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Friday, October 28, 2011
Why the serial comma helps. Thw sentence below appeared in the Seattle Times last week. It wants to say that evaluations use four categories. I had to read it twice before seeing what the four categories were.
Evaluators use a rubric that includes four categories — planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction and professional responsibility.
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Take what this guy says to heart. It's not just about bosses; it's about the way you run your groups:
Here are two commercials sent by Trevor Bell. Which figures of speech do they illustrate?
Thursday, Februay 9, 2012
Seth Godin Clip
Notice how Godin starts his talk with P.U.N.C.H. He starts with something 'novel'-- a story about the guy who invented sliced bread. Note he also takes a cliche--"this is the best thing since the invention of sliced bread"--and uses it to make a point that sets up the development for the core idea of his talk.
Notice also how he uses the phrase "pay attention". There's a pun there, but he's also using it effectively as a rhetorical repetition.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Remote Area Medical is not the Dr. Hotz Model for delivering healthcare to people who can't afford it, but it gives you an idea why something like it is needed, and not just in southern Georgia. From Sixty Minutes.
Here's another link with information about Remote Area Medical.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Here's the Lebron clip we watched in class:
Here's the response from Cleveland fans to Lebron's clip:
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Grammar Tips
More on Semicolons: Use a semicolon between independent clauses joined by a conjunctive adverb (e.g., nevertheless, however).
INCORRECT:
They browsed carefully through reference, however, no clear answer appeared.
Heroes have fallen on hard times; for instance, the men of Dale.
CORRECT:
Spelling bees were her specialty; nevertheless, she failed to spell “urbiculture” correctly.
J. M. Barrie is most famous as the author of Peter Pan; however, I prefer his ghost story "Farewell Miss Julie Logan".
Life is long; the work of a scholar, however, is never done.
Why is the however in the first senctenc correctly preceded by a comma and not a semicolon?
Life is long; the work of a scholar, however, is never done.
Why is preceding the however with a comma in this sentence incorrect?
They browsed carefully through reference, however, no clear answer appeared.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Motivation: Is it all about the money, or is it about making a difference?
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Yes We Can. In class I excerpted a part of Obama's speech after his primary defeat in New Hampshire to provide an example of the use of the 'epistrophe'. This is one of Obama's best rhetorical moments.
Most of you are probably familiar with what will.I.am did with this speech. It's interesting how effective rhetoric has musical qualities. You can see it here if you want.
Here's the original speech. You will also see that he uses the yes-we-can repetition also as an 'anaphora'--beginning sentences and clauses.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
(h/t Amy Smith)
Class 9 Clips:
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Class 8 clips:
Here's the link to the Alec Baldwin AIDA speech form Glengarry Glenross
Monday, January 30, 2012
For you accountants who think you might want to consider another career after getting your midterm grade, take some advice from the vocatonal guidance folks at Monty Python:
Michael wins by changing the subject:
Quote of the Day
"Centrism in accommodation of nihilism is no virtue." Blog Commenter.
One way to make your messages more memorable is to take cliches and famous quotes and flip or twist them. This quote is clever because it takes a famous quote by Barry Goldwater and fllips it. Goldwater's quote:
"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice."
An example of cleverly taking a cliche or adage and flipping it is the famous quip by Dorothy Parker:
The adage: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
Parker's quip: You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think.
(There's also the pun: horticulture = 'whore to culture'.)
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Quote of the Day:
“This lamentably common use of comprise as a synonym for compose or constitute is a wanton and indefensible weakening of our vocabulary.”--H.W. Fowler
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Usage Tip: Compound Adjectives
A compound adjective is an adjective that comprises more than one word. Usually, hyphens are used to link the words together to show that it is one adjective.
Examples:
Please request a four-foot table.
It is a 6-page document.
Her fifteen-minute presentation proved decisive to the outcome of the case.
Claire worked as a part-time keeper at the safari park.
That is an all-too-common mistake.
The student decided to attend a school with a good legal-research-and-writing program.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
Well-written paper, ok; badly-written paper, not ok. No hyphens after 'ly' adverbs.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Film Clips used in Class #6:
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Clip of the Day
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In America, we call it the "serial comma", but it's the same rule:
(h/t Alexa Carney)
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Hilda Black Tips
Hilda was a client in the past, but she chose not to use your tax prep services this year. She tried to save money by preparing her taxes herself.
You have the conversation in question recorded, so there is no dispute about what actually was discussed in the phone conversation in April.
A tax-deferred account is one in which income can be sheltered until retirement. If you put $2000 in an IRA, for instance, you don't pay any tax on that amount in the year that you shelter it. But you will pay a tax when you withdraw it. You don't pay, though, if you move it into another similar shelter.
You need to find a proactive approach. Don't be defensive or reactive.
Your grade on this assignment will depend more on the effectiveness of your sentences. Show me you've learned something from our discussion of sentences in class.
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Film Clips used in Class #5:
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Best way to keep problematic words correctly in mind is to have some model sentences that use the words correctly as a template when they come up.
It may rain today. (looks likely)
I might get a raise. (not likely, but not without hope.)
The dog often lies here by the fire.
The dog is lying by the fire.
The dog lay by the fire for over two hours.
The dog has lain by the fire since breakfast.
The counselor's advice affected my thinking about dropping out of school.
The CEO effected significant changes in budgetary policy within a week of taking office.
His chewing me out had quite a negative effect on my motivation.
I don't like your affect, you ill-tempered, surly grump.
The team comprises fifteen members.
Fifteen members compose (not comprise) the team.
The team is composed of (not comprised of) fifteen members.
Friday, January 13, 2012
More on Decorum:
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Assignment One is up in the column to the right if you didn't get it in class. Remember, your goal in this assignment is to create a document that will be more useful or helpful for your boss than the original article.
Basic Evaluation Criteria:
Analysis Hints: Use the format I put up on the board and just fill in the blanks.
- Does summary focus on information that will help boss change his behavior?
- Is there sufficient detail in explanations to give boss enough information to know what to do?
- Is the organization balanced and coherent?
- Is the formatting designed to make the information accessibile and easy to understand?
- Is Analysis complete and competently executed?
- Is Outline sufficiently detailed and an accurate reflection of the underlying structure of the article summary?
- When you are trying to define the issues, look at them as fires to be put out. If the day you received this assignment was the first day on the job, you would only be aware of one fire, but since you've been there six weeks you're aware of two.
- When defining objectives think about them in two categories: reactive--what you have to do at a minimum to put out the metaphorical fires--and proactive--what possibilities are there to go beyond the status quo ante.
- When defining the audience, the most important element is to define the need, because what you choose to include in your summary should be determined by its usefulness in meeting your boss's need.
Outline hints: You need to have at least two major subtopic headings structuