
Wrong and Why. Gale Research Inc, 2012.
Lipson, Charles. Cite Right: A Quick Guide to Citation Styles, 2nd
Edition. The University of Chicago Press, 2011.

The Chicago Manual of Style Online. “Chicago-Style Citation Quick
Guide.”
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html,
accessed February 2017.
Copyright.gov. “More information on Fair Use.”
https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html, accessed
February 2017.
The Econometric Society. “About Econometrica.”
https://www.econometricsociety.org/publications/econometrica/
about-econometrica, accessed February 2017.
Elsevier. “Journal of Consumer Psychology.”
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15327663 , accessed April
2020.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

Business Insider. “Home.” http://www.businessinsider.com/,
accessed February 2017.

LEARN MORE
The Economist. “Home.” http://www.economist.com/, accessed
February 2017.

Ski Utah. “Home.” https://www.skiutah.com/, accessed February
2017.

Google. “Advanced Search.”https://www.google.com/advanced_search, accessed February
2017.

Snowsports Industries America. “Home.” http://www.snowsports.org/,
accessed February 2017.

Harvard Business Review. “Home.” https://hbr.org/, accessed
February 2017.

Supply Chain Brain. “Home.”
http://www.supplychainbrain.com/content/index.php, accessed
February 2017.

Harvard Guide to Using Sources. “How to Avoid Plagiarism.”https://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/how-avoid-plagiarism,
accessed February 2018.

Utah Office of Tourism. “Home.” https://travel.utah.gov/, accessed
February 2017.

Harvard Guide to Using Sources. “What Constitues Plagiarism.”https://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/what-constitutes-plagiarism,
accessed February 2017.

The Wall Street Journal. “Home.” https://www.wsj.com/, accessed
February 2017.

The MLA Style Center. “Works Cited: A Quick Guide.”
https://style.mla.org/works-cited-a-quick-guide/ , accessed
February 2017.
Progressive Grocer. “Home.” http://www.progressivegrocer.com/ ,accessed February 2017.
Purdue Online Writing Lab. “Research and Citation Resources.”
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/using_researc
h/avoiding_plagiarism/is_it_plagiarism.html , accessed April 2020.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

Harvard Business School, Baker Library. “Q. Citation guide: HBS.”
http://asklib.library.hbs.edu/faq/47604, accessed February 2017.

CHAPTER

7

FORMAT
MAKE YOUR MESSAGE INVITING

CONTENTS
4 CHOOSE FONTS
7 WRITE HEADINGS
10 USE WHITE SPACE
13 INSERT GRAPHICS
EXAMPLE BANK STANDARD DOCUMENT FORMATS

LINK & LEARN
Required
Reading

This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Attribute the original source at mcom320.net. Emailbyumcom@gmail.com if you would like to adopt the curriculum. This chapter updated 11 May 2020.

Tips &
Optional

ExamplesActivityThis is Chapter 7

2

GRAB ATTENTION
Well-formatted messages are more attractive andaccessible to your readers, inviting them to engage. Thevery act of formatting also helps you clarify in your own
mind what you want to say. When you••••

select fonts
write headings
use white space
insert graphics

you make decisions about your message priorities, andyou guide your audience—and yourself—
toward clearer structure.

Your audience will scan your message before deciding
whether to read it. That’s just human nature. So what
do you want them to notice first?

3

SECTION ONE

CHOOSE FONTS
Some people are typography geeks because, frankly,
fonts are fun. They’re a form of art that quickly conveys
a tremendous amount of information. Fonts are a voicein which your writing speaks.
When formatting a document, choose your fonts
deliberately so that your message is supported by thelook and feel of the fonts you choose.
The next few pages cover some basics you should know
about fonts and typography.

I am traditional.
I am sleek and modern.
I am goofy.
I am powerful.

I AM SHOUTING.
I am artsy.
I don’t need to be noticed.

Fonts are the voice inwhich your writing speaks.
4

TYPOGRAPHY BASICSKERNINGSERIF VS. SANS SERIF

Fonts are generally classed as either “serif” or“sans serif.” Serifs are the widened feet at the endof font strokes. Sans serifs don’t have thosewidened ends.

STROKE

serif

Kerning is the space
between letters. The best
kerning is achieved when
spacing looks even.
Kerning is most often
adjusted with large
headings or titles. Body
copy is rarely kerned.

sans serif

Typography
Light

RegularNOTYP O GRA P HY
YES

Bold

TYPOGRAPHY
TYPOGRAPHY ANATOMY
AscenderBaseline

Typography
Descender

x-height
FIGURE 6.1

Median5

HOW TO CHOOSE FONTS

SAFE-BET FONT PAIRINGS
Helvetica
Garamond

Avenir
Bell MT

Century Gothic
Century

BaskervilleHelvetica Neue

Arial
Georgia

Bebas neue
Helvetica Light

Readers scan for titles and headings first, so those elements need to standout.
Generally, choose two different fonts: one for title/headings, and one forbody text. A rule of thumb is to choose a serif font for one and a sans serif
font for the other. Some reliable pairings are shown in Figure 6.2.
Go to fontpair.co to experiment with a range of free Google fonts intandem. Remember, if you are sharing a copy of your document in editable
form, your recipient’s device may not display unusual fonts. If you save andshare your work in PDF, your fonts will be consistent.

FONTS FOR HEADINGS

Choose fonts that
‣ Convey the right impression for your document‣ Look good on multiple screen sizes‣ Are large and dark enough for your audience to read easily‣ Are deliberate, distinct, and boldChoose fonts for 3-4 levels of text:
headings, subheadings, body text &annotations.

LEVELS

EXAMPLES

Headings

Garamond

body text

HEADINGS
subheadings
body text

annotations

HELVETICA

Helvetica

Bebas neue

Remember, the population is aging. Choose a font size thatwill be easily readable by your audience.

Bebas neue
Helvetica Light

Garamond (italic)

FIGURE 6.2

SUBHEADINGS

6

SECTION TWO

WRITE HEADINGS

Because you’ve spent time planning and organizing yourdocument, writing headings won’t be hard.
The stylized document in Figure 7.3 shows a title andheadings that coordinate in color and size. Make sure
your headings are also parallel grammatically and thatthey indicate useful content. For instance: “Why buy fromus?” is a clearer heading than simply “Why?”

The Facts of Life
Birds

Bees

BabiesFIGURE 7.3

Our brains are attuned to information hierarchy. “Whatshould I pay attention to first? What can I ignore until
later?” Give your reader some help by using headings inmessages longer than three or four paragraphs.

7

Be sure to write and format headings consistently
throughout your document, and make sure samelevel headings are grammatically parallel.
Save yourself some time by learning and using “styles
formatting” tools for titles, headings, and body text.
When you apply styles to your headings, you caneasily generate an outline or change the style or colorof all your headings with one click. Here’s how it’sdone in Google Docs: Working with Heading Styles.
(Word, Pages, and other text editors have similarcapabilities.)

PLACE EMPHASISWhen you need to emphasize part of your text, do it
properly. Back when everyone wrote on typewriters,
the only tools for emphasis were capitalization andunderlining, but all-caps now looks like SHOUTING,
and underlining interrupts the descending strokes ofletters. Instead, use size, italics, grayscale, bolding, orcolors to make your point.

Write Grammatically Parallel Headings
NO

YES

Hiring three new project managers
for the next fiscal year will benefit
our department in the following
three ways.

Hiring three new project managers
for the next fiscal year will benefit
our department in the following
three ways.

Project Cycle Time
Blah blah blah

Shorten Project Cycle Time
Blah blah blah

Resource Management is improved
Blah blah blah

Improve Resource Management
Blah blah blah

Budget Reduction
Blah blah blah

Reduce the Overall Budget
Blah blah blah

Place Emphasis SkillfullyNO

YES

ALL CAPS FEELS LIKE SHOUTING.

Size draws the eye.

Underlining interrupts thedescending strokes of letters, so
avoid using it.
Don’t use TWO forms of emphasis
at once. Just choose the right one.

Italicsemphasizes
emphasizekey
keywords.
words.
Italics
provides contrast.
contrast.
Grayscale provides

Bolding catches attention.
Colors please the reader.
FIGURE 6.4

BE CONSISTENT

8FORMAT EMAILIn an email, use bolded paragraph headings for scanability. Doing
this helps you stay organized, and readers love it.

Aa Bb

YES
To:
From:

Hannah.Jones@email.com
Arianna.Cortes@email.com

Subject: 3 Goals for Our Team Meeting

Hi, Hannah. Jackie asked us to emphasize three goals to the team at our
meeting tomorrow:
UPDATE CARDS DAILY
We all need to update our assignment cards on Trello each day by 5 p.m.
Jackie would like to be able to do a company-wide review of project status in
the evenings.
MAKE SEAMLESS HAND-OFFS
A few projects were accidentally dropped during the staff change last year, so
we need to make sure each project sheet is up to date before handing it off
to someone else.
HARVEST CUSTOMER FEEDBACK
Treat customer complaints as valuable feedback. Be sure to record thecomplaint and the resolution in the appropriate log. If you see trends, bringthem to Jackie’s attention.
See you at 2:30.
Arianna

What font voice is your email
speaking in?
For daily emails, make sure you’re happy
with the default font. Some designers
claim that Verdana (san serif) or Georgia(serif) are better choices than Gmail’s
default, Arial.
While you’re at it, try creating aprofessional signature block that includes
your contact information.

Change your default font in
Gmail by going to “settings”
Choose a font that represents
Activity 7.2 your voice well.

9

SECTION THREE

USE WHITE SPACEWhite space is, of course, just space. But like silence, it
is remarkably powerful. A page full of black text withsmall margins feels daunting and unappealing to areader, as The Onion so astutely reported: Nation
Shudders at Large Block of Uninterrupted Text. Don’t
make that mistake. Build plenty of white space into yourdocument to enhance readability, direct attention, andlighten the feel of the page.
The next pages demonstrate some practical formatting
tips for using space well.

Visual simplicity invites yourreader’s attention.
10

Text can be aligned four ways: on the left, the center, the right, or
spread evenly between two margins. Although “justified” text
(aligned between both edges of a column) can look sharp at a
distance, odd spacing between words can occur. These distracting,jagged white spaces in your paragraph are called rivers. Left-justified,ragged-right text is easiest to read, and lets you decide how to use
your extra white space, instead of sprinkling it throughout yourparagraph. Narrow columns however, can be justified well if you findand hyphenate words that are causing rivers, or use smart text
display software like InDesign.

KEEP LINES SHORT
Keeping your lines short makes reading faster and easier. Instead oflong lines, use generous margins to keep lines shorter. Another greatsolution is to use columns, which shortens the lines still further. A
good rule of thumb is to keep each line of text no longer than 52-70
characters wide so the eye captures each line quickly.

AVOID NARROW MARGINS
Margins give the eye a rest. Don’t skimp. One wider margin (up to
two inches) on mirrored sides of the page can be a good spot for
illustrations or pull quotes.

SOMETIMES

YES

Right-justified, raggedleft text can be used
to display shorttext units.

Left-justified, raggedright text is easiest to
read and should be
used most often.

FULL JUSTIFIED BETWEEN MARGINSNOYESJustified text can cause
odd spacing in andbetween words. Avoidit.

Justified text can look
sharp, though, if you use
design software or use hyphens when needed.

COLUMNS AND MARGINSColumns makelines short
Use widemargins forvisual relief

FIGURE 6.5

LEFT-ALIGN OR JUSTIFYRIGHT ALIGNEDLEFT ALIGNED11

You’re probably familiar with “single spaced” and “double spaced.” (Youin high school: “Does my five-page essay have to be single spaced or
double spaced?”) But the optimal vertical distance between lines formost documents is not 1, but about 1.15 (this spacing is called leading).
This little bit of extra space gives the document a lighter look.
Single spacing is acceptable, but do not double space your text for any
business document unless your boss is a retired high school English
teacher. It looks unfinished, undesigned, and unprofessional.
Don’t indent. Indenting the first line of each paragraph by five spaces isanother typewriter holdover. Instead, leave an extra line between
paragraphs and make all paragraphs begin flush with the left margin.

WRITE SHORT PARAGRAPHSParagraph breaks are the breath of reading. Don’t force your reader togo on for too long without a refreshing break. Paragraph length can be aformatting as well as a content decision. When writing text in columns,
use very short paragraphs.

To keep your paragraphs shorter,
use links liberally.

CHOOSE YOUR LINE SPACINGNO

0.7

Leading is the amount of verticalspace between lines of text. You
probably know it as spacing.

YES

1.15

Leading is the amount of verticalspace between lines of text. You
probably know it as spacing.

NO

2.0
Leading is the amount of verticalspace between lines of text. You
probably know it as spacing.

FIGURE 6.6

USE 1.15 LINE SPACING
AS YOUR DEFAULT

12SECTION FOUR

INSERT GRAPHICS

If you are having trouble figuring out which kind ofgraphic will best display data, try using Andrew Abela’s
handy tool Which Chart? Then download one of Juice Labs
Chart Chooser free templates. We’ll cover thedetails of visualizing data and designing graphics
in Chapter 11, but these resources can get you
started.

Overall life satisfaction

Sometimes the best way to communicate information is withgraphics, not words.

NEW MCOM TEXTBOOKINCREASES LIFE SATISFACTION

Exposure to textbook

13

CHOOSING A GRAPHICTOCOMMUNICATEABOUT . . .

Sequence

PeopleLocationData

TRY A…

Timeline,
Flowchart

Photo,
Org Chart

Map,
Diagram,Floorplan

Table, Chart

Trend

Topic

Line Chart,
Infographic
Bubble Chart(Canva)Action orconcept
Icon(The Noun
Project)

2014

2015
= 6 students
2016

TOPIC
2017

Living Room

Bedroom

Bedroom

FIGURE 6.7

Kitchen14

Don’t just sprinkle graphics throughout your document,
anchor, position, and interpret them. Figure 7.8
demonstrates how to do all three.
ANCHOR
Anchor graphics to the text by writing a clear
reference in the body of your document. Givereaders a context for what they are about to see anda reason to care about it.

Male Hair Length Growing Slowly in Utah
25
Inches from Crown

ANCHOR YOUR GRAPHICS

MEN’S HAIR LENGTH IS GROWINGThe most significant data comes from the measured length of men’s hair fromthe crown to the tips. Figure 1 shows those measures and an obvious trend
toward longer hair.

20

U.C. Berkeley Men

15
10
5

BYU Men0

INTERPRET
Finally, know that inserting a graphic is not enough.
You must interpret the meaning of your graphic foryour readers. Help them see how your graphic adds
to your argument. Move them from “What?”through “So What?” to “Now What?”

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Years
Source: < CGT-Studies.com/hairlength/byuberk.html > May 2017

The findings show that in the year 2012, hair length at Berkeley was five times
the hair length at BYU. Years 2013 and 2014 saw an increase in that difference,reaching a maximum for the five years of more than 10 times the length of hair
at BYU. Years 2015 and 2016 show the difference decreasing only slightly to alittle more than six times the BYU hair length, with length at both universities
remaining unchanged.
Not only do the findings support the premise that hair length of males at
Berkeley is significantly longer, the findings also show a consistent difference;that is, for the five years of the study, hair length of men at Berkeley was
always longer than that of men at BYU. Despite these differences, the datashows a key similarity in the growing trend of longer hair, relatively speaking.
FIGURE 7.8

POSITION
Next, position graphics strategically so that thereader’s eye can quickly identify and locate theinformation you want to convey. When you insert agraphic, make sure you label it clearly and cite its
source (citations are usually written in a small font at
the bottom right).

15

EXAMPLE BANKSTANDARD
DOCUMENT
FORMATS
Business relies heavily on email, but printed business lettersand reports are still used. In fact, as more communication
becomes digital, the power and durability of a printed
document makes it stand out.

REPORTSPROPOSALS

WHITE PAPERS

TRADITIONAL LETTERS

Click through the links to the right to see examples of standard
formatting and get some design ideas.

Need to type a memo?

Standard Memo Format

16

IN CONCLUSION
Formatting a great-looking document takes time and practice, but the pay off is increased
reader access . . . and increased credibility.
The next time you write a paper or create a handout, practice choosing fonts, writing
headings, using white space, and inserting graphics.

LEARN MORE
ARTICLES

Gaertner-Johnston, Lynn. “Write Better Executive Summaries.”
Business Writing Blog, May 29, 2013.
http://www.businesswritingblog.com/business_writing/2013/05/writ
e-better-executive-summaries.html, accessed February 2017.
Kapterev, Alexei. “Which typeface should I use?” LinkedIn
SlideShare, February 8, 2016.
http://www.slideshare.net/thecroaker/which-typeface-should-iuse/, accessed February 2017.
“Nation Shudders At Large Block Of Uninterrupted Text.” The Onion,
March 9, 2010. http://www.theonion.com/article/nation-shuddersat-large-block-of-uninterrupted-te-16932, accessed February
2017.
Strizver, Ilene. “Pull Quotes.” Fonts.com.
https://www.fonts.com/content/learning/fyti/typographictips/pull-quotes, accessed February 2017.

Poole, Alex. “Which Are More Legible: Serif or Sans Serif Typefaces?”
Alex Poole Blog, February 17, 2008.
http://alexpoole.info/blog/which-are-more-legible-serif-or-sansserif-typefaces/, accessed Februrary 2017.

BOOKS
Catmull, Ed.Creativity, Inc: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that
Stand in the Way of True Inspiration. New York: Random House,
2014
Hagen, Rebecca, and Kim Golombisky. White Space is Not Your
Enemy: A Beginner’s Guide to Communicating Visually throughGraphic, Web, & Multimedia Design. Burlington: Focal Press, 2013.
Kosslyn, Stephen M. Graph Design for the Eye and Mind. New York:
Oxford University Press, 2006.
Tufte, Edward R. Envisioning Information. Graphics Press, 1990.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

Abela, A. “Chart Suggestions—A Thought-Starter.” The Extreme
Presentation Method, September 6, 2006.
http://img.labnol.org/di/choosing_a_good_chart2.pdf, accessed
February 2017.

LEARN MORE

Butterick’s Practical Typography. “Home.”
http://practicaltypography.com/, accessed February 2017.
Canva. “Choosing the Right Font.”
https://www.canva.com/design/DAB0nI1UHN0/4EPCm3m456_SQZ
qdVx_4Dw/edit, accessed February 2017.
Canva. “Infographics.”
https://www.canva.com/create/infographics/, accessed February
2017.
CorporateIpsum. “Home.” http://www.cipsum.com/, accessed
February 2017.
Google Support. “Add a title, heading, or table of contents in adocument.”
https://support.google.com/docs/answer/116338?co=GENIE.Platf
orm%3DDesktop&hl=en, accessed October 2017.
JuiceBox. “Chart Chooser.”http://labs.juiceanalytics.com/chartchooser/index.html,
accessed February 2017.
The Noun Project. “Home.” https://thenounproject.com/, accessed
February 2017.
Purdue Online Writing Lab. “Introduction to Grant Writing.”
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professional_t
echnical_writing/grant_writing/index.html, accessed April 2020.

Purdue Online Writing Lab. “White Paper: Purpose and Audience.”https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professional_t
echnical_writing/white_papers/index.html, accessed April 2020.
Purdue Online Writing Lab. “Writing the Basic Business Letter.”
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professional_t
echnical_writing/basic_business_letters/index.html, accessed April
2020.
Typeconnection. “Home.” http://www.typeconnection.com/,
accessed February 2017.

VIDEOS
Brown University Computer Education. “Google Docs: Working with
Heading Styles,” YouTube, published February 9, 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q58KRXwg93E&feature=youtu.be, accessed October 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

WEBSITESCHAPTER

8REVISE
ZOOM

OUT

–

ZOOM

IN

CONTENTS
4 SEE IT AGAIN
5 ZOOM YOUR DOC

LINK & LEARN
Required
Reading

This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Attribute the original source at mcom320.net. Emailbyumcom@gmail.com if you would like to adopt the curriculum. This chapter updated 11 May 2020.

Tips &
Optional

ExamplesActivityThis is Chapter 82

Rewriting is the essence ofwriting well—where the gameis won or lost. –William Zinsser
The word "revise" means to “see again,” and this is exactly what you need to dowhen preparing your writing for public consumption.
While writing, you are zoomed in. You’ve planned your purpose, analyzed youraudience, created a structure, decided on a strategy, and drafted your message. To
revise, you just zoom out, then in again.

3

SECTION ONE

SEE IT AGAIN
When you finish a substantial first draft, get away from it. Go outside and run aroundthe block. Get your mind completely off the topic for a while. Cognitively, your brain willassemble and organize the information it’s been processing for so many hours. Set an
alarm or timer for when you’ll start work again.
The amount of time you spend revising your work depends on both its length andimportance. An annual report is a major project, but even a short, critical email mighttake days to get right. When you come back from your break, you’ll be examining yourwriting in a new and powerful way: by mentally zooming out and then back in, just as
your reader will approach it.

Make revising your emails standard operating procedure. Don’t
fill in the TO: field until after you’ve written and revised.

4

1 Ft

SECTION TWOZOOMYOUR DOC
Although you’d like to think that your audience will start with yourfirst word and read carefully through each word in order, you know
that’s not how it works.
As a reader you first notice the design and layout of a piece, glanceat the title, scan the headings and visuals, and skim some lines.
Only then do you decide whether you’ll commit your time toreading it through. So try revising by using that same sequence.
Imagine yourself zooming out, then zooming in.

2 Ft
5 Ft
10 Ft

5

ZOOM OUT TO 10 FEETLAYOUT | DESIGN

Imagine yourself about 10 feet away from a printout of your work.
What do you see? Layout, spacing, headings—not much else.
From this distance, you can’t actually read the document. Instead,you get a sense for its overall design: headings, alignment, whitespace, graphics, contrast, etc. This is important because readers’first (and perhaps most powerful) impression of your message will
be more about its design than its content. More than everbefore, good design = credibility. This Purdue Owl video
demonstrates the basics of Visual Rhetoric.
At the 10-foot level, ask yourself these questions about LAYOUT
AND DESIGN :‣ Does my document look good from a distance?
‣ Does it have a clear entry point?
‣ Should I use color to add interest or draw attention to key
points?
‣ Did I choose attractive and clear fonts?
‣ Did I leave enough space to make my message look inviting?
(Blank lines between paragraphs, 1.15 line spacing,
comfortable margins?)‣ Is there any data that I should illustrate with a graphic?
‣ If this will be viewed online, is it readable on a mobile device?
6

ZOOM TO 5 FEETAGENDA| ORGANIZATION | HEADINGSYour reader will be looking for quick signs that you are organized andtrustworthy. Use the first two of the 4A’s to prove it:

ATTENTION Do I capture the readers’ attention immediately? Do I
provide the context of the message and tell my readers why theyshould care?
In a report, the title and opening sentence are your most important
attention-grabbing tools. In a letter, your opening sentence serves
the same function. In an email, focus on the subject line: keep it
short, descriptive, and interesting enough to stand out from thedozens (or hundreds) of other emails the reader receives daily.

AGENDA Can my reader easily locate a clear agenda that previews
the content of the message?
Your agenda is usually the last line of your opening paragraph. It will
set up the organization of your message and prime your readers’minds to receive it. All but the shortest messages deserve agendas.

7

ZOOM TO 2 FEETCONTENT | SUPPORTING DETAIL | PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE

The third step is to examine the substance of your message. Make sure
you support your attention grabber and your agenda. As you zoom in to
the two-foot level, check the remaining two of the 4A’s.
ARGUMENT Do I have a strong argument with all the informationnecessary to fulfill the promise of my agenda? Remember, an argumentin this sense is not a conflict. It’s the combination of your main pointand how you back it up. Ask yourself:‣ Can I streamline the reading experience for my reader by deleting
anything? Or can I link to information instead of including it?
‣ Have I remembered the readers' point of view and made clear why
they should care?
‣ Have I given the details and support my readers will want or need?
And have I checked my facts and claims to make sure they’re
absolutely accurate and cited?

ACTION Does my conclusion include a call to action for my readers,reminding them why the whole thing matters? Have I included
information that will make next steps easy for my reader?

8

TOPIC SENTENCES
Next, make sure each paragraph passes muster. For eachparagraph, read the topic sentence. Is it clear? Does it
contain the main point of the paragraph? Does everythingelse in the paragraph relate to the topic sentence?
Remember that busy readers often skim documents byreading only the topic sentences. If someone did this toyour document, would they catch the main points of yourargument? If not, it’s time to rewrite.

4A

ATTENTIONALUMNI ADVICE“The need to communicate succinctly anddirectly is essential to any professional work
environment, whether it’s with a small
startup or a Fortune 500 company.
People move fast and don’t have time toparse through what you are trying to say.
Avoid using ‘throat clearing’ phrases—
phrases or words that add more to your word
count but contribute nothing to the message.
It all goes back to being clear and succinct.”

AGENDA
ARGUMENTACTION
Robby Boyle
Sr. HR Generalist at LinkedIn, Organizational
Behavior/HR, Brigham Young University
MBA Class of 2016

9

ZOOM TO 1 FOOTGRAMMAR | PUNCTUATION | STYLE

class hefit, your sh peacYour final step is to edit for grammar, punctuation, and style, sozoom in really close.
Comb through your work at the sentence level to catch any errorsof grammar, spelling, or punctuation that will interfere with themessage. Alert: You may have already read your work so manytimes that you mentally skip words, so try reading it aloud toforce yourself to slow down and hear the words. To catch spelling
errors, read backwards so you see each word instead of its
meaning.
Style refers to tone, word choice, sentence variety, and a host ofother elements. Everything you write has a style; you can’t
escape it. As an analogy, think about what you decide to wear
each day. Your wardrobe choices communicate something about
you; they reflect your personal style or fashion sense (deliberate
or not).
So it is with your writing. The way you use words, the rhythm ofyour sentences, even whether you use a semicolon or a dash—these subtle choices constitute your style.

10

At the one-foot level, the ZOOM process forces you to notice andevaluate your style. Is it appropriate to the context and audience?
Too stuffy for a quick check-in with your project teammates? Toochatty for an update to the vice-president? These are the questions to ask yourself at this stage of revision. If something in yourwriting sounds clunky or off-key, it’s a style problem that needs tobe fixed.
More generally, style refers to a certain X factor that elevateswriting from useful to delightful, informative to compelling. The
best way to develop good style is to read, read, read. Get thevoice of great stylists in your head so you can imitate theircadence, nuance, wit, and flair. The end of each chapter of thisbook has recommendations for further reading that will help you
improve your own style. Great books, great thoughts, greatstyle…what’s not to like?

"I know my stuff looks like it was all rattled off in
28 seconds, but every word is a struggle andevery sentence is like the pangs of birth.”
Theodor Seuss Geisel (Philip Nel, Dr. Seuss: American Icon
(New York: Continuum, 2004), 35.)

WHEN SHOULD I GET SOMEONE ELSE TO
REVIEW MY WORK?
If your project is long, complicated, or mission critical, be
sure to have someone else give you feedback on yourwriting. Be reasonable in your time request, and makethe job easy for your editor.
Ask if they’d like a printed copy, or offer to grab them adrink while they look it over. To overcome the naturalanxiety about putting your work in front of critical eyes,
focus on the project rather than yourself. Mentally put
your editor on your team in getting the job done well.

FIGURE 7.1

STYLE AT THE ONE-FOOT LEVEL

11

IN CONCLUSION
Remember that doing a thorough revision allows you a fresh take. You see your work
again.
Imagine yourself zooming out to get an overall impression of the layout and design. Thenzoom in until you can just see structure—the title, agenda, headings, and logical flow.
Zoom down another level to check the main content, paragraph structure, andsupporting details. Finally, zoom all the way in and get really picky about grammar,punctuation, and style.
Make ZOOMing a habit. Your readers will thank you.

LEARN MORE
ARTICLES

Silverman, David. “That Written-By-Committee Flavor.” Harvard
Business Review, December 21, 2009. https://hbr.org/2009/12/thatwrittenbycommittee-flavor, accessed February 2017.

BOOKS

Abell, Alicia. Business Grammar, Style, and Usage: The Desk
Reference for Articulate and Polished Business Writing, Speaking,and Correspondence. Aspatore, 2003.
Cunningham, Helen, and Brenda Greene. The Business Style
Handbook: An A-to-Z Guide for Effective Writing on the Job.
McGraw Hill, 2013.
Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide for Book
Publishing and Corporate Communications. University of California
Press, 2006.

Nel, Phillip. Dr. Seuss: American icon. Bloomsbury Academic, 2003.
Pinker, Steven. The Sense of Style. New York: Viking, 2014.

VIDEOSOWLPurdue. “Purdue OWL: Visual Rhetoric,” YouTube, published
January 1, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vJvivIzkDg,
accessed February 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)“A General Guide to Understanding Written Plagarism.” EasyBib.
http://www.easybib.com/guides/students/research-guide/whatis-plagiarism/, accessed February 2017.

CHAPTER

9MANAGEG E T

T H I N G S

D O N E … W I T H

P E O P L E

CONTENTS
4 MEETINGS
7 EMAIL AND CHAT
10 MOTIVATIONLINK & LEARN
Required
Reading

This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Attribute the original source at mcom320.net. Emailbyumcom@gmail.com if you would like to adopt the curriculum. This chapter updated 11 May 2020.

Tips &
Optional

ExamplesActivityThis is Chapter 92

Manage and lead effectively.
As your career progresses, you’ll be asked to
manage projects, which ultimately means
managing people. In this chapter you’ll learn tomanage communications in meetings and withemail and chat. We’ll also discuss motivating at
critical moments.
Take a minute to read the advice at right about
leadership from experienced leaders.

“The key to successful
leadership is

INFLUENCE,
not authority.”“Leadership is a seriesof behaviors rather
than a role for heroes.”

KENNETH H. BLANCHARDMARGARET WHEATLEY“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing

yourself. When you become a leader, SUCCESS IS ALL

ABOUT GROWING OTHERS.”JACK WELCH“A leader is best when people
barely know he exists. When his
work is done, his aim fulfilled,they will say:

“May we be men andwomen of

HONESTY andINTEGRITYWE DID IT OURSELVES.”

in everything we do.”

LAO TZU

PRES. THOMAS S. MONSON“My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to takethese great people we have and to push them and
MAKE THEM EVEN BETTER.”STEVE JOBS

3

SECTION ONE

MEETINGS
Meetings can be valuable. They’re also costly in timeand human resources. Long, disorganized meetings
burn through precious resources and are excruciating.
According to a 2016 study published by the Harvard
Business Review (Collaborative Overload), “Time spentby managers and employees in collaborative activities
has ballooned by 50% or more” over the last two
decades. Consulting with others can consume up to
80% of an individual’s time, leaving very little time for
productive, independent effort. The complexity of
global business has led to more team-based decision
making and action . . . and that means more meetings.

As a manager, you might feel that calling a meeting is
the logical next step in any project, but are you sure?
An unnecessary meeting creates inefficiency,
resentment, and lack of trust. Make sure you run
meetings that are well-planned and effective. Ask
yourself these questions:

4

SHOULD I HOLD A MEETING?

Call meetings when you need to collaborate on solutions,create new ideas, make decisions, or assign actions.
Generally, don’t call a meeting to convey information—unless
your message is sensitive. Weekly meetings can help keep agroup cohesive and moving forward, but consider less timeconsuming ways to stay in touch (e.g., shared documents or
project-management software). Don’t let a regular meeting
become a recurring time drain. Question the necessity of
every meeting you call.

WHOM SHOULD I INVITE?
The smallest meetings are 1:1, a formal individual meetingwith a subordinate instead of just “catching up” in the breakroom. Andy Grove, the legendary founder of Intel, believed
1:1 meetings pay off handsomely. “Ninety minutes of yourtime can enhance the quality of your subordinate’s work for
two weeks, or for some eighty-plus hours.” High Output
Management

5

When calling a team meeting, try to keep the number ofattendees small (though you should publish the results as
widely as necessary). In large groups, social loafing occurs:
Participants reduce their effort and avoid responsibilities. An
odd number of people, close to five, is a good size for a
discussion-based meeting. Guard against inviting too many
people (trying not to offend anybody), or too few (inviting
only those you’re comfortable with).

BE SURE YOUR ATTENDANCE LIST INCLUDES . . .
1.

The decision maker (authorized to make key
decisions)2.

People who can frame the current issues,
provide context, and propose specific solutions

3.

People required to implement the decisions“An odd-numbered group size, close to 5, is useful for discussion and decision making.”
Sheila Margolis
What Is the Optimal Group Size for Decision Making?

55

WHEN SHOULD WE MEET?
According to an article in Fast Company (“The Best Time of Day to Do Everything at Work"), Tuesday afternoons at 3 p.m. is a goodtime to hold meetings. Attendees have time to prepare for them after the weekend, and they still have a few days before the end of
the week to execute assignments. Avoid Friday afternoons and Monday mornings if at all possible. Use the company calendar invitation
system or a facilitator like Doodle, Calendly, or NeedToMeet to efficiently set a time when all invitees can attend.

Activity 8.1

Explore the interfaces of Doodle, Calendly,
NeedToMeet, or WhenIsGood and decide
which you’ll use.

THE BEST TIME OF DAY TO DO EVERYTHING AT WORK
Schedule a meeting? Tuesday at 3 p.m.
W Th F

MEETINGSMEETINGSTMEETINGSM
MEETINGSS

Sa

Scheduling a meeting on Tuesday allows time to prepare after
the weekend and act on the decisions made in the same week.

Send an email for a quick response? 6 - 7 a.m.
You’ll compete with fewer emails in the morning inbox, andreply rates are highest, about 45%.

Make a tough decision? After lunch.

Judges make more consistent decisions when they have fulltummies. You probably will too.

Brainstorm new ideas? When you’re tired.

A tired brain won’t jump to logical solutions but will start
throwing out random and innovative ideas.

Source: Stephanie Vozza, Fast Company 23 June 2015, “The Best Time of Day to Do Everything at Work”

6

WHERE SHALL WE MEET?
Choose the right place for your meeting. You have options.
Office meetings Schedule a right-sized room—avoid one that's
so big that participants mentally check out. Make sure the roomhas enough chairs and that you have what you need: projector,
strong WiFi, water, paper, etc.
Standup meetings For brief progress report meetings, try
stand-up meetings. Stand-ups are short meetings in which
participants remain standing in a common area. The idea is thateveryone will conduct business more efficiently since they don’t
want to stay standing too long!

ALUMNI ADVICE“I love walking meetings.
They allow participants to dodge
interruptions and focus more tightly
on the discussion. The increased
heart rate and blood flow make me
feel sharper, too.”Walking meetings Another alternative meeting location, muchfavored in Silicon Valley, is outside. Walking meetings work bestfor 1:1 or 1:2 meetings in mild weather. Plan a route beforehandthat will last about the length of your meeting, and warn
participants in advance so they’ll wear comfortable shoes.
Walking meetings can spur creative thought, increase
friendship, and give participants a break from the office.
David B. Andersen,

Former Intel technologist and current entrepreneur.
MS Electrical Engineering
BYU, Class of 1981

7

ENGAGING REMOTE PARTICIPANTS
Research by Rosanne Siino at Stanford suggests thatemotional engagement is the key to effective meetings,
and that remote participants have trouble staying
engaged. She recommends four ways to make remotemeetings more effective:
1. Avoid “mixed” meetings with some participants onvideo and others in the room. Think all or nothing:either everyone’s in the room or everyone’s remote.
2. Have remote participants introduce themselves atthe beginning and identify their role (e.g., notetaker, timekeeper, etc.).
3. Discourage calling in via mobile phones, whichhave unpredictable connections. When you
combine a thick accent with a low-quality line,
everyone quickly becomes mentally exhausted. Use
VOIP if at all possible.

Lunch Meetings A good meal can help people relax andfeel closer. At a restaurant, consider scheduling early orlate—you’ll have more room, a quieter space, and more
attentive service. If you order lunch to be brought in, beaware that people need downtime, so don’t frequently
overschedule their lunch hours.
Remote meetings Remote meetings are increasingly
common in decentralized teams. If you are calling ameeting for a new team, make the effort to use a videoconferencing platform like Zoom, Google Hangouts,
Skype, Facetime, or Join.me. The extra hassle is worth
the increased information you will acquire by reading
body and facial language as you spend time getting toknow each other. As you become comfortable working
together, phone meetings will become more commonand efficient. Become familiar with screen-sharing
technology so you can all discuss a single document, flow
chart, or spreadsheet.

4. Keep track of who talks and who doesn’t. Draw in
non-participants by asking questions and seeking
their opinions.

Practice holding a remote meeting with a team
you work on. Create a document and shareyour screen with the others in the meeting.
Activity 9.1 Have everyone contribute to a single
document using Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides.

8

HOW LONG SHALL WE MEET?
The length of time you should plan for your meeting is, ofcourse, determined by your purpose. Here are someexamples:‣ 15 minutes: Status updates. Help a colleague with asingle roadblock. Readjust assignment loads.
‣ 30 minutes: Brainstorm. Create a project schedule.
Conduct a performance review. Review a report before
publication.
‣ 50 minutes: First team meeting on a new project. Workthrough a recurrent multi-faceted problem. Hold adiscussion including more than five people.
Try to plan meetings that feel a little short for the task.
Meeting participants are more likely to stay focused, alert,
and grateful.
Time’s up and you’re not finished with the agenda? Table therest of the items and resolve to do better next time. By
ending the meeting on time, you communicate respect foryour colleagues’ time and your trustworthiness in using it.

WHAT SHOULD I DO
BEFORE THE MEETING?

Create and publish an agenda. Include the meeting purpose,
invitees, roles, location, length, and links to minutes from theprevious meeting so participants can review theirassignments. Conclude your agenda with a few questions
you’d like participants to be thinking about before themeeting and links to any material they’ll need to review.
MEETING AGENDA
When:
Where:
Call-in Info:
Preparation:
Who:

May 21, 2017, 3 p.m. EDT
Sky Meeting Room + call + video
555.123.4567; web link here
Bring project status updates and roadblocks
Arianna (host), Libby, Clark, Anish, Jen G.

1. Project Status Update (3:00 p.m. - 30 min)• Individual role updates• Roadblocks to address
2. Calendared Project Items (3:30 p.m. - 15 min)
• Review existing items• Add or delete items• Address conflicts
3. Project Next Steps & Next Meeting (3:45 p.m. - 10 min)If you are having trouble getting throughmeetings on time, create a timed agenda.
Activity 9.2

Create an agenda for an upcoming meeting.
Send it out to prepare attendees, then follow it
during the meeting.

9

HOW DO I RUN A MEETING?
As a manager, you‘re responsible for guiding the meeting, but
don’t assume that means you should be joyless or strictly limit
discussion to the work project. To get the best from your teamduring a meeting, pay attention to relationships, roles, andresults.
Relationships: A few years ago, Google spent millions ofdollars gathering and analyzing data, trying to optimize its
teams. Its data on successful teams did not easily yieldcommonalities. After years of research, Google found only two
common factors in its most successful teams:‣ Equality in the distribution of conversational turn taking.
Everyone on the team spoke about the same amount overtime.
‣ A high average social sensitivity. Members quickly andaccurately read how other teams members felt, as
indicated by tone, expression, and nonverbal cues.
Women are often naturally skilled in this, which is why
they make such valuable team members. See more of
Google’s results here: Why Some Teams are Smarter Than
Others.

RELATIONSHIPS

Source: http://brandongaille.com/how-to-have-and-run-an-effective-meeting/

ROLES

RESULTS10

Roles: Make sure people at your meetings know what their
responsibilities are. Some managers like to assign roles liketimekeeper, facilitator, recorder, questioner, etc. For solving
problems or group writing, some like the model of assigning
figurative roles like architect, madman, carpenter, and judge.
Or randomly divide the team into Blue Hats (who are free tofind flaws and criticize) and Red Hats (who can only commenton positives, despite personal opinions). Ensure that everyone
has input.
Results: While simultaneously paying attention to therelationships and roles in your group, you must also moveyour tasks to completion. Quickly refocus wandering
conversations and keep desired results visible so you’ll all
move toward them. “Let’s check the agenda and move on.”“Our main goal here is to . . .” Write your meeting’s purpose
on a whiteboard or a poster. Try using project management
software like Trello, Asana, or TeamGantt.

HOW SHOULD IFOLLOW UP?

Don’t lose all that meeting goodness. People may leavemeetings motivated to do their assignments, but they can use
your help in providing them with reminders and tools. So be
sure to delegate and publish the next steps and due dates thatteam members have agreed to. Enter assignments in yourproject software or send a clear follow-up email like the one
below. Peer pressure (sometimes) works wonders.

YES
To

PauloC@email.com

From

Hannah.Goss@email.com

Subject

Assignments from June 15 Meeting

Hi, Team. Great meeting this morning! Here are our next steps:
Dave: File the patent application by June 20. Here’s an example.
Corinne: Make the changes we discussed to the UI by June 25.

Visit the splash pages of some project
management software services: Trello, Asana,
Wrike, TeamGantt, Zoho. Which do you like best
Activity 9.3 and how do you see yourself using it?

Paulo: Contact ProCorps by June 27 about support for the additionalfeatures. Call Brady James (123.555.4321) and mention me.
Me: Write up project report and share for team review by June 19.
Let me know if you run into any roadblocks. I’ll check with each of you twodays before your deadline. Our next meeting is July 1 at 3 p.m.
I’ll bring bacon donuts because…bacon.

Ask attendees to put their phones in Do Not
Disturb mode during meetings.

Hannah11

3 Email Management Tips
SECTION TWOEMAILAND CHATEMAIL MANAGEMENTGood managers need to fully understand the zen of email. It
must be your servant, not your master. We’ve alreadydiscussed how to write clear, concise emails in CH 04: BUILD.
Here are some email management tips.
Breathe. We tend to breathe very shallowly when reading
email. So that you don’t become a victim of Email Apnea,
remember to breathe deeply and stretch occasionally.
Search rather than sort. Rely on Gmail’s incredible searchcapabilities to find emails you need rather than spendingtime sorting and maintaining topic folders.

Email response rates start dropping withevery word over 125. Use links andattachments to say more, if necessary.
“7 Tips for Getting More Responses to Your Emails(With Data!)” Alex Moore

Check your email 3 times a day
instead of 30 to save a lot of time.
Unsubscribe from unwanted
newsletters and junk email and cut
your email workload drastically.
“Block Unwanted Emails.” Google Help36

Times the average
employee checks
their email in an
hour

16

Minutes spent
refocusing after
handling incoming
email

https://www.atlassian.com/time-wasting-at-work-infographic

12Fence your email time. Don’t let email take over your day. Resist theimpulse to check email constantly—choose the hours you’ll spend
working on your inbox.
Achieve and maintain Inbox Zero. If you routinely ignore email in yourinbox, you might ignore something important or forget it as it drifts
down your long inbox list. Read Anthony Casalena, founder and CEO of
Squarespace, who deals with about 300 emails a day, on  How toAchieve Inbox Zero. Let your email software filter for you (Google has
great tools). Keep your inbox to under 10 items.

ACHIEVE AND MAINTAININBOX ZEROCHAT MANAGEMENT
Instant messaging is common in business settings, probably because
so many more people are working remotely. Texting is instantaneous,
but also asynchronous. It accommodates groups, records threads, andis appealing to those who don’t speak English as a first language. But
does it decrease productivity? If you manage notification settings, IM
can be a productivity boost rather than hindrance. Read and follow
Lifewire’s  8 Etiquette Rules for Using Messaging at Work.

NIRVANA

0

SLACK is a popular messaging, archive, and searchtool for teams. Watch this Introducing Slack video.
Activity 9.4

13

SECTION THREE

MOTIVATION
Motivational communication is a topic that makes many
people cringe. They picture the slick motivational
speaker, oozing with counterfeit charisma, or atelevangelist, manipulating emotions for self-gain. (seeShia LaBeouf’s “Just Do It” motivational speech).
But the ability to inspire and motivate others is one of
the hallmarks of extraordinary leaders. More
importantly, research by leadership experts Jack Zenger
and Joe Folkman shows that inspiring and motivatingothers requires powerful communication. Zenger andFolkman’s book, The Inspiring Leader, suggests thefollowing six best practices.

14

INSPIRING LEADERSHIPCOMMUNICATE OFTEN

Inspiring leaders are prolific communicators. They are in touch with their people, listening to them, sharing ideas,
providing encouragement, and reminding them of the bigger picture.

BE POSITIVE

Pessimists and critics are rarely inspiring. Research by University of Michigan professor Kim Cameron onleadership teams (Positive Leadership) finds that in the highest-performing teams, the ratio of positive tonegative comments is 5:1. In medium-performing teams, the ratio is 2:1. And in low-performing teams, the ratio
is 1:3 in favor of the negative. Follow the 5:1 rule and keep it positive.

ASK QUESTIONSStereotypes suggest that inspiring leaders give lofty speeches and articulate grand visions. Turns out they actually
ask a lot of questions. Questions inspire because they indicate openness and encourage a two-way dialogue.
Social scientists Marcial Losada and Emily Heaphy find that in high-performing organizations, leaders ask aquestion for each instruction they give; in low-performing organizations, the ratio is closer to 20 instructions foreach question.

CELEBRATE!

Shine the spotlight on others rather than on yourself. Being generous with praise and giving credit to oftenanonymous co-workers are powerful ways to inspire and motivate others.

TELL STORIESInspiring leaders tell stories that draw the audience in. Stories are concrete and real, and therefore morememorable than lists of facts or well-honed logical arguments. Stories often evoke emotions; they’re funny, sad,embarrassing, shocking, admirable, etc. Stories provide a sense of completion because they have a beginning, a
middle, and an end. To be more inspiring, keep a fresh stock of anecdotes that you can deploy in your formal andinformal communications.

SHOW PASSION

Inspiration means “to exert an animating, enlivening, or exalting influence” (merriam-webster.com). Your passion
as a communicator has a direct effect on how animated and enlivened your audience feels. Remember that
communicating with passion doesn’t require high-energy histrionics. Quiet authenticity and consistentcommitment are proven ways to convey personal conviction for what you’re communicating.

15

IN CONCLUSIONYour career will include managerial roles. The ability to facilitate effective meetings will
make you stand out in a world where time-wasting meetings are the norm. Managing
your email and messaging will help you survive and thrive in our era of communication
saturation. And if you can inspire and motivate others to achieve important goals, you’ll
always be in demand for getting things done . . . with people.

LEARN MORE
ARTICLES

Casalena, Anthony. “How to Achieve Inbox Zero.” Yahoo Finance.
November 16, 2016. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/achieveinbox-zero-010017746.html , accessed April 2020.
Cherry, Kendra. “What Is Social Loafing?” verywell. May 10, 2016.
https://www.verywell.com/what-is-social-loafing-2795883,
accessed February 2017.
Cross, Rob, Reb Rebele, and Adam Grant. “Collaborative
Overload.” Harvard Business Review. January-February 2016.
https://hbr.org/2016/01/collaborative-overload, accessed
February 2017.
De Hoyos, Brandon. “Eight Etiquette Rules for Using Messaging at
Work.” Lifewire. June 29, 2016. https://www.lifewire.com/etiquetterules-for-messaging-at-work-1949632, accessed February 2017.
Duhigg, Charles. “What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the
Perfect Team.” The New York Times. February 25, 2016.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-googlelearned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html, accessed
February 2017.

“Find the Ideal Meeting-Room Temperature.” Meetings Imagined.
http://www.meetingsimagined.com/tips-trends/find-idealmeeting-room-temperature, accessed February 2017.
Gallo, Amy. “The Condensed Guide to Running Meetings.” Harvard
Business Review. July 6, 2015. https://hbr.org/2015/07/thecondensed-guide-to-running-meetings, accessed February 2017.
Hotz, Robert Lee. “Can Handwriting Make You Smarter?” The WallStreet Journal. April 4, 2016. https://www.wsj.com/articles/canhandwriting-make-you-smarter-1459784659, accessed February
2017.
Lawrence, Toland. “Is Instant Messaging Killing Your Company’s
Productivity? (Part 1).” Business to Community. June 29, 2016.
http://www.business2community.com/tech-gadgets/instantmessaging-killing-companys-productivity-part-101585390#6jGHgGTQLGXdmYdy.97, accessed February 2017.
Losada, M. and E. Heaphy. "The Role of Positivity and Connectivity in
the Performance of Business Teams: A Nonlinear Dynamic Model."The American Behavioral Scientist 47, no. 6 (2004): 740-65.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0002764203260208 ,accessed February 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

Antonakis, John, Marika Fenley, and Sue Liechti. “Learning
Charisma.” Harvard Business Review. June 2012.
https://hbr.org/2012/06/learning-charisma-2, accessed February
2017.

LEARN MORE

Siino, Rosanne M., 2007. Emotional Engagement on GeographicallyDistributed Teams: Exploring Interaction Challenges in MediatedVersus Face-to-face Meetings (Doctoral dissertation, Stanford
University).
Thornton, Bill, Alyson Faires, Maija Robbins, and Eric Rollins. “TheMere Presence of a Cell Phone May be Distracting.” Social
Psychology 45, no. 6 (2014). http://metacog201415.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/2/9/39293965/thornton_faires_robbin
s_y_rollins_in_press_presence_cell_phone_distracting.pdf,
accessed February 2017.
Vozza, Stephanie. “The Best Time of the Day to do Everything at
Work.” Fast Company. June 23, 2015.
https://www.fastcompany.com/3047586/know-it-all/the-besttime-of-day-to-do-everything-at-work, accessed February 2017.
“What is a Facilitator and Other Meeting Roles.” CO2 Partners Blog.
December 5, 2013. http://www.co2partners.com/what-is-afacilitator-role-and-responsibilities/, accessed February 2017.
Woolley, Anita, Thomas W. Malone, and Christopher F. Chabris. “WhySome Teams Are Smarter Than Others.” The New York Times.
January 16, 2015.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/opinion/sunday/whysome-teams-are-smarter-than-others.html?_r=1, accessed
February 2017.

Zenger, Jack and Joe Folkman. “The Inspiring Leader: Unlocking theSecret Behind How Extraordinary Leaders Motivate.” Zenger
Folkman Whitepaper, 2014. https://zengerfolkman.com/wpcontent/uploads/2019/04/White-Paper_-Unlocking-The-SecretBehind-How-Extraordinary-Leaders-Motivate.pdf, accessed April
2020.
“4 Personalities of Writing: Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge.”
Consultants Mind. January 11, 2015.
http://www.consultantsmind.com/2015/01/11/madman-architectcarpenter-judge/, accessed February 2017.

BOOKS
Amabile, Teresa and Steven Kramer. The Progress Principle: Using
Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work.
Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2011.
Cameron, Kim. Positive Leadership: Strategies for Extraordinary
Performance. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.,
2012.
Grove, Andrew S. High Output Management. New York, NY: Vintage
Books, 1995.
Sinek, Simon. Leaders Eat Last. New York, NY: Portfolio/Penguin, 2014.
Zenger, John. The Inspiring Leader: Unlocking the Secrets of How
Extraordinary Leaders Motivate. McGraw Hill, 2009.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

Margolis, Sheila. “What is the optimal group size for decisionmaking?” Sheila Margolis Blog. January 1, 2011.
https://sheilamargolis.com/2011/01/24/what-is-the-optimalgroup-size-for-decision-making/, accessed February 2017.

LEARN MOREWEBSITES
Merriam Webster. “Inspiration.” https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/inspiration, accessed February 2017.

Asana. “Home.” https://asana.com/, accessed February 2017.

NeedToMeet. “Home.” http://www.needtomeet.com/, accessed
February 2017.

Atlassian. “You waste a lot of time at work”(Infographic). https://www.atlassian.com/time-wasting-at-workinfographic, accessed February 2017.

Skype. “Home.” https://www.skype.com/en/, accessed February
2017.

Basecamp. “Home.” https://basecamp.com/, accessed February
2017.
Calendly. “Home.” https://calendly.com/, accessed February 2017.
Doodle. “Home.” http://doodle.com/, accessed February 2017.
Google. “Google Hangouts.”
https://hangouts.google.com/, accessed February 2017.

GoToMeeting. “Home.” https://www.gotomeeting.com/, accessed
February 2017.
Join.Me. “Home.” https://www.join.me/, accessed February 2017.

Stanford University. “Rosanne Marie Siino (Lecturer).”
https://explorecourses.stanford.edu/instructor/rsiino, accessed
February 2017.
TeamGantt. “Home.” https://www.teamgantt.com/, accessed
February 2017.
Trello. “Home.” https://trello.com/, accessed February 2017.
Whenisgood. “Home.” http://whenisgood.net/, accessed February
2017.
Wrike. “Product.” https://www.wrike.com/tourvb/?utm_expid=75732941-76.L5A1J6c1RiuF9g8_tqjsPQ.2, accessed
February 2017.
Zoho. “Home.” https://www.zoho.com/projects/features.html,
accessed February 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

Apple. “Use FaceTime with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.”https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204380, accessed February
2017.

LEARN MORE
VIDEOS
MotivaShian. “Shia LaBeouf “Just Do it” Motivational Speech (Original
Video by LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner).”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXsQAXx_ao0, accessed
April 2020.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

Slack. “You’ve Probably Heard of Slack.” Slack.com.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c7_TpPUpL0, accessed April
2020.

CHAPTER10PERSUADE
B

E

C

O

N

V

I

N

C

I

N

G

CONTENTS
4 PERSUADE WITH PURPOSE
8 KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
10 CHOOSE A STRATEGY
17 DETERMINE A STRUCTURE
17 DELIVER BAD NEWS EFFECTIVELYLINK & LEARN
Required
Reading

This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Attribute the original source at mcom320.net. Emailbyumcom@gmail.com if you would like to adopt the curriculum. This chapter updated 11 May 2020.

Tips &
Optional

ExamplesActivityThis is Chapter 102

Be convincing
Persuasion is the art of convincing someone
to see something as you do, and in a waythat makes them want to take action.
In business, persuasion is a valuable skill that helps advanceideas and get things done. The notion that “great ideas sellthemselves” is wishful thinking. Great ideas need persuasive
expression.

“Don’t raise
your voice.
Improve yourargument.”

As with any effective message, persuasive communication
requires planning. In Chapter 3 we introduced the PASS
acronym for planning your message:‣ Define your purpose‣ Analyze your audience‣ Decide on a strategy‣ Build a strong structure
In this chapter, we’ll revisit each of these steps in the context of
persuasion, focusing mostly on strategy.

Desmond Tutu

South African social rights activist and retired Anglican bishop

3

SECTION ONE

PERSUADE WITH PURPOSE
Make sure you clarify exactly what you want from your audience. In
current business slang, this means deciding “What’s your ask?” What
are you trying to convince your listener or reader to believe, feel, anddo?
Before composing a persuasive message, write a simple, one-sentence
purpose statement. The first two columns of Figure 10.1 provide someexamples of audiences and purpose statements for common situations
that require persuasion.

Complaining is not persuading.
If you have a complaint,
think of a specificsolution

before you craft your pitch.

This path will be
more efficient
In two ways.

Let’s try to think
about this in adifferent way…

A raise will improveteam stability

How aboutthis solution…

4

AUDIENCEYOUR ASK

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVEDYour manager

A 7.5% increase in base salary for
Sarah, the top-performing memberof your technical team, to put her at
the median for programmers withher education and experienceYour manager needs effective and stable
teams. If Sarah is not compensated fairly, thecompany may lose her and cripple the teamduring this high-visibility project.

A potential client

The client needs to hire a respected analytics
A contract to complete Phase 1 offirm. She’d like to settle the contract quickly
your proposed social media
because she has got to solve a major supplyanalytics project at a cost of $88,000
chain issue.

A potential investor$2 million in funding to create a fully
functional prototype of yourconstruction management software

The investor wants to increase his bottom line
and be a good mentor. Last year, he backed a
big project that failed because of poor market
research. Now he needs an innovative productfrom a reliable team—that knows their market
very well.

Craig, an underperforming
employeeAcceptance of termination of his
employment with full understandingof the reasons and without any ill will,
if possible

The employee is unhappy in his job, but hedoesn’t want to lose it—or any self-respect. Hiscolleagues are long-time friends, and his wife
wants to move to Texas.

Scale Your Ask Scaling down your “ask” may make it more successful. If you try to sell your complete project at
the outset, your audience is more likely to say no. Narrow your purpose to focus on the next immediate step.

FIGURE 10.1

Figure 10.1

5

SECTION TWOKNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Each of the four purpose statements you just read in Figure 10.1 istargeted to a specific audience—a specific person, actually. Knowing
your audience will help you craft your solution when penning apersuasive message. Presenting your idea as the solution to a problem
can be highly effective. Solutions are much more persuasive thansuggestions.
The third column of Figure 10.1 identifies current problems for eachaudience. Knowing the context in which your audience is making
decisions will help you craft appropriate solutions.

Solutions

are much morepersuasive thansuggestions.

If your purpose is to keep a top performer—and your boss needs toretain top performers—great. But if your boss is under intense pressure
to cut costs, you’ll need to create a solution that addresses cost issues,too.

6THE UNKNOWN AUDIENCE
When you don’t know your audience, use theapproach that is easiest for a general audience todigest: facts and figures. People like to think ofthemselves as logical. Stories or analogies are also
memorable and useful with an unknown audience.

?

AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
Remember Aristotle’s ethos, logos, and pathos? We’ll explore theserhetorical approaches at length in the strategy section of thischapter. Here, let’s apply them to audience analysis. Look at thefirst situation in Figure 10.1, getting a salary increase for a key
member of your team.
Is your boss most likely to…
A. Defer to the opinions of experts and trusted figures? If so,
invoke an authority (ethos):“Our CEO has said that we can’t afford to pay below-market
salaries. Doing so would undermine our employment brand.”
B. Know and quote a lot of facts and statistics? Emphasize data
and logical reasoning (logos):“Recent surveys show that employees whose salaries are below
the market average are 10 times more likely to quit.”
C. Take action when experiencing emotions such as affection,
loyalty, or guilt? Make sure to include an emotional appeal(pathos):“Everyone likes to feel appreciated. It’s one of the top
motivators. I know Sarah has been feeling underappreciatedlately.”7

SECTION THREECHOOSE A STRATEGY
After determining your purpose and analyzing your audience, you need to craft your strategy. To start, we’ll revisit Aristotle.

ETHOS is easy to define but difficult to establish. Ethos persuades with trustworthy information. Using (and citing) credible

sources not only makes the argument more powerful, but it also makes you more believable. To establish the expertise of others, besure to state the expert’s credentials, like this: “Research by Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman and the Gallup organization has

consistently shown that salary is a significant factor in employees’ decisions to quit.”

If you put in the time to gather data from solid sources, your audience will tend to trust your conclusions more readily. A little bit ofresearch goes a long way toward establishing your ethos.

PATHOS

Rhetoricalemotion, values

ETHOS
Rhetorical

Strategies

credibility, trust

LOGOS

logic, reason, proof

8

PATHOS
Pathos influences through sentiment and emotion. Current
research in behavioral economics shows that although we like tothink we are making decisions rationally, we often make theminstinctively and emotionally, before consciously processing thealternatives. So look for ways to make your audience feelsomething about your proposal, even if you are simply making
them feel good about being logical.
As Aristotle defined it, pathos is sentiment of any sort, althoughsentiments that produce sympathetic emotional reactions aremost common. Pictures of starving children get people to donate
to food relief. Such visual images play on pity for the child andguilt about the donor’s financial security.
Children International, a prominent charity, uses the tagline, “Forthe cost of one cup of coffee per day.” This is classic pathos— guiltin this case. The tagline invites us to give up a small personal
indulgence and see the good we can do.

Pathos also includes persuasion that plays on happiness. Medical
practices often rely on pathos because medical issues can bescary. For example, hospital ads that show contented parents
staring lovingly at their new baby are using pathos; the hospitalwants your business.
Some of the other emotions you can call up in your persuasive
messages are jealousy, admiration, pity, desire, fear, and relief.
Back to our example of seeking a raise for Sarah, your top
performer:"Sarah is the kind of employee who goes the extra mile but never seeks
the spotlight. A salary increase would be perfect for her: measurable,
yet private." (Admiration and empathy)
Or"Losing Sarah would jeopardize our ability to meet our deadline -- andthis is a high-visibility project." (Fear)

Look for ways to make your audience

FEEL SOMETHING
about your proposal

9

LOGOS
Logos influences through logic, reasoning, and evidence. The
first step to applying logos is to avoid misapplying it. Readcarefully this list of common logical fallacies: Information is
Beautiful | Rhetological Fallacies. Ask yourself, “Which onesam I guilty of using?” These fallacies appear everywhere: in thebusiness press, in the speeches of world leaders, inconversations in the lunchroom. Inoculate your own messages
from such faulty thinking or risk losing credibility with welleducated audiences.

Internal Logic Another aspect of logos has to do with thesequence of your argument. This is called internal logic. Are
you able to skillfully string together a series of causes andeffects, antecedents and consequences, or pieces ofaccumulating evidence to build to your conclusion? Or do yourarguments zig and zag randomly through a jumble of ideas?
Regularly read examples of strong arguments to teach yourself
to craft them.
Finally, almost every logical argument relies on facts andfigures for support. Research and documentation bolster yourcredibility and make you more persuasive. Support yourproposals with facts, statistics, and data. Never assume, guess,or invoke anonymous authority. Prove.

Activity 10.1

Choose at least three fallacies from the
Rhetological Fallacies infographic and illustratethem with examples you’ve seen in public media.

Put the following ideas in a sequence thatcreates a well-constructed argument:
Activity 10.2 • Sarah has consistently outperformed
others on the team.
• We need to offer Sarah a salary increase
to bring her up to the median market
rate.
• I can’t risk losing a key member of myteam at this stage of the project.
• Sarah never asks for special recognition
or attention.
• Salaries for programmers in our area haveincreased 9.7% in the past year.
• Sarah’s best friend just took a job with
Qualcomm (our biggest competitor).
• Sarah brings to the team a depth oftechnical knowledge that no one else
offers.
Still confused about the differences between
logos, ethos and pathos? Check out this video
for another explanation.

10

CURRENT PERSUASION RESEARCH
The ancient Greeks do not have the last word when it comes to persuasion. Research in social psychology reveals a variety of techniques that are
specific to our culture and time. Some of the best work has been done by Robert Cialdini, Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at
Arizona State University. Cialdini’s basic point is that people are persuaded when messages connect with their motivations, and his conclusions aresupported by decades of careful psychological experiments. His best-selling book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, presents these six ideas:
COMMITMENT

1.

RECIPROCITY
SOCIAL PROOF
AUTHORITY“I’m glad you see the need to do something for Sarah. Are you okay if we schedule a time to meet withthe compensation team this Friday?”

LIKINGSCARCITYCOMMITMENT
People will be more inclined to do something if they pre-commit to do it. In a 1987 experiment by social
scientist Anthony Greenwald, potential voters were contacted and pre-committed to vote the following
day at the election. Of that pool, 86.7% did vote, whereas only 61.5% of the general population (notcontacted or pre-committed) turned out. Something as simple as scheduling a meeting can gain youraudience’s pre-commitment.

2.

RECIPROCITY
Think of this as quid pro quo: you give something to get something. Seasoned consultant Ernie Nielson
calls this “the favor bank.” Human beings tend to keep a mental ledger of who owes them what. If you
deposit favors into the bank, you’re more likely to be able to withdraw the cooperation you need.
“Our team has never turned down additional projects. We do whatever it takes to get the last-minutework done—and Sarah has been our most dependable programmer when we’re facing an all-nighter.”

3.

SOCIAL PROOF
Everyone wants to fit in. As a consequence, people will generally do what they perceive their peers to be
doing. In a famous experiment, Cialdini and his research team tried different techniques to convince
hotel guests to reuse their towels. Of all the strategies, telling a hotel guest that most guests in the same
hotel reuse their towels was the most successful. Give people social proof of your suggestion.
“I hear from a lot of my friends at other companies that they are locking in their top performers withspecial compensation and benefits packages.”

11

COMMITMENT

4.

RECIPROCITY
SOCIAL PROOF“Laszlo Bock, Google’s top HR executive, is a huge proponent of rewarding top talent.”

AUTHORITY
LIKINGAUTHORITY
This is closely aligned with Aristotle’s ethos concept. A person whose authority your audience trusts
becomes the most persuasive advocate for a course of action. Celebrity, medical, and academic
endorsements use this technique.

5.

SCARCITY

LIKING
Similar to social proof and authority, liking relies on the relationship between the audience and theinfluencer. Some charities leverage this tactic at a neighborhood level: They find a sympathetic
donor, then ask that person to send personalized donation requests to her closest friends andneighbors. The result? A 56% response rate, compared to about 30% from impersonal requests.
Note: The liking strategy does not lend itself to quick, in-the-moment application in the case of
securing a raise for Sarah. The principle would be to build a relationship with your boss: go to lunch
together, offer sincere compliments regularly, and get to know him or her. Then when you ask forthe raise, your boss will be influenced by the positive feelings he or she has toward you.

6.

SCARCITY
Marketers use this one all the time: Last chance! Only two seats left! Limited quantities available! Infact, scarcity is one of the most heavily researched and best documented persuasive tactics inapplied psychology. The current name for the fear of scarcity is FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Foment
some FOMO in your audience by pointing out what they could lose by not acting.
“I’ve hired a lot of programmers over the years. I know what a gem Sarah is. Talent like hers comesalong once in every 50 hires or so. We definitely want to keep her happy.”

Whether you use Aristotle’s three classics or Cialdini’s contemporary six—or a mixture of them—take the time todevelop a persuasive strategy. You’ll dramatically increase your odds of success.

12

SECTION FOUR

DETERMINE A STRUCTURE
How should you structure a persuasive message? Should you be direct or indirect? How
do you close?
DIRECT If you have an easy persuasive task and substantial agreement with youraudience, dive right in. A direct approach delivers the bottom line first and provides thereasoning afterward. In business, the direct approach is highly valued and should be yourdefault.

DirectIndirect

INDIRECT An indirect approach presents your reasoning first, leading eventually to yourfinal conclusion. If your persuasive task is difficult or complex, or you need to persuade
an audience that is predisposed to disagree, use an indirect approach. Start with context
and background and build methodically to your final, persuasive conclusion. In an
indirect message, internal logic is critical; the way you structure your proof can make thefinal conclusion seem the best possible idea.

13

CALL TO ACTION
Remember to close purposefully. Don’t just let your message fizzle out. You’ve worked hard to plan and deliver your message, so
remember to deliver your call to action.

AUDIENCE

YOUR ASKCALL TO ACTIONYour manager

A 7.5% increase in base salary for Sarah

If you agree that Sarah deserves this raise, just sign thisform by Thursday and I’ll take it over to Jake in HR so ittakes effect in time for payroll on Friday.

A potential client

A contract to complete Phase 1 of yourproposed social media analytics project

I know your time is better spent on those supply-chain
fixes. Let us do this work and we’ll have actionable
recommendations to you by October 21. Here’s a copy ofthe contract you’ve reviewed. If you sign it today, we canget to work on Monday.

A potential investor$2 million in funding to create a fully
functional prototype of your construction
management software

We’ve signed and attached your profit-sharing forms.
We'd love to work with you, and we need an answer
before March 13.

Craig, an underperforming
employeeAcceptance of the termination of his
employment with full understanding of thereasons and without any ill will, if possible

Craig, this is a tough time. Let’s walk over to HR together
and talk about your options going forward.

FIGURE 10.2

The key to a great call to action is to make it easy for your audience to take the next step—the one that brings you closer to your goal. Be
helpful and anticipate needs: add a link to the document you’d like them to sign, create and link to a decision/approval chart, provide thephone number for a contact, or bold an important deadline. Figure 10.2 shows a call to action for each example.

Draft both a direct and an indirect email explaining to a friend
why you won’t let him/her borrow your $3,000 mountain bike.
In what ways are the different messages effective and not?
Activity 10.3

14

SECTION FIVE

DELIVER BAD NEWSEFFECTIVELY
Kim

Conveying bad news is a crucial and often delicate persuasive task. You
generally want to deliver the news while still keeping your audience’s good
will. A skilled communicator gives bad news in a way that persuades theaudience to accept it without becoming overly defensive—not an easy feat.
While delivering bad news is never pleasant, doing so is essential tobusiness. To manage effectively, you must be able to say no, cut budgets,
fire people, and deny requests. But you can learn to do these things calmly,
with integrity and compassion. By using both head and heart approaches tosupport your message, you can dampen its negative impact.

Hey, Cal. Sorry to hear you
got let go! Tough break, huh!
Wait, what? What are you
talking about???

…

15

BOND, BRIDGE,BAD NEWS, BUILD
When planning a bad news delivery (and you must plan it, not justwing it), try using 4B’s as your basic structure or outline: Bond,
Bridge, Bad News, Build.

Casey:
Thank you for asking me to write your letter of recommendation. I’m
flattered that you value my opinion enough to ask me. (Bond) Because you
and I have worked together for a long time, I want to explain my decision toyou. (Bridge)
You’re a great colleague and a good friend. When we both worked in OEM,
you were the most ambitious member of the team. In the last couple ofyears, however, you seem to have lost your drive. In fact, I’m guessing youneed this letter of recommendation because you’re searching for other jobs,
which shows how much your dedication has lagged. That’s why I can’t write
your letter of recommendation right now. (Bad News)If you up your game for a few months and can reassure me that the company
you’re applying to isn’t a competitor, I’d be happy to write the letter you
need. At your best, you’re an asset to any company and I’d be happy to putthat in writing. Let’s set up a time to chat in person. I’d love to get the fullstory of how you’re feeling about your job and the company and see if I canhelp in any way. (Build)

Notice that the second paragraph in the letter is indirect. You canrewrite it to be direct just by changing the order (internal logic):
You’re a great colleague and a good friend, but I can’t write your letter ofrecommendation right now. (Bad News) When we both worked in OEM, youwere the most ambitious member of the team. In the last couple of years,
however, you seem to have lost your drive. In fact, I’m guessing you need thisletter of recommendation because you’re searching for other jobs, whichshows how much your dedication has lagged.

Delivering bad news is not easy for anybody involved, but doing
so with honesty, kindness, and clarity will make the task lessonerous.
Think of some bad news you have to deliver. Draft
an email using Bond, Bridge, Bad News, Build. Try to
avoid making your audience angry or defensive.
Activity 10.4

Need to fire someone?
Now that’s bad news.
Watch Brad Pitt do it professionally in this clip
from Moneyball.

Amina

16

IN CONCLUSION
Persuasion is not manipulation—the dark art of carefully choosing which facts to show
and hide so that your audience is misled. You don’t want to fool or force people into
doing something that they wouldn’t choose if they knew more facts.
Persuasion is showing all the facts, but in a way that helps people see things as you do . . .
and say YES.

LEARN MORE
Lerner, Jennifer S. et al. “Emotion and Decision Making.” Annual
Review of Psychology 66 (2015): 799-823.
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-psych010213-115043 , accessed April 2020.
Greenwald, AG, Carnot, CG, Beach, R & Young, B 1987, 'Increasing
Voting Behavior by Asking People if They Expect to Vote' Journal ofApplied Psychology, vol 72, no. 2, pp. 315-318.

BOOKS
Robert Cialdini, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. New York,NY. Harper Business; Revised edition, 2006.

WEBSITES
McCandless, D. Rhetological Fallacies — Information is Beautiful.
Information is Beautiful. 2017.
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/rhetologicalfallacies/, accessed February 2017.

VIDEOS
Kristina Ulmer, “The Three Persuasive Appeals: Logos, Ethos, andPathos.” Youtube, Published October 20, 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oUfOh_CgHQ, Accessed
April 27, 2020.
Scott Fain, “Bullet to Head- Moneyball” Youtube, Published
September 14, 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXEtOPMW2hM, Accessed
October 5, 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

ARTICLESCHAPTER

11

SHOWSHOW WHAT YOU MEAN

CONTENTS
4 THREE DESIGN CONCEPTS
8 SLIDE DESIGN
9 TEN TEMPTATIONS & TECHNIQUES
16 DATA VISUALIZATIONLINK & LEARN
Required
Reading

This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Attribute the original source at mcom320.net. Emailbyumcom@gmail.com if you would like to adopt the curriculum. This chapter updated 11 May 2020.

Tips &
Optional

ExamplesActivityThis is Chapter 112

If you really want to getyour point across,show it, don’t just tell it.

HUMAN BRAINS PREFER
VISUAL INFORMATION
100%(Percent of information
retained after 3 days)

Visuals are a little like sugar—an appealing jolt ofconcentrated meaning, and a treat for the brain after
it has been reading for a while. Learn to create
beautiful and clear charts, tables, infographics, andpresentation slides, and you’ll treat colleagues andclients to engaging and meaningful information.

See
65%

Hear
10%

To kick things off, study this infographic:
13 Reasons Why Your Brain
Craves Infographics0%

FIGURE 11.1

We’ll start by explaining three design concepts, thenapply them to create great presentation slides anddata visualizations.

The takeaway? ADD PICTURES.
Source: “Brain Rules,” John Medina.

3

SECTION ONE

DESIGN CONCEPTS
Make your work more attractive and effective by practicing good design.
Studying design principles and elements could be the enjoyable work of alifetime, but we’ll focus on just three essential categories: layout, contrast,
and repetition.

LAYOUT

CONTRAST“REPETITION”

4LAYOUT
Within the layout category, three qualities will help you design your documents and slides: space, alignment, and proximity. Theseare essential to clean design, which is an indicator of credibility. It invites attention rather than punishes it.

Space creates structure,

Alignment is key to a

Proximity tells the eye which

guides the eye, and gives visualrelief. Try to emulate thewebsites and fliers that use
space to attract your eye andmake key elements stand out.

professional look. Aligningobjects and text exactly along
an invisible line creates orderand connection, making yourcontent more brain-friendly.

things belong together. Grouprelated items together byclustering them, then add whitespace between clusters. Proximity
helps your audience interpret
your message quickly andefficiently.

See areas of positive andnegative space bysquinting your eyes tocreate blur.

Use the pop-up rulers on
slide software to nudge
you toward alignment.

Remove the extra line after
a paragraph heading tokeep it close and related
visually.

5

CONTRASTNO

Contrast catches the eye. A design without contrast dissolves intogray mush. You can focus attention and communicate hierarchy
through variation in size, shape, color, and typography.
The greater the contrast, the greater the effect. But be careful.
Your audience can become numb to constant variation or
overwhelmed by color and font combinations that clash instead ofcontrast. Determine which elements are most important and use
contrast to give them maximum impact.
Add contrast with

SIZE

, COLOR, SHADE, and SHAPE.

YES“
Be color aware. About 1 in 20 people experiencecolor-blindness. Also, your work may be printed inblack and white. Do a trial print of your visualelements in grayscale.

”

6

REPETITION
Once you’ve chosen strong, contrasting design elements, stay consistentthroughout your document. Repeated use of layouts, colors, shapes, and fonts
helps make a design look intentional, professional, and consistent.

Activity 11.1

Using a small range of consistent colors is key to good design.
Some people are great at picking color palettes, others . . .
not so much. Access the expertise of great designers by using
one of these sites to create a color palette for a project
you’re working on. Adobe Color CC
Coolors
ColourLovers

Going forward, apply these design basics to all your work. You will be amazed at
the difference.
Now let’s move on to best practices in presentation slides and data visualizations.

Da-da-da-DUN,
da-da-da-DUN.
Listen to this.

The recurring motif of Beethoven’s 5th
Symphony is a form of repetition.
Variations on the theme unify theentire symphony, making it one of
the world’s most recognizable pieces
of music. Use repetition for power
and recall.

FIGURE 11.2

The company you work for will most likely have a style guide with an establishedcolor palette, but someday you may be asked to create one, so read this pageabout  color theory and how colors influence mood and behavior.

7

SECTION TWOSLIDE DESIGN
Presentation slides can vary greatly depending on
purpose and audience. Slides for TED talks have very low
information density. They’re cinematic—dominated bysimple, high-impact visuals, keeping the focus on the
speaker.
Slides on the opposite end of the spectrum are
information dense. They stand alone and can be viewed
on demand, like this textbook, which was created using
PowerPoint.

Resources like Nancy Duarte’s book slide:ology and Canva’s
Design School tutorials provide excellent guidance and insighton slide design.
Get inspiration by browsing slide decks at sites like SlideShare,
Note & Point, and Slide Guru. Not all the shared slides aredesigned well, but the ones that are really stand out.

Slidedocs are a hybrid between the visual richness ofpresentation slides and the information density of textbased documents. This textbook is an example. Browse
through the online book SlideDocs  which inspired it.

8

SECTION THREETEN TEMPTATIONS& TECHNIQUESIn addition to layout, contrast, and repetition, remember the following 10 temptations
and techniques as you design your slides.

1. SLIDES ARE NOT YOUR NOTES

Don’t create your slides before preparing your content. If you’re outlining yourpresentation on slides, you’re not really creating slides, you’re writing speaking notes.
If you project these onto the screen and read them, your audience will ignore you
and read ahead.
You might be falling into this temptation if your slides consist primarily of bulleted lists.
Bullet points are better than blocks of text, but they quickly become overwhelming.
Instead of simply listing your ideas, your slides should illustrate them. Move yourspeaking notes into the speaking notes panel at the bottom of the slide as a reference.

10
TOP TENSLIDE TIPS

9

2. SLIDES ARE NOT YOUR PRESENTATION
Don’t let your slides take over your presentation. Unless you’re creating a slidedoc, yourslides are only a visual aid. Keep your slides simple so they focus attention on yourmessage, not on themselves.
Animations and transitions can be distracting. Avoid them unless you have a clear needto illustrate movement. To communicate dense information or complex ideas, piece
together a series of slides layer by layer. These are called “builds,” and they alsotranslate well to PDF or print.

BUILD LAYER 1

BUILD LAYER 2

BUILD LAYER 310

3. SLIDES ARE NOTYOUR HANDOUTSlides designed to support a presentation will
rarely be effective as handouts. Providing aphysical reminder or summary of yourpresentation can be very useful, and it’s worth theeffort to create a separate, standalone document.
Clearly associate your handout with your slides bymaintaining the theme of your design.

PRESENTATIONHANDOUTIn PowerPoint you can customize theappearance of speaker’s notes, then print
them right alongside the slide. This allows
you to add more complete andinteresting information to an image ofeach slide.

4. SLIDES ARE FREE
Adding slides doesn’t cost you anything, so goahead. Split dense content across multiple slides.
Increase your font size. Add white space. Crowded
slides are a barrier to communication.
Cool, uncrowded slides are a delight.

11

5. SLIDES SHOULD BE VISUAL
STAY CURRENT Search ”slide design trends” every year to see
what is current. For instance, Figure 11.4 shows older realistic
design making way for the currently popular flat design.

Add punch to your slides with graphics and media, butremember their quality reflects on you as a professional.
GRAPHICS Take every opportunity to present information
visually rather than textually. CH 07: FORMAT describes avariety of graphics, and best practices for data visualization
are explained later here in CH 11.

VIDEO Short, punchy videos can illustrate your point quickly,
wake up a crowd, or show a process. Embedding a video frees
you from reliance on internet streaming; on the other hand,simply linking to it keeps your file size small.

ICONS Avoid old-fashioned clipart like the plague. Use icons
instead to symbolize objects and actions. Find them at
NounProject, IconFinder, or FlatIcon.

Create a link to a short portion of a funnyYouTube video in a slide. Blatti.net shows how tolink to a specific piece of a longer video.
Activity 11.3

OLD
VS.

FLAT DESIGN
Flat design is currently
popular while skeuomorphic,
drop shadows, and gradientslook old-fashioned.

FIGURE 11.4

SKEUOMORPHIC ORREALISM DESIGN

NEW

12

USE FREE QUALITY IMAGES
freeimages.com
unsplash.com
pexels.com
lifeofpix.com
deathtothestockphoto.com

FIGURE 11.5

PHOTOS People love to look at beautiful photographs. Choose highresolution photos that are meaningful, natural looking, and not cheesy. For
maximum impact, use photos at “full bleed,” which means the photo fills
the slide, even if it “bleeds” off the edges. Use visually interesting photos
that imply several layers of meaning besides the initial obvious one, suchas the examples below (lower left and lower right) of the concept ofteamwork. Figure 11.5 at right lists excellent resources.
Look for a free high-resolution photo that illustrates theconcept of tenacity. Place it on a slide with some text.

CHEESYCOOL

INCLUDE NECESSARYPERMISSIONS AND CREDITS
Copying an image from a Google
search is tempting, but never use
images without permission and always
credit the source. Some tools, like Flickr
and Google Images , have searchsettings that can limit results to show
only images licensed for reuse or under
Creative Commons terms.
Wondering whether you can legally use
an image? Use this flowchart: Can I UseThat Photo?

FIGURE 11.6

Activity 11.4

13

6. TEMPLATES FOR FAILURE;TEMPLATES FOR SUCCESS

Templates and built-in themes are convenient, but be cautious. Their design elements won’t
necessarily align with your message, and they might make your work seem lazy and unoriginal.
Don’t use the first template you see (everyone has already seen it), and customize templates bychanging some colors or graphic elements. Check out Slides Carnival for template ideas. You
may be better off creating your own template by setting default layouts, typography, colors,
and backgrounds in master slides. Learn how in Google Slides or PowerPoint.

7. SIGNPOSTING PROVIDES NAVIGATION

Especially in long presentations, your audience will appreciate visual cues that remind them
how you’ve structured your content and track your progress through the presentation. Create arunning agenda along the side or bottom to show where you are and where you are going.

8. WORDS ARE MEANT TO BE READ
CH 07: FORMAT outlines principles of good typography. In the context of slide design, also
remember to:‣ Keep it simple. Use only one or two typefaces that you bold, shade, and color forcontrast.
‣ Go big. Can people in the back of the room read your text? Use a large enough fontsize, such as 60 point for titles, 36 for headings, and 28 for supporting text.

A “running agenda”
indicates your progress withvisual elements at an edgeof your slides. Highlighting
the current agenda item
creates context for youraudience.
For example, this book’s
running agenda lets you
know which chapter you
are viewing.

‣ Ensure contrast. Your text must stand out against the background. If the background isa photograph, consider putting the text in a box or ribbon that overlays the image andprovides better color contrast.

14

9. USE THE BEST TOOL FOR THE JOB
Don’t call every slide deck a “PowerPoint” or limit yourself to one
platform. In addition to PowerPoint and Keynote, online
presentation applications may play to the strengths of yourmessage, so click through these links to become familiar withthem.
GOOGLE SLIDES:

Accessible from anywhere,
updateable, mobile-friendly.

PREZI:

Freed from a linear structure, it can bebrilliant or confusing.

CANVA:

Free web-based design. Tutorials,
templates, and tools galore.

10. TECH WILL BETRAY YOU

Sooner or later it will happen. Always be prepared by saving
copies of your slides on a flash drive and on the web. If your hostor meeting organizer will be at your presentation, send him or
her a copy to load in advance. If you have accompanying files, like
videos, images, or fonts, keep them with your slides in a single,
clearly labeled folder and compress that into a .zip file. Include a
PDF version of your slides in case the right software isn’t
available. Remember that colors and fonts may change withdifferent projectors, screens, and printers. Where possible, plansome setup time to deal with any issues that might arise.

Create a set of three or four slides about sleep
deprivation in college students. Include the factthat 60% of college students get insufficient sleep,
Activity 11.5 and most need 8 hours a night. Finally, give yourtips for getting adequate rest.

15

SECTION FOURDATA VISUALIZATION
Data is money. It drives decisions and seals deals. In business, you’ll present
data in slides, refer to it in written documents, post it online, and use it tocreate infographics. But remember: your purpose is not to communicate
data. Your purpose is to communicate meaning.

BREAK IT DOWN THEN BUILD IT UP
Creating a chart in Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel isn’t hard, but thesetools don’t know what story you’re trying to tell with your data. Their default
designs will not help you make your point, so you need to strip them away,
layer by layer, then add back design elements that focus attention where youwant it.
You know you’re on the right track if your audience can see the story in yourchart within the first few moments of looking at it.
Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic champions this approach on her blog Storytellingwith Data. And Darkhorse Analytics animated instructions in Clear off theTable. .

“Every bit of ink on a graphic
requires a reason.
And nearly always thatreason should be that theink presents new
information.”
Tufte, E. R. (1983)

The Visual Display of
Quantitative Information.
Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.

Look at the dramatic BEFORE and
AFTER of a sample sales reportdesign. PrintTech.

16

SELECT A CHART TYPE

Decide what story you’re trying to tell with your data, then choose
an appropriate chart. For instance, a line graph can show trends
over time, and a bar chart is good for comparisons. Pie charts are
popular, but they don’t provide visual precision. See Visage’s guideto  chart types. Note that complex stories may require multiple
charts, and sometimes a clean, precise table is the best way topresent your data.

NO

CUT THE CLUTTER

Remove all formatting: the borders, tick marks, background, 3D
effects, shading, and all color. Reduce text by removing the labels,
title, and legend. In many cases you can even remove an axis.

Build your chart back up, but remember that every thing you add
should make your message more clear. Label data directly rather
than with a legend. Add color and weight to focus attention. Add atitle or callout that tells your story rather than just describing yourchart.
Complete thisinteractive
practice simplifying
a table and graph:
Activity 11.6
Simplifying Data
DisplayYES

FIGURE 11.7

FOCUS ATTENTION

17

INFOGRAPHICS
Infographics combine text and graphics creatively to tella larger story. See examples at visual.ly or get inspired
by David McCandless’s and Chris Jordan’s TED talks.
Infographics can be memorable, but creative
approaches may be more or less appropriate dependingon the expectations and culture within an industry or
profession (think advertising vs. accounting).
Maintain credibility by citing your sources. Remember
that, in addition to numbers, abstract concepts,
narratives, relationships, and processes can all be
communicated visually.

Activity 11.7

Make your own infographic about how
you use your time using one of these
online tools:‣ Canva‣ Infogr.am‣ easel.ly‣ Visme‣ piktochart‣ VennGage

How to Get Started With Infogram

How to Create an Infographic
in Canva

INFOGRAPHIC EXAMPLE
FIGURE 11.8

18

IN CONCLUSION
Wasn’t that fun? Make understanding your visuals fun for your audience, too.
Show your message. Well-designed visual elements help you to be precise and concise.
Create effective visuals to convey confidence and competence.

LEARN MORE
ARTICLES

Cherdarchuk, Joey. “Clear Off the Table.” Dark Horse Analytics.
March 27, 2014. http://www.darkhorseanalytics.com/blog/clearoff-the-table, accessed February 2017.
Cherdarchuk, Joey. “Data Looks Better Naked.” Dark Horse
Analytics. August 20, 2013. http://www.darkhorseanalytics.com/
blog/data-looks-better-naked, accessed February 2017.
“Data Visualization 101: How to Design Charts and Graphs.” Visage.
April 27, 2015. http://www.slideshare.net/Visage/datavisualization-101-how-to-design-chartsandgraphs, accessed
February 2017.
Duarte, Nancy. “Do your Slides Pass the Glance Test?” Harvard
Business Review. October 22, 2012. https://hbr.org/2012/10/doyour-slides-pass-the-glance-test, accessed February 2017.

Duarte, Nancy. “The Quick and Dirty on Data Visualization.” Harvard
Business Review. April 16, 2014. https://hbr.org/2014/04/the-quickand-dirty-on-data-visualization, accessed February 2017.
Desjardins, Jeff. “13 Scientific Reasons Explaining Why You Crave
Infographics.” Visual Capitalist. September 6, 2016.
http://www.visualcapitalist.com/13-scientific-reasonsinfographics/, accessed February 2017.
Hortin, Anthony. “The 5 Basic Principles Of Design.” maddisondesigns
blog. March 27, 2009. http://maddisondesigns.com/2009/03/the5-basic-principles-of-design/, accessed February 2017.
Knaflic, Cole Nussbaumer. “How to do it in Excel.” Storytelling With
Data. November 10, 2011. http://www.storytellingwithdata.com/
blog/2011/11/how-to-do-it-in-excel, accessed February 2017.

“The Principles of Design.” J6 Design. http://www.j6design.com.au/6principles-of-design/, accessed February 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)“Can I Use that Picture? The Terms, Laws, and Ethics for Using
Copyrighted Images” (Infographic). The Visual Communication
Guy. 2014. http://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/07/Infographic_CanIUseThatPicture41024x662.jpg, accessed February 2017.

LEARN MORE

“Youtube URL Modifiers.” blatti.net. December 11, 2012.
http://blatti.net/2012/12/youtube-url-modifiers/, accessed
February 2017.

BOOKS

Berinato, Scott. Good Charts: The HBR Guide to Making Smarter,
More Persuasive Data Visualizations. Harvard Business Review:
2016.

Cairo, Alberto. The Functional Art: An Introduction to Information
Graphics and Visualization. Berkeley, CA: New Riders, 2013.
Duarte, Nancy. Slidedocs: Spread ideas with effective visual
documents. Duarte, Inc.: 2016. http://www.duarte.com/slidedocs/,
accessed February 2017.
Duarte, Nancy. Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great
Presentations. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media, 2008.

Knaflic, Cole Nussbaumer. Storytelling with Data. Hoboken, NJ: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2015.

Medina, John. Brain rules : 12 principles for surviving and thriving atwork, home, and school, Seattle, WA : Pear Press, 2008.

Wong, Dona M. The Wall Street Journal Guide to Information
Graphics: The Dos and Don’ts of Presenting Data, Facts, andFigures. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2010.

WEBSITES
Adobe Color CC. “Create.” https://color.adobe.com/create/colorwheel/, accessed February 2017.
Canva. “Home.” https://www.canva.com/, accessed February 2017.
Canva. “Tutorials.” https://designschool.canva.com/tutorials/,
accessed February 2017.
Colourlovers. “Home.” http://www.colourlovers.com/, accessed
February 2017.
Color Matters. “Basic Color Theory.” http://www.colormatters.com/
color-and-design/basic-color-theory, accessed February 2017.
Coolors + Skillshare. “Home.” https://coolors.co/, accessed February
2017.
Creative Commons. “Home.” https://creativecommons.org/,
accessed February 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

Smith, Laurence D., Lisa A. Best, D. Alan Stubbs, Andrea Bastiani
Archibald, and Roxann Robertson-Nay. 2002. “Constructing
knowledge: The role of graphs and tables in hard and soft
psychology.” American Psychologist 57, no. 10 (2002): 749-761.
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/57/10/749/, accessed
February 2017.

LEARN MORE
Death to Stock. “Home.” http://deathtothestockphoto.com/,
accessed February 2017.

LinkedIn. “SlideShare.” http://www.slideshare.net/, accessed
February 2017.

Easelly. “Home.” https://www.easel.ly/, accessed February 2017.

Note & Point. “Home.” http://noteandpoint.com/, accessed February
2017.

Flaticon. “Home.” http://www.flaticon.com/, accessed February
2017.

The Noun Project. “Home.” https://thenounproject.com/, accessed
February 2017.

Flickr. “Home.” https://www.flickr.com/, accessed February 2017.

Pexels. “Home.” https://www.pexels.com/, accessed February 2017.

FreeImages. “Home.” http://www.freeimages.com/, accessed
February 2017.

Piktochart. “Home.” https://piktochart.com/, accessed February
2017.

GCF Global. “Editing master slides and layouts.”
https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/googleslides/editing-master-slidesand-layouts/1/, accessed April 2020.

Prezi. “Home.” https://prezi.com/, accessed February 2017.
SlideGuru. “ Gallery.” http://slideguru.com/gallery, accessed
February 2017.

Google Slides. “About.” https://www.google.com/slides/about/,
accessed February 2017.

Unsplash. “Home.” https://unsplash.com/, accessed February 2017.

Iconfinder. “Home.” https://www.iconfinder.com/, accessed
February 2017.

Venngage. “Templates.” https://venngage.com/templates/,
accessed February 2017.

Infogram. “Home.” https://infogr.am/, accessed February 2017.

Visme. “Home.” https://www.visme.co/, accessed February 2017.

Life of Pix. “Home.” http://www.lifeofpix.com/, accessed February
2017.

Visually. “Home.”
http://visual.ly/view#feature_type=undefined&type=static&,
accessed February 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

Google Images. “Home.” https://images.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl,
accessed February 2017.

LEARN MORE
VIDEOS
Cole Nussbaumer YouTube Channel. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjhGlILWNloXJdR2NTCBMlA,
accessed February 2017.

GCFLearnFree.org, “PowerPoint 2016: Slide Master View,” YouTube,published March 17, 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6ARCTypPTg&t=7s,
accessed February 2017.

Ted. “Chris Jordan: Turning powerful stats into art,” YouTube,published June 23, 2008.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f09lQ8Q1iKE&feature=youtu.be, accessed February 2017.
Ted-Ed. “The beauty of data visualization - David McCandless,”
YouTube, published November 23, 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZgC8AAIGg&feature=youtu.be, accessed February 2017.

Infogram, “Video tutorial: Get started with Infogram,” Infogram.
https://support.infogram.com/hc/en-us/articles/203063586Video-tutorial-Get-started-with-Infogram- , accessed April 2020.

Kimberly Ann Jimenez, “How To Create Infographics (The UltraSimple & Easy Way),” YouTube, published February 13, 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nShmwzh879g, accessed
February 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

Infogram, “How to Create Charts, Reports, and Infographics with
Infogram,” YouTube, published December 8, 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVYahWlFT9U, accessed
February 2017.

CHAPTER

12PRESENTS T A N D&

D E L I V E R

CONTENTS
4 PLAN AHEAD
7 SET UP
10 USE FULL-BODY COMMUNICATION
16 TROUBLESHOOT

LINK & LEARN
Required
Reading

This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Attribute the original source at mcom320.net. Emailbyumcom@gmail.com if you would like to adopt the curriculum. This chapter updated 11 May 2020.

Tips &
Optional

ExamplesActivityThis is Chapter 122Powerful presenters are
effective communicators.
Humans are fascinating and complex social animals.
We love to connect with others. We pay attention
when another human being stands up, takes abreath, and starts speaking. Much information inbusiness is communicated on screens, but key
decisions—to buy, sell, invest, or hire—are often
made through presentations.
If you learn to stand out as a presenter, you’ll be acontributor at critical moments. Powerful presenters
are effective communicators. They are the ones who
get the job, the raise, and the opportunity to returnto the table time and again. Become an excellent
presenter and you’ll certainly be less stressed whenyour boss turns to you and says, “Why don’t you
take 10 minutes and explain those numbers to us.”
So plan ahead, set up strategically, use full bodycommunication, and troubleshoot effectively. You’llelevate your presentation game.

70%
The percentage of employed Americans
who say that presentation skills are
critical to their work success.

20%
The percentage of employed Americans
who say they would do almost anything
to avoid giving a presentation.

Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2014/09/25/new-survey70-percent-say-presentation-skills-critical-for-career-success/#32d83b708890

3

SECTION ONE

PLAN AHEAD
Remember using PASS to plan messages? Let’s review quickly how
PASS applies to giving a formal presentation.

PURPOSE

Clarify exactly what you are trying to do. What outcome do you
want as a result of your message? Write down a clear and concise
purpose statement.

AUDIENCE

Who will be listening to you? What are their primary concerns? Why
will your message matter to them? How can you get their attention
and keep it? Watch  5 Things Every Presenter Should Know About
People by Susan Weinschenk.

PURPOSE | AUDIENCE | STRATEGY | STRUCTURE

STRATEGY

What’s the best way to accomplish your aim? Will your audience
trust you easily? Should you appeal to their heads or their hearts?
Be direct or indirect?

4

STRUCTURE
Your audience can’t scan forward or backward when they get lost, so
the structure of your oral presentation needs to be rock solid andcrystal clear. Use the 4A’s to keep yourself and your audience on track.

4A
ATTENTION

Get everyone’s attention
with a skillful hook. A great
hook gives the audience
confidence in you and getsthem on your side. See thefollowing slide for examples.

Author Nigel Marshcaptures his audience witha unique opening hook.
Nigel Marsh: How to makework-life balance work

AGENDA

Tell your audience what theycan expect and preview thestructure of your talk. Often atwo- or three-part agenda ismost effective. Setting averbal agenda builds
anticipation and readies themind to receive information.

ARGUMENT

Follow through on yourpromised agenda structure.
Include only relevant details
that contribute to yourargument. You only haveattention for 10-15 minutes
at a time, so if yourpresentation is scheduled to
be longer, plan for some
activity or group interaction.

ACTION

Don’t just fade out, and don’t
finish weakly. Instead,remind your audience why
your message matters, issue
a stirring call to action, andfinish strong.

5

EXAMPLE HOOKSQ&AThe Q&A period can make or break your presentation.
Prepare as well for the Q&A as you do for your talk. Predictaudience questions and concerns, preparing articulate
answers or additional data slides for the end of your deck.
And this is important: don’t just fade out at the end of the
Q&A. When you finish answering questions, wrap up yourtalk with a final reference to your call to action.

Think of hooks as the front door of yourpresentation. How inviting is yourpresentation’s front door?

YES

This report is aboutmarket segmentation.

The old adage that thecustomer is always rightraises the question, “Whichcustomer?”

Opioid abuse is a major
problem for employers.

$19,450: roughly the price ofa new Toyota Corolla. That’s
what the average opioidabusing employee costs hisor her employer in annual
medical expenses.

We have major
problems with ourinventory management
system.

Walking through thewarehouse this morning, I
heard a loud wheezingsound. It was our inventory
management systemcoughing up blood.

Activity 12.1

FIGURE 12.1

NO

Follow the PASS planning steps for an oral presentation
you might be asked to give in the next few months. Write
down a purpose statement, analyze your audience,
determine a strategy, and outline your structure.

6

SECTION TWOSET UP
Contribute to the success of your presentation
by optimizing the environment.

1. CHOOSE A“RIGHT SIZED” ROOM

People are sensitive to how full a room is. Choose aroom that will accommodate the expected number ofguests but not leave much room left over. A lot of
empty space can make your turnout look weak anddetract from your impact.
If you can’t change the space, remove extra chairs andpull the remaining ones into a semi-circle. In a spacewith lots of extra chairs, people will naturally sit near
the back or far apart from each other. Having people
squeeze into fewer chairs gets them talking to eachother and increases the anticipation level in the room.

7

2. CHECK YOUR TECH
Technology is both a blessing and a curse in presentations. To help reduce thestress and increase the success, use the following technology checklist:

 If you are relying on slides or a microphone, make sure you arrive earlyenough to practice.

 Bring extra cords and connectors.
 Bring a printed copy of your notes and slides.
 Check the volume on a microphone and know how to change it.
 Test out the remote control—or bring your own.
 Most crucial—create a backup plan in case your tech fails you.

3. PUSH THE PODIUM ASIDE
A podium is a good place to keep your water bottle, but don’t hide behind it.
People trust you more when they can see your whole body, and you’ll be able touse the floor space to keep your audience’s attention and make your points
clear. Similarly, don’t just stand beside the screen. Your slides and visual aids are
there to support you, not the other way around.
Make sure to bring appropriate
adaptors if your tech device is notcompatible with all systems; i.e.
Mac vs. PC.

8

4. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
Yep. Three times. That’s the magic number for confidence and success. Don’t
write out your talk word for word and try to memorize it—that approach uses
a different part of your brain that’s not as nimble. If you try to deliver amemorized speech and lose concentration or forget a word, you feel sunk.
But if you have good notes and practice your talk three full times in front of aco-worker (or even your smart phone’s camera), you provide your brain witha solid but flexible framework. Practice also gives you an innate sense oftiming, helping you know whether to stretch or cut your content to end ontime.

5. PLAN TO SHOW UP CLEAN AND TIDY

Make sure you show up fresh, clean, and dressed one step above theaudience average. Depending on the importance of the event and your own
fashion awareness, asking for dress advice can be useful. Wrinkles, baggy
knees, uneven hems, and stains are all distracting and reduce audience
confidence.

“Creating and delivering a presentation that engages
hearts and minds…take[s] work and creativity.”
Carmine Gallo, “New Survey: 70% Say Presentation Skills Are Critical For Career Success.” Forbes.com. 25 Sept. 2014
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2014/09/25/new-survey-70-percent-say-presentation-skills-critical-forcareer-success/#32d83b708890

9

SECTION THREEUSE FULL-BODY COMMUNICATION
Be fully human when you’re presenting in person. Use everything you’ve got. Keep in mind
that many of these principles apply to presentations delivered over the phone or internet
as well.

TAKE THE STAGE WITH CONFIDENCE“The stage” may be in front of thousands, or only six people in a small conference room.
Regardless, walk up with vigor and energy, and make sure your face shows passion andenthusiasm for the subject. Your audience will unconsciously imitate the mood you project.
Take a few seconds to look around the room, smile, make eye contact and build a connection
with four or five people. Gather the energy of anticipation.

10

USE YOUR EYEBROWS

MAKE EYE CONTACT

Eyebrows may seem like a funny place to start, but since you
can’t control your hair, they’re the first thing from the top
down that you can move to show expression. Raise them toshow surprise or delight, draw them up together to emphasize
a question, furrow them to show concern or concentration.
Whatever you do, remember that these frames for your eyesdraw people’s attention.

When we’re nervous, we tend to focus inward and become
self-conscious. We look down at the floor or at the wall.
Remind yourself that you are talking to people, individuals
sitting around a room, who generally want you to succeed. A
great rule of thumb is to hold short “conversations” withaudience members, spreading your attention throughout thegroup. Make sure your smile reaches your eyes, because atwinkle in the eye will make your audience inclined to smileback and feel more positive about both your presentation,and you.

Watch how David Epstein looks at individuals in
his audience as he builds suspense. Are athletes
really getting faster, better, stronger?

Eyebrows…
are the first thing from the
top down that you canmove to show expression.

11

PUT YOUR SHOULDERS BACKGreat posture conveys confidence, so roll your shoulders backand allow your limbs to hang from that strong framework.
Straightening up your spine pulls your head up, too, andmakes managing your arms and legs easier. Believe it or not,your posture actually changes the hormones in your body,
replacing stress with confidence.

Watch this animated TED Ed video about The
Benefits of Good Posture. Then call your mom
and say thanks.

MOVE DELIBERATELY
When you’ve got some floor space, move deliberately within it
to emphasize your points. For example, if you’re talking aboutchange over time, move from the audience’s left to its right as
you discuss each change. Avoid moving just to be moving.
Walking back and forth on a single line with no reference toyour content makes you look like a bored donkey.
Watch how Audrey Choi, CEO of Morgan
Stanley's Institute for Sustainable Investing,uses space. Audrey Choi, How to make aprofit while making a difference

DISTRACTION ACTION

46%

Percentage of respondents who
admit to being distracted duringa co-worker’s presentation.

Tasks employees do instead of listening
to a co-worker’s presentation:• Send text messages• Answer email• Surf the internet• Check social media• Fall asleep

Carmine Gallo, “New Survey: 70% Say Presentation Skills Are Critical For Career Success.” Forbes.com. 25 Sept. 2014
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2014/09/25/new-survey-70-percent-say-presentation-skills-critical-for-career-success/#32d83b708890

12

KEEP YOUR FACE MOBILESPEAK UPA stiff and immobile expression is off-putting—even
disturbing—to watch. The larger your audience, the more youneed to exaggerate your expressions and move your eyes,
eyebrows, and mouth with more emphasis than you might in apersonal conversation.

Your voice is a signature part of your self-presentation. Make
yours effective by ensuring that it has good volume, pace, andclarity. You’ll need to get feedback from peers on thesefeatures, because what you hear inside your head isn’t what
your listeners hear. Another option is to record a video ofyourself and check how you sound. Just as you need to keep
your face and body mobile, keep your voice mobile, too. Vary
your speed, volume, and intensity to match your message.

SMILE
An authentic smile is one of your best bodily resources. It
doesn’t have to be a big toothy grin, but unless you’reannouncing a horrible tragedy, try to look happy. A wry smile
is fine if you’re a dry-humor person.

Learn from sound researcher Julian Treasure how
to better communicate your message using six
voice tools. Julian Treasure: How to Speak soThat People Want to Listen

13

USE SILENCE
Although your voice is an irreplaceable tool for communication, the absence of a voice also speaks loudly. Try
using silence to gather attention, emphasize a point, or give
people time to think about a rhetorical question. Don’t beafraid of the illustrious pause. Silence is powerful.

Watch this short clip to see how Airbnb founder
Joe Gebbia uses deliberate, strategized pauses tohelp make his conclusion more powerful. Joe
Gebbia, How Airbnb Designs for Trust

DROP YOUR TICS
AND FIND YOUR NEUTRAL
Practice a good neutral stance as a default. When nervous,
people often do repetitive and distracting things (likeclasping hands in front like a fig leaf, pacing, or pulling a ringon and off). Avoid the distraction this causes by practicing a
comfortable neutral stance for yourself when listening to aquestion or showing a visual. Hands resting loosely at yourside are always safe. In a casual presentation, one hand in
the pocket is fine too.

14

When you’re in a large space, go big or go home. Make
sure your arm motions are above your waist and awayfrom your body. Don’t just flap your hands around near
your body like you have tiny T-rex arms. Use large arm
gestures to emphasize a trend (“Sales are up.”) or
demonstrate a concept (“We’ll be spreading the task
load more evenly among the teams.”) Use your hands
to do things like count out three points, put an
ineffective policy on the chopping block, or raise people
to their feet for a stretch.
Business Insider’s Hand Gestures from Around
the World.

WINNING PITCHES
Take a look at some great pitches here: BYU Alum Rock Shark Tank.
Watch for the elements of a good pitch in each.
While a student at BYU, Garrett Gee designed a mobile app
called Scan. Although his pitch didn’t convince the judges on
Shark Tank, it convinced the public. Scan soon rose to the top of
the Apple store downloads, and a year later was sold toSnapchat for $54 million.
Roomates Dan Barnes and Wesley LaPorte designed a UV lightphone charger that kills the bacteria found on your phone. Their
pitch earned them a $300,000 investment from investor Lori
Greiner.
Matt Alexander, a graduate of the Marriott School
Entrepreneurship program, designed a color-changing nightlightfor your toilet. Ilumibowl scored a $100,000 deal on Shark Tank
with investor Kevin O’Leary. View the winning pitch.

FIGURE 12.2

GESTURE LARGE

15

SECTION FOUR

TROUBLESHOOTRECOVER ATTENTION
If you’re speaking right after lunch on a hot day, good luck. At the bestof times, humans are prone to lose focus and daydream. To recoveraudience attention, try these tips:‣ Turn on the lights. Even if you’re in the middle of a long slidepresentation, turn on the lights and review your agenda for aminute to get everyone back on track. Remind them why theyshould care.
‣ Move quickly to a new spot in the room. People will perk up andwonder what’s going on when you abandon your traditional post
and do a few minutes from one side or the back of the room.
‣ Ask a question. Get people to discuss a question with theirneighbors, then report back to the group.
‣ Call a mid-game stretch. This is the nuclear option because it
always takes more time than you think, but if you see people
actually falling asleep, you may need to get everyone out of theirchairs and moving around. Adjust your activity suggestions to theformality and length of the situation. A quick round of “Heads,
Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” could be great for co-workers, while a
dignified bathroom break might work better with senior managers.
16

DISTRACT THE CHATTERS
Sometimes a couple of people just check out and start theirown party. One way to get them to quiet down and refocus is
to move to stand right beside them. If that doesn’t do it, ask aquestion directly to one of them, or give them a meaningful
and playful glance.

SHUT DOWN A
PRESENTATION HIJACKER

If someone in the room is TOO into your presentation andstarts to take over your role, suggest a future time when you
can hear their ideas. You may need to interrupt someone to do
this. That’s ok. If the person isn’t socially sensitive enough to…

have caught your throat clearing or attempts to cut in, they
probably need less subtle cues. Others in the room will thankyou. Audiences don’t like chaos or hijacking. It’s
uncomfortably unpredictable.

RECOVER AFTER A MISTAKE
Did you get a report number wrong or mistakenly call yourboss Bruno? Don’t worry. Everyone makes mistakes. If you are
impeccably prepared in other ways, your audience will sensethat this is a minor blip and laugh it off. Make a quick joke orsimply correct the error and leave the awkward moment toshow authenticity and confidence. If you are uncomfortable,
your audience will be too, so just roll with it.

…

…

!

17

PLAN FOR LENGTH CHANGESHANDLE TOUGH QUESTIONS

Suddenly you’re getting the “cut it short” sign from the back.
Can you? Some organizers are great at protecting speaker
time, others not so much. Be sure you have XS, M, XL (extrashort, medium, extra-long) versions of your presentation
planned so that you can roll with whatever time you are given.
The most common scenario is that you’ll need to cut it short,
so spend the most time on that. Think of ways you can makeyour main point, then distribute supporting points evenly.

Maybe you’ve encountered a hostile audience or you are
unprepared to answer a key question in the Q&A. Now is thetime to listen. Repeat the question to clarify. Ask follow-up
questions to understand your listeners’ concerns or
requirements. If you don’t know the answers, be honest andsay so. Once you fully understand the issues, say how andwhen you’ll address them. To prepare, read How to Handle
the Q&A by Leslie Belknap.

Always plan to end

5 -10 percent earlyYour audience will love you.

PRESENTING IN TEAMS
If you’re going to present with a team, rehearsal is even more important. Practice
introductions and smooth transitions, decide who will handle questions for each
topic, even coordinate your level of dress. A smart, capable team that likes
each other is a joy to behold, so show your audience that you work well together
and can get the job done.

18

IN CONCLUSION
Getting humans together in a room is costly in time and money. Be sure you use eachsuch opportunity to make a difference—for them and for your career.
Connect with people before and after your presentation. A little self-deprecating humor
can play well, but then knock their socks off with your preparation and competence. Be
honest, humble, confident, and convincing. Be human, but be prepared.

LEARN MORE
ARTICLES

Belknap, Leslie. “How To Handle A Q&A Session During Your
Presentation.” Ethos 3. January 15, 2016.
https://www.ethos3.com/2016/01/how-to-handle-a-qa-sessionduring-your-presentation/, accessed February 2017.
Cain, Susan. “10 Public Speaking Tips From My Year of Speaking
Dangerously.” Quiet Revolution. http://www.quietrev.com/10public-speaking-tips-from-my-year-speakingdangerously/, accessed February 2017.
Duarte, Nancy. “Conquer Your Nerves Before Your Presentation.”
Harvard Business Review. April 28, 2015.
https://hbr.org/2015/04/conquer-your-nerves-before-yourpresentation, accessed February 2017.
Kraft, Tara L., Sarah D. Pressman. “Grin and Bear It: The Influence ofManipulated Facial Expression on the Stress Response.”
Psychological Science 23, no. 11 (2012): 1372 - 1378.
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956797612445312,
accessed February 2017.

Morgan, Nick. “How to Become an Authentic Speaker.” Harvard
Business Review, November 2008. https://hbr.org/2008/11/how-tobecome-an-authentic-speaker, accessed February 2017.
Savoy, April, Robert W. Proctor, and Gavriel Salvendy. “Information
retention from PowerPointTM and traditional lectures.” Computers& Education 52, no. 4 (2009): 858-867.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036013150800
2017, accessed February 2017.

BOOKS
Reynolds, Garr. Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation
Design and Delivery. Berkeley, CA: New Riders, 2008.
Gallo, Carmine. Talk Like Ted: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of theWorld’s Top Minds. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2014.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

Atwood, Sarah Smith. “Making a Splash on SharkTank.” The
Exchange. March 17, 2016.
https://marriottmag.wordpress.com/2016/03/17/making-a-splashon-shark-tank/, accessed February 2017.

LEARN MORE

ABC Television Network. “Illumibowl - Shark Tank,” YouTube,published March 11, 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12I6kP__O7k, accessed
February 2017.
Apple Keynotes. “Steve Jobs introduces the original iPhone at
Macworld SF 2007 480p,” YouTube, published January 16, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgB2Y8Cpokg, accessed
February 2017.
Every Shark Tank Product. “Scan App Pitch (Shark Tank Season 5
Episode 4),” YouTube, published September 15, 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_op9vYMnRvk, accessed
February 2017.
Phone Review. “Shark Tank | New UV Phone Sanitizer!,” dailymotion,
published June 22, 2015.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2v00o1, accessed February
2017.
Ted. “Are athletes really getting faster, better, stronger? | David
Epstein,” YouTube, published April 29, 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8COaMKbNrX0, accessed
February 2017.
Ted. “Before Public Speaking,” Ted.com.
https://www.ted.com/playlists/226/before_public_speaking,accessed February 2017.
Ted. “How Airbnb designs for trust | Joe Gebbia,” YouTube,published April 5, 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16cM-RFid9U, accessed
February 2017.

Ted. “How to make a profit while making a difference | Audrey
Choi,” YouTube, published March 16, 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7l5QHRY_AI, accessed
February 2017.
Ted. “How to speak so that people want to listen | Julian Treasure,”YouTube, published June 27, 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIho2S0ZahI, accessed
February 2017.
Ted. “Nigel Marsh: How to make work-life balance work,” YouTube,published February 7, 2011.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdpIKXLLYYM&t=64s,
accessed February 2017.
Ted. “Your body language shapes who you are | Amy Cuddy,”
YouTube, published October 1, 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks-_Mh1QhMc, accessed
February 2017.
TedEx. “How to sound smart in your TEDx Talk | Will Stephen |TEDxNewYork,” YouTube, published January 15, 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0FDjFBj8o, accessed
February 2017.
TedEx. “And now for the eyebrow | Irrah Carver-Jones |TEDxChelmsford,” YouTube, August 20, 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vufn3w44Suk, accessed
February 2017.
Weinschenk, Susan. “5 Things Every Presenter Needs To Know About
People,” YouTube, published June 18, 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJUblvGfW6w, accessed
February 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

VIDEOSCHAPTER

13

BRAND
MANAGE YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

CONTENTS
4 ONLINE PRESENCE
7 STRATEGIC WORK
9 HIRING LANDSCAPE
11 MENTORS
14 NETWORKLINK & LEARN
Required
Reading

This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Attribute the original source at mcom320.net. Emailbyumcom@gmail.com if you would like to adopt the curriculum. This chapter updated 11 May 2020.

Tips &
Optional

ExamplesActivityThis is Chapter 132

Like it or not, you have a personal brand.
When you roll out of bed in the morning and choose something to wear, you’rebranding yourself. Your vocabulary, facial expressions, social media posts, andactivities all contribute to that brand over time by communicating who you are andwhat you value. Since opting out isn’t possible, be sure to manage your brand andmake it an asset for your future career.
Your college years are key in creating a positive professional brand. Sure, you’re busy
with classes, a social life, and work, but these five steps will help you effectively
present yourself:

1. ONLINE PRESENCE
2. STRATEGIC WORK
3. HIRING LANDSCAPE
4. MENTORS
5. NETWORK

3

SECTION ONE

ONLINE PRESENCE
The quality of your online presence has become a key
factor for many hiring managers. Make sure your digital
footprint is an asset and not a liability by following thesesteps to analyze and improve it.

GOOGLE YOURSELF
Just searching your name from your own laptop on yourfavorite browser isn’t enough. Your laptop knows you too
well and will return targeted results. Use a private orincognito window to make sure your search results are
similar to what an employer will see when searching yourname. Get a friend or mentor to look over the search
results and let you know what makes a good impression
and what raises a red flag.

4

CLEAN IT UP
Get rid of embarrassing photos your friends tagged you in and scan your posts
for tone and content. No one expects you to have been perfectly professional at
15, but everything employers see will inevitably contribute to their impressionof you. Once you’ve got a clean profile, keep it that way. Privacy is largely anillusion on the internet. Your future employer may see anything you post. Avoid
references to illegal or socially destructive behavior. According to Jobvite’sSocial Recruiting Survey, even spelling and grammar mistakes will turn off 43%
of recruiters.
Check your social media privacy settings and browser filters acouple of times each year. Use daylight savings time as a trigger.
Do you have an evil twin? If your name is common, you mightfind some embarrassing search results you can’t control. If so,
distinguish yourself. Try using a middle initial, name, or title on
all your professional correspondence and profiles.

CROWD OUT THE BAD
WITH THE GOOD
If you’ve got dodgy content floating around out there, your best strategy for
pushing it down the page in search returns is to crowd it out with good content
over time. A single obsession can also leave a bad impression. If the only thing
you ever post about is sports or anime, use the next year to round out youronline impression by making regular, interesting, and useful posts on a variety
of subjects on key social media platforms. Think of your effort as a one-credithour class, and just do the work.

SIX THINGS YOU SHOULDKNOW ABOUT SOCIALRECRUITING
Referrals still
reign supreme

LinkedIn is the top
social recruiting toolSocial networks
play an important rolefor recruiters
Social profiles
can offer insight about
a candidate

Some posts are
surefire turnoffs

Social recruiting
isn’t going away

Source: 6 Things You Should Know About Social Recruiting,
Hannah Morgan.

5

LINK TO YOUR INDUSTRY
A LinkedIn profile is the functional equivalent of yourinternet resume and will be the first stop for a hiring
manager looking to see how you present yourself. Now is
the time to develop a great LinkedIn profile so you’ll have astrong presence in the business landscape.

Required

MAKE YOURPROFILE WORK FOR YOU

1. Create an all-star profile
2. Research and reflect the best profiles from your industry(LinkedIn examples from Marriott School Alumni)
3. Publish regularly on LinkedIn (Here’s a student example)
4. Network it up! (How to Network on LinkedIn)

FIGURE 13.1

5. Make connecting easy
Add a LinkedIn badge to your email signature

6

SECTION TWOSTRATEGIC WORK
Maybe the late-night cleaning crew at the Burger Barn is a
lot of fun. It’s comfortable, and it reliably earns you
enough to pay tuition. But it’s time to start selecting jobs,
internships, and commitments that put you on the laddertoward your dream job. Choose your work strategically.
Scan job boards like LinkedIn, Indeed, or Monster forentry-level opportunities associated with your industry.
Ask successful people you know how they got their start.
Create your own contract work, internship, or part-timejob. Join a professional club and demonstrate leadership.
Start a small business and attend an industry-related
conference.

7

The main point is to show movement toward
your professional goals. For years you’vebeen working hard to be a great student;
now shift your priority from achieving thehighest possible GPA to gaining practicalexperience that’s attractive to future
employers and leads you toward your goals.
After you’re employed full time, if you’reoffered a new position, continue to thinkstrategically about how that position will fit
into your overall plan. Feel free to suggest a
hybrid role if the one you were offereddoesn’t meet your aims.
Set a goal to work on your own professional
career development each week—10 min, 30
minutes, an hour. Your research andnetworking investment now will pay off laterwith big dividends.

ALUMNI ADVICE“By writing, you can become a ‘thought leader’in your chosen field, which opens up numerous
opportunities for growth. I published an article
about my experiences with business travel on
Medium.com about six months ago. This article
received a surprising amount of traction andwas read by over 3,000 people in a week.”

Read Scott’s article about Business Travel here.

Scott Christensen

Product Designer at PwC's Emerging Tech Group,
Strategy, BYU Marriott School of Management Class of 20138

SECTION THREEHIRINGLANDSCAPE
Can you name the top employers in your industry? Do you
understand the challenges and opportunities they faceright now?
By understanding the industry outlook and hiringlandscape you’ll soon face, you can position yourself totake advantage of opportunities and avoid threats. (Andyou’ll rock your interviews.) Use resources like those on
the following page to get the information you’ll need.

9Industry Resources

Explore these industry resources.
Occupational Outlook Handbook

Government projections for job growth and salary by industry

Glassdoor.com

Reviews of employers and average salaries (take it with a grain of salt)

Vault.com

Career intelligence, rankings, ratings, and reviews

Mergent Online

In-depth information on company management, structure, and outlook

Morningstar.com

Financial analyst reports

IBIS World

Overviews of industry segments, players, and trends

Using the tools above, explore your industry and write down theanswers to these questions:
Activity 13.1

1. What are the largest and fastest growing companies in this industry?
2. What are the most influential associations in this industry and where
do they publish? (Trade journals, websites, LinkedIn groups,
association newsletters, etc.)
3. What challenges are companies in this industry currently facing?
4. Is the job market for this industry expanding, staying steady, or
decreasing?
5. What are common entry-level jobs and average salaries for the partof the country I’d like to work in?

10

SECTION FOUR

MENTORS
People generally like to help other people. A mentor is someone
further along professionally who is willing to share information
with you and give practical advice. To a mentor, you offer a fresh
perspective, new contacts, and honest admiration. Your main jobs
in the relationship are to take responsibility for communication,
follow through to make your mentor look good, and avoid being
annoying.
The nice thing about finding mentors while you’re still in college isthat you aren’t immediately asking for something that costs that
person social capital (like a recommendation for a high-stakes job).
At first, you’re just asking for advice, and advice is pretty fun to
give. Look for mentors by:‣ Showing up‣ Asking questions‣ Following up

11

SHOW UP
Attend club or industry events, openings of new businesses,
lectures, and conferences. Participate actively and with asmile on your face. During the event, think of a few goodquestions that show you’ve been paying attention, then ask
your questions of key people. If someone responds warmly
and seems to enjoy answering your questions, ask toschedule a 20-minute visit (sometimes called an
informational interview) in person or on the phonesometime soon.
Hand them a well-designed business card but don’t expect
them to get in touch with you. That’s your job. Meanwhile,
your card serves as a tangible reminder that you areprofessional, prepared, and interesting.

ALUMNI ADVICE“I love taking sketch notes. One night after abusiness club presentation, I showed the
speaker—the CEO of a local tech company—
my illustrations of her speech. Our shortconversation quickly turned into aninternship offer.
“Talk to presenters after they speak. Keepthe conversation short, get contact
information, and follow up
soon after.”

Libby Thomas

Sr. Brand Messaging Specialist at Lucid,
Marketing, Marriott School of Management, BYU, Class of 2016

12

ASK QUESTIONS
During an informational interview, follow up with industry-specific questions andthen briefly ask for advice about career strategy. At this point, be sensitive towhether your potential mentor is enjoying the conversation and seems willing to
help. If so, great! You’ve gained a valuable contact. No need to formally ask,
“Will you be my mentor?” That can seem pushy. A mentor is more of anhonorific than a formal title. Just remember to express gratitude, give sincere
and specific compliments, and be very sensitive about not asking for too muchtime or effort. Keep your first informational interview short. Make a move toleave after about 15 minutes unless your interviewer invites you to stay longer.

FOLLOW UP
Going forward, keep in touch every few months by sharing quick updates,
reposting something your mentor has written, asking a question, or sending
congratulations on a promotion or award. (You should be connected on LinkedIn
by now, right?) Offer to help with a small project if you can. What are you goodat that might help them? If they introduce you to someone, be sure to write anemail telling them about the outcome and saying thanks. Don’t take any effort
for granted.
When you finally get ready to search for your first professional job, you will
already have someone to help you navigate the waters, make introductions, andrecommend you. Remember that soon you’ll be in a position to be a mentor, so
pay it forward!

13

SECTION FIVE

NETWORK
You’re establishing your brand, now share it. Learning to
network is an essential business skill and decidedly NOT
just for job searching. Instead, networking is about forming
long-lasting relationships of trust and service.
To some degree, you already network. You have networked
with some of your friends for years: helping them out,
sharing ideas, making memories. Deliberate professional
networking pays big dividends. The vast majority of jobs
are secured through networks, and personal networks
channel the flow of projects, clients, resources, andcontracts worldwide.

14

Top networkers are out and about and talking to people. In
college, think of attending class as a networking event and try
sitting next to the students who make interesting comments.
When you are at a social event noshing on refreshments,
make a goal of introducing yourself to two new people. Join aclub. Get your friends to bring along some new people when
you go out for a meal. See who looks interesting and starttalking.

OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS
Ask open-ended questions, such as:

How did you get
involved in . . . ?
(or why did you decide
to major in . . . ?)What do you
like to do on theweekend?
What changes
are you seeing inthis industry?

What do you love
most about what you
do?

PAY ATTENTION TO PEOPLE AND
ASK THEM QUESTIONSEveryone is an expert at something, and everyone has a story.
Find points of connection (and points of difference) to keep
the conversation lively. Widen your connections by including
people from other fields, and make quality introductions.
(“Mike, I’d like to introduce you to Sarah, who is graduatingwith a degree in accounting this semester. Sarah and I go way
back, and I think she’s someone you should get to know.”)

Do you have any
travel plans thisyear?

Before leaving the conversation, ask what author Judypower connection
connector questions:
Robinette calls the power

What other ideas doyou have for me?

How can I
help you?

Who else do
you know that
I should talkto?
FIGURE 13.2

GET OFF THE COUCH

15

CULTIVATE YOUR
CONNECTIONSWhen you meet interesting people, offer a handshake and yourname. Connect soon afterward on LinkedIn. Keep notes on yourcontact about where you met, some details you learned, andhow you might help each other out in the future.
Then make a habit of reaching out to your connections to keepthem growing. Think of your network as a garden. Keep the soilrich with new ideas and experiences, plant new friendships,
discourage aggressive weeds, fertilize regularly by staying intouch . . . then enjoy the harvest.
Schedule your networking. Set aside a regular half hour every
month to send a quick email or message to people you’ve been
impressed by. Give sincere compliments, ask questions, or findout what they’re working on.

Assistant Power Seek out the influencers. They’re not always in
the corner office. Pay attention to people who seem tounderstand power structures and procedures, those who know
decision makers and know how resources are allocated. An
executive’s assistant may be a more valuable contact than thebusy executive.

Networking for Shy People

How Not to Be Annoying. The Five Minute Favor

16

DEVELOP YOURELEVATOR PITCH
An important networking tool is your personal “elevator pitch”, asuccinct and persuasive description of yourself you can deliver
flawlessly. Don’t procrastinate doing this. When you find yourself
riding in an elevator with a great contact, you’ll be glad you cansmoothly roll it out.
Prepare a personal “elevator pitch”
using these and other resources you find:…

!

Activity 13.2 Crafting an Elevator Pitch

Examples of Elevator Pitches

Be sure to spend time writing down, structuring, and practicing
your pitch, but don’t memorize it word for word. Sounding like ahuman, not a robot, is essential for the success of your pitch.
Your pitch should:‣ Last 30 seconds or less
‣ Include your name‣ Tell what you do well, or what differentiates you‣ Describe what you’d like to do17IN CONCLUSION
These are prime years to create a positive professional brand. Pay attention to youronline presence, look around for fulfilling (and strategic) work, learn more about thehiring landscape you’ll be landing in, cultivate mentors, and network at your classes andevents.
By doing these things now, you’ll avoid a desperate struggle to re-brand yourself aftercollege when you are shopping for your first real job. You may even catch the attention ofsome great new friends!

LEARN MORE
ARTICLES

Jobvite. “2018 Recruiter Nation Survey.” Jobvite.
https://www.jobvite.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018Recruiter-Nation-Study.pdf, accessed April 2020.

Kemsley, Bill. “Why eLearning Works.” LinkedIn. September 13, 2016.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-elearning-works-billkemsley, accessed February 2017.
Levinson, Meridith. “How to Network: 12 Tips for Shy People.”
CIO.com. December 11, 2007. http://www.cio.com/article/
2437488/relationship-building-networking/how-to-network--12tips-for-shy-people.html, accessed February 2017.
LinkedIn. “How to Network on LinkedIn” (PDF File). Downloaded from
LinkedIn. https://university.linkedin.com/content/dam/
university/global/en_US/site/pdf/TipSheet_NetworkingonLinkedIn.
pdf, accessed February 2017.

Morgan, Hannah. “6 Things You Should Know About Social
Recruiting.” US News & World Report. October 22, 2014.
http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voicescareers/2014/10/22/6-things-you-should-know-about-socialrecruiting, accessed February 2017.
Robinette, Judy. “Develop Your Networking Skills Now for Future
Success.” JRobinette Enterprises.
https://www.judyrobinett.com/develop-your-networking-skills.php,
accessed April 2020.
Tanner, Nathan. “10 tips that will help you score an 'All-Star' rating on
LinkedIn.” The Muse via Mashable. April 25, 2016.
http://mashable.com/2016/04/25/all-star-linkedinusers/#.8DLoTrzs8q4, accessed February 2017.
Williamson, Will. “How to Use a LinkedIn Email Buton.” May 6, 2017.
https://blog.jdrgroup.co.uk/digital-prosperity-blog/how-to-use-alinkedin-email-button, accessed November 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

Dachis, Adam. “How to Be Clever, and Not Annoying, When Asking
for a Favor.” LifeHacker. May 23, 2012.
http://lifehacker.com/5911280/how-to-be-clever-and-notannoying-when-asking-for-a-favor, accessed February 2017.

LEARN MOREWEBSITES
Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Occupational Outlook Handbook.”
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/, accessed February 2017.
Glassdoor. “Jobs.” https://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm, accessed
February 2017.
IBIS World. “Home.” https://www.ibisworld.com/, accessed February
2017.
Mindtools. “Crafting an Elevator Pitch.”https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/elevator-pitch.htm,
accessed February 2017.

Vault. “Home.” http://www.vault.com/, accessed February 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

MorningStar. “Home.” http://www.morningstar.com/, accessed
February 2017.

CHAPTER

14

WORK
G E T

T H E

J O B

CONTENTS
4 FIND A JOB
7 APPLY
10 RESUMES & COVER LETTERS
15 INTERVIEW
20 LAND THE JOB
LINK & LEARN
Required
Reading

This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribute andShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Attribute the original source at mcom320.net. Emailbyumcom@gmail.com if you would like to adopt the curriculum. This chapter updated 11 May 2020.

Tips &
Optional

ExamplesActivityThis is Chapter 142

Workers in the U.S. hold an average of

12 jobs in their lifetimes,

and more than two-thirds of those jobs come before age 30.
Source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics

3

SECTION ONE

FIND A JOB
All sorts of pathways to great jobs exist. Large organizations haveestablished pipelines, websites, and staff tasked with advertising andhiring. In smaller organizations, the job description exists solely in themind of a business owner who is feeling a pain point and thinking abouthiring someone to help. Here are four ways to discover employment
opportunities.

1. VISIT YOUR CAMPUS
CAREER SERVICES OFFICEYour career services office offers planning advice, career counseling,
and a dedicated group of alumni that want to see you succeed. Start
early—well before your last semester—to position yourself strategicallyand take advantage of all that career services offers.
Watch this video from the BYU Career
Center: Career Center Steps to Success4

2. SEARCH JOBBOARDS ONLINE

LinkedIn is becoming essential to professional networking.
During your job search, make sure your own profile is top
notch and evaluate the opportunities at companies in yourindustry. Read Using LinkedIn to Find a Job or Internship.

Each of these job boards acquire their
postings differently, so you’ll need toperform a few searches to see which give
you the most useful results and services.

Indeed is a giant job posting aggregator with advanced
search functions that allow you to pinpoint job openings thatmatch your criteria.

Search for jobs or internships on
at least three job boards. Use
filters to narrow your search.
Activity 14.1

Monster provides a lot of useful career resources, such as
job search advice by industry, salary calculators by location,and resume help.

Write down a list of key skills
and experience that arevalued in your industry andplan out how you’ll acquire
those.

Glassdoor uses reviews from real people inside a company togive you invaluable information about company culture, thehiring process, and salaries. Use GlassDoor in your job search.

CareerBuilder scans the data in your uploaded resume andrecommends jobs to you. It also offers information about
how you stack up against others applying for the same jobs.

.com

If you have a specific company in mind, go through its
website to see if job opportunities are posted. Check backregularly to see if new positions are posted.

5

3. NETWORK
Tell your network what you’re looking for. Your network is simply
everyone you know. Don’t be annoying, but share the fact thatyou’re looking for work. Be brief and specific about what you arelooking for and what you offer. Many job opportunities are neverposted because they are offered to someone acquainted with acurrent employee. The larger your network, the better yourchances of finding a non-posted job. Research has repeatedly
shown that people find jobs through “friends of friends”— distantnetwork contacts who are aware of opportunities that are
unknown to your closest friends.

4. PROPOSE YOUR OWN ROLE
Look for pain points in organizations around you, then propose
your own role. If you’re alert and networking, you’ll see ways you
can help. When you see a customer interaction done badly, or hearsomeone complain about a constant frustration at work, think
about how you could improve the situation. Sometimes proposing
to work on a limited contract to address a problem will yield anoffer of long-term employment. Get in the door, then prove yourworth.
Treat your job search like a part-time job. Spendtime every week doing job-search activities.
Regular effort yields significant rewards.

“I’m graduating in April andlooking for a finance job
where I can put my risk
management skills to work.
Know anyone I should
connect with?”“I’m really interested
in your field. I did quite well in
my stats major and I’ll belooking for an internship soon.
Can you recommend someone
I should talk to?”“Do you like working for
Adobe? I’m loving
information science and will
graduate this year.
Do you know if your division
will be hiring?"

6

SECTION TWO

APPLY
Once you’ve found a job that sounds like a good fit,
get ready to carefully tailor your employment
materials to that job.

USE KEY WORDS
Your first step is to search the job description for key
skill words. Humans and computers search for
keywords when screening applicants. You prove thatyou’re serious and prepared when you reference anddemonstrate the skills being sought. Write the key
skill words down, stick the list by your computer, andmention them honestly in your LinkedIn profile,resume, and cover letter.

7

PREPARE PAR STORIESPAR stands for PROBLEM, ACTION, RESULT. Interviewers liketo ask behavioral questions to figure out how you react tochallenges. Be prepared to convince them of your skills byusing keywords from the job description to prepare personal
stories that show problems you faced, the actions you took,
and what the results were.
Your stories should be brief, engaging, and job related. Seek
feedback from people you trust when coming up with yourPAR stories. You may realize you have more skills than you
thought.

Review it before each interview and add to it throughout
your career when you conquer a tough challenge. You’ll be
instantly ready to prep for your next interview. Also, you canread it to make yourself feel better after a bad day.

Look over this sample PAR table. Read over someof the examples stories to get ideas.

KEY WORDS

Leadership

Analytical

PROBLEMACTIONRESULTMy team had been working on a project
for weeks, but we weren’t having
success. No one was stepping up to takeresponsibility for our deliverables. The
due date was fast approaching.

I created a schedule that would ensurecompletion by the due date, then talked
to each person on the team to get theircommitment. I put in double shifts to
help a new team member get up to
speed.

The team rallied behind my schedule,
and we kept in close contact tocomplete the project on time. The
professor was very pleased with ourwork and asked to use our project as amodel.

Our client delivered a 40-page
document of required changes thatmade my team feel overwhelmed anddiscouraged.

I stayed late and created a spreadsheet
showing which person could best makethe changes requested and how we
could accomplish them quickly.

My boss was surprised and pleased thenext morning. He agreed with all myassignment suggestions and put me incharge of the team.

FIGURE 14.1

Make a table of PAR stories like the one below, with column
headings for key words, problem, action, and result.

8

POLISH YOUR PROFILE
Look over your LinkedIn profile and make sure that itreflects best practices in your target industry. Different
industries—and even different functions within
industries (e.g., finance, marketing, HR, supply chain,engineering, etc.)—have different standards andexpectations. Modify your headline and summary topoint toward the job you want. Make sure your profile is“search optimized” by including key skills and phrases inyour descriptions of accomplishments at former
positions.
Find people who have the job you want and let theirLinkedIn profiles inspire your content, formatting, etc. If
possible, connect with these people and seek theiradvice. Join groups in your industry and begin engaging
with the members.

ALUMNI ADVICE“LinkedIn is absolutely necessary togetting a job.
“Because of my polished LinkedIn profile,
I’ve been contacted by recruiters at
Facebook, Dropbox, Houzz, and manyother tech companies/start-ups. When
networking, I don’t use business cards atall. I simply look people up on LinkedIn,
then I ask if we can connect.”

Scott Christensen
Product Designer at PwC's Emerging Tech Group,
Strategy, BYU Marriott School of Management Class of 2013

9

SECTION THREERESUMES &COVER LETTERS
The resume is not dead yet. You’ll need to have a well-designed resume if you
are job hunting in a traditional industry or applying to work at a conventional
workplace. Even progressive companies often ask for a resume in addition totheir standard online application—a resume helps them see how you present
yourself when you have a blank slate.
If you’re creating your own job, walking a printed copy of your resume into theoffice can earn you face-to-face time with key decision makers. A hand-delivered
resume and cover letter can be strong differentiators in a crowded field of
applicants.
Even so, most resumes get no more than 10 seconds of attention from someone
deciding whom to interview. Going through a stack of clone resumes can bemind-numbing. Make sure to set yours apart in four ways.

SECONDS

Many resumes are judged
in under 10 seconds.
Make them count.
The Ladders: Make it Count10

1. DESIGN
Resume design is important, especially in certain industries. An appropriate
resume in advertising, for example, might look out of place in accounting.
Recruiters in every industry, however, value clean, uncluttered resumes.
Spend some time looking at sample resumes online. Do a search for “[yourfield] resume [current year].” Notice how formatting, font, color, graphics,
and spacing can have a huge impact on resume readability and credibility. Be
sure you design your resume to make it easy for the reader to access key
pieces of information, such as keywords, job titles, and dates.
Find a few that look good to you and emulate their design principles as you
work on your own. If you don’t feel confident in design, this may be a greattime to crack open your wallet and pay someone for help. A great-looking
resume design can keep you in the running for a great job.
Remember that your resume may first be viewed on the recruiter’s handheld
device. Check to see how your resume looks in a small format. Keep yourparagraphs and sections short. Choose great fonts. Use clear headings, color,icons, and logos. Save as a PDF so your formatting is stable on any platform.

Activity 14.3

Do a search for “[your field] resume [current year].” Notice howformatting, font, color, graphics, and spacing can have a huge
impact on resume readability and credibility.
Make your NAME stand out, not your email address. In
your header, use a large font for your name to show
contrast.

11

2. CONTENT
If you don’t have much pertinent work experience, highlightyour education section by listing accomplishments like
‣ Strong GPA‣ Scholarships‣ Club affiliations‣ Courses completed‣ Projects

Remember that the substance of your resume will often drive
your interview. Hiring managers may see your resume for the
first time when they sit down to interview you. As they work
their way down the page, asking you questions, be preparedwith something extra to say about each item. Prepare PAR
stories from your resume that demonstrate your skills, interestin the industry, and cultural fit.

If your key skills can be demonstrated through an online
portfolio, create one. Include writing samples, projects you’ve
worked on, code you’ve written, or case studies from a class.
Hirers want to see what you can do.

Perhaps most important, because business loves numbers, besure to quantify any accomplishment you can. Numbers convey
credibility and experience on resumes.

Don’t be afraid to add a quirky accomplishment to your resume
such as “Summit County sheep-shearing champion.” If yourresume is memorable, you’ll have a better chance of landing aninterview.

Activity 14.4

QUANTIFY
Focus on results,
not responsibilities.
Quantify wherever
possible.
Remember to takenote ofquantifiablesuccesses at yourcurrent internshipor job.

NO

YES

I scooped
ice cream.

Served 200+
customers daily,
suggestedmethod that
reduced wait timeby 50%.

Developed asocial media
campaign.

Increased sales
25% bydeveloping atargeted social
media campaign.

FIGURE 14.2

The rest of your resume will be a listing of your work experience
in reverse chronological order. Of course you’ll list any paid
work that relates to your target job or demonstrates your key
skills, but include unpaid work if your responsibilities or
accomplishments were substantial. Experiences like organizing alarge event, running a donation drive, or being part of clubleadership can all be valuable in demonstrating what you bringto a job.

Write two quantified accomplishments for yourlast or current job.

12

3. STRUCTURE
Because recruiters scan resumes instead of reading them, getting
the structure right is critical. A logical flow and strong headings are
key. Your name should be the first and last thing a reader notices,
so make it stand out with size and possibly color. After your header,
you can lead with a skills summary section or go straight to youreducation. Later in your career, you might list your experience first,
but if you’re just graduating from college, your education may be
your most impressive asset. Resumes should always list your mostvaluable and job-pertinent assets first.
Skip the “Objective” statement. Your objective isalready clear: you want the job you’re applying for.
Also, an objective statement is YOU-focused rather
than AUDIENCE-focused.

Bad Resume
Misspelling
Typo
Disorganized
Vague
Poorly designed

4. GRAMMAR
This is where a tiny mistake could cost you a future job. One
careless error in grammar, spelling, or punctuation gives employers
an easy “no,” and your resume may quickly be tossed into therecycling bin. Run your resume by several skilled editors until you’resure it’s error free.

13

COVER LETTERS

COVER LETTER TIPSYour cover letter is your “human voice”
approach to the job. It gives you the opportunity to name drop connections you
may have within the company, briefly list
your differentiators, and promise more
proof in an interview. To make your cover
letter a great ambassador for your skills,
pay attention to these eight tips.

1. If you’re printing, use the same well-designed letterhead as yourresume. Make sure the two documents look consistent andprofessional. In an email, brand yourself with a signature that includes
your LinkedIn address.
2. Follow correct letter format—or use a strong subject line in email (useProven Recruiter for HR Position instead of simply Application)—thenget right to the point. You only have a second to capture attention.
3. Keep your AUDIENCE focus. This message is not really about you, but
about how you can help the company. Demonstrate that you knowwhat the employer wants and are ready to provide it.

Read the before and after
cover letter to Google:
Cover Letters Before & After

4. Tailor it. Each cover letter and resume you send out should be tailoredto the specific job you’re applying for. Do you know anyone in thecompany? Drawing attention to personal connections can have a
profoundly positive impact on your chances.

Read How to use the job
posting to create a cover letter

5. Be real. Make sure you don’t sound like a robot. Have pity on the poor
applicant screener. Use your wit to craft a human-sounding letter withvivid language. Be honest and confident. Now is not the time for false
modesty.
6. Show, don’t tell. When you make a skill claim, support it briefly with aconcrete example. You don’t need to give too many details—savethose for the interview.
7. Make sure your grammar and spelling are impeccable. Enough said.

FIGURE 14.3

8. Be brief: no more than one page if printed, 3-4 paragraphs on email.

14

SECTION FOUR

INTERVIEW
Putting in time to prepare for your interview
is crucial to your comfort and success.
You’ve already researched your industry. Now you need to know
something about the organization you’re interviewing with, thetarget position, and the person you’re meeting with.

CULTURAL FIT

One of the most intangible, and important, factors to hiring isfinding a "cultural fit." Managers want employees who are as
enthused about their organization as they are themselves, whowork similarly, and who share a sense of humor when things gettense. To peek inside the workplace and begin to understand theculture, check out your target organization’s profile on
Glassdoor. You’ll learn from current and former employees how
the interview process is conducted, what’s really expected of newhires, and how much trust they have in management. This can be
extremely useful information.

Infographic Interview Intelligence

The 8 Best Questions to Ask in an Interview

15

PRACTICE
After you’ve done your research, grab a smart person andpractice, practice, practice. Hand them a copy of yourresume and something to eat. Get them to ask you
behavioral questions so that you can practice answeringsmoothly and confidently with PAR stories.
You may feel uncomfortable asking someone to practicean interview with you, but practicing your PAR stories atleast three times will give you a level of confidence thatsets you apart from your competition. Ask for candid
feedback. Be open and appreciative. Video record
yourself to see if your mannerisms, posture, and voice all
support the image you are trying to portray.

Look over these sample interview questions
arranged by skill.

MOST COMMON NON-VERBALINTERVIEW MISTAKES
68%

Failure to make eye contact.

47%

Having little or no knowledge of thecompany.

38%

Lack of a smile.

33%

Bad posture.

33%

Fidgeting too much.

90

SECONDS

How soon 30% of the interviewers
know whether they will hire theapplicant or not.

Based on a 2012 survey of 2,000 bosses. CareerGeekBlog.com.
http://www.careergeekblog.com/2012/01/06/what-happens-in-job-interview/

16

INTERVIEW FORMATS
Interviews are conducted in various formats, depending on anorganization’s resources, the job level, and location.
‣ In-person‣ Video call (Facetime, Skype, Hangouts)‣ Recorded video (HireVue)‣ PhoneHere’s what you need to know about them:

IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS

Face-to-face interviews are still the gold standard. Lots of
information (most of it non-verbal) flows back and forth in thissort of interview. When you’re offered a seat, take out a pen
and paper to make notes. Taking notes helps you look alert andcapable. It also helps you remember points you’d like to bringup.
Your interviewer will probably start with an “ice-breaker”
question. Be prepared for the classic “Tell me about yourself.”
Give a brief personal pitch that you’ve practiced so many times
you don’t even need to think about it. Connect your backgroundand strengths to your target job.
Once you get talking, remember to breathe. Your interviewer
wants you to succeed. Help her discover that you’re the perfectcandidate; that will make her job much easier.

17

VIDEO CALL OR REMOTE INTERVIEWS

Video call interviews are becoming much more common. They’re an
inexpensive way for companies to quickly assess the capabilities, suitability,and fit of candidates. In addition to the tips above, follow these steps toimprove your video interview performance.

SET UP‣ Become familiar with the technology so you won’t be flustered if it fails. Tryout at least two services so you can switch if necessary.
‣ Compose a backdrop. Make sure your interviewer sees you in a clean,
simple environment.
‣ Orient the light toward your face or to your side, (not above or behindyou). Strong overhead light can make you look spooky. Natural light is themost flattering, so try to sit facing a window.
‣ Make sure the camera is at eye level. Place your laptop on a stack of books
so that your interviewer isn’t looking up your nose.
‣ Double check the interview time and time zone.

ON THE DAY‣ Choose a solid-colored shirt and make sure it’s pressed. Wrinkles show up
more on camera. If you need to wear a white shirt, wear a suit jacket overit.

ALUMNI ADVICE“I work from home, so all of mybusiness communication is throughphone, IM, and email.
“Sometimes we have videoconferences, and I’ve noticed it’s
important to make sure thebackdrop you choose looks
professional. Set yourself up in
front of a blank wall, a clean
bookshelf, or a whiteboard; avoid
your kitchen, a messy storage area,
or family pictures.”‣ Maintain a fairly constant distance from the webcam.
‣ Don’t drum your fingers or use the keyboard to type notes during your call.
Sensitive microphones will magnify every sound.
‣ Look at the camera, not the screen. Don’t try to stare at it constantly, but
do look directly into it when you want to emphasize a point or convey
sincerity.
‣ Smile! Exude energy, confidence, and optimism.

Katie Stone
Alumni Specialist at Western Governors
University, Recreation Management(Therapeutic Recreation), Class of 201218

PHONE INTERVIEWS

Phone interviews are a little nerve-wracking because of limited feedback from yourinterviewer. You can’t see a reassuring nod or smile to tell you you’re on the right track. In
addition to securing a quiet spot and double-checking your interview time, these two simple
tricks will make a big difference in helping you come across as calm, confident, and upbeat.
1. Remain standing and walk around
2. Smile (even if no one’s in the room)
Even if people can’t see you, you will sound better if you’re smiling, moving, and welldressed than if you’re slouched on the couch in your pajamas. Also, moving helps you shedstress.

INTERVIEW DAY
You’ve done your preparation and the big day is finally here. Don’t worry. You’ll rock this.
Having confidence will improve your performance, so do what you can to feel invincible.
Read through your PAR stories to remind yourself how awesome you are, press your shirt(details make a difference), and leave an extra half hour for traffic.

Dress for success: The new grad’s
guide to dressing for a job interview

19

SECTION FIVEFOLLOW UP
Shortly after your interview, write a thank-you
note (email or handwritten) expressing yourappreciation for the meeting. Something likethe example in Figure 14.4 will remind yourinterviewer what you talked about. Briefly
connect your skills to the new understandingof the job you obtained through the interview.
Reiterate your interest and your suitability.
Show that you’ve followed up on any
suggestions that your interviewer made.

Dear Michelle,
Thanks for seeing me yesterday. I reallyenjoyed meeting you and the team.
The project for Suncast is intriguing! I keep
thinking of ways to address the distribution
problem using some of the new tools I studied
in my senior year. It’s a project I’d love
working on.
I read the article you mentioned and talked toWilliam Brown about it. He admires yourapproach.
I look forward to hearing from you soon,
Tracy

FIGURE 14.4

LAND
THE JOB

20

ACCEPTING & NEGOTIATING
If all goes well, you’ll be extended an offer, which sometimes
has a time limit attached. Take some of the time you are given
to think about whether the job and company are a good fit foryou. Consult with your mentors and significant others.
Much has been written about salary negotiations, and they arebeyond the scope of this book. You should definitely do yourresearch and negotiate for an offer that reflects both yourvalue and your values. Successful negotiations at this point are
not all about money. You can negotiate vacation, relocation
benefits, working from home, team assignments, etc. Your
subsequent salaries will all rest on the foundation of your firstone, so getting your salary and benefits package right makes a
lot of sense.
If you don’t receive an offer, don’t get discouraged. Everyone
has more interviews than offers. Use the experience as anopportunity to learn what you can do to succeed next time. Ask
what advice your interviewer would give you for futureinterviews, and what skills or experiences the successful
candidate possessed that you should gain. Then get to work
improving your chances of landing your dream job.

21

IN CONCLUSION
Landing a job that challenges and supports you is a great accomplishment. Now go to work and use
the principles you’ve learned throughout this book to communicate your ideas with clarity, brevity,and power. Solve problems, manage projects, and lead teams with skill and insight. As you do, you’ll
be given new opportunities and new jobs. Make them count. Do good in the world.

LEARN MORE
Bort, Julie. “14 little-known tricks to help you land your dream job
using Glassdoor.” Business Insider. July 9, 2015.
http://www.businessinsider.com/tricks-to-land-a-dream-job-viaglassdoor-2015-7, accessed February 2017.

Guerrero, Aaron. “The 8 Best Questions to Ask a Job Interviewer.” USNews & World Report. September 10, 2014.
http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/slideshows/the-8-bestquestions-to-ask-a-job-interviewer/1, accessed February 2017.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Number of Jobs Held, Labor Market
Activity, and Earnings Growth Among the Youngest Baby
Boomers.” US Department of Labor News Release. March 31, 2015.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/nlsoy.pdf, accessed
February 2017.

Isaacs, Kim. “Cover Letter Tips for Finance Professionals.”monster.com. https://www.monster.com/careeradvice/article/finance-cover-letter-tips, accessed February 2017.

BYU Career Services. “Cover Letters.” BYU Career Services.
https://brightspotcdn.byu.edu/ac/b7/c676aa5d4684a3dddb4194
d8c7a5/cover-letters.pdf, accessed April 2020.
Evans, Will. “You have 6 seconds to make an impression: How
recruiters see our resume.” The Ladders.
https://www.theladders.com/p/10541/you-only-get-6-seconds-offame-make-it-count
Granovetter, Mark S. “The Strength of Weak Ties.” American Journalof Sociology 76, no. 6 (1973): 1360-80.
https://sociology.stanford.edu/publications/strength-weak-ties,
accessed April 2020.

LinkedIn. “Using LinkedIn to Find a Job or Internship” (PDF File).
Downloaded from LinkedIn. https://university.linkedin.com/
content/dam/university/global/en_US/site/pdf/TipSheet_FindingaJ
oborInternship.pdf, accessed February 2017.
Monster.com. “Sample Sales Cover Letter.”
http://media.monster.com/mm/usen/content/resume/doc/salescover-letter.html, accessed February 2017.
Noel, Katherine. “8 tips for your next video job interview.” Business
Insider. March 21, 2016. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-todo-a-video-job-interview-2016-3, accessed February 2017.
Salemi, Vicki. “The new college grad’s guide to dressing for a job
interview.” monster.com. https://www.monster.com/careeradvice/article/college-grad-guide-to-dressing-for-job-interview,
accessed February 2017.

(Bold citations are referenced in the chapter text.)

ARTICLESLEARN MOREWEBSITES
Kick Resume. “Resume Cheat Sheet: 222 Powerful Action Verbs to
Use in Resume.” https://blog.kickresume.com/2015/11/26/406/,
accessed April 2020.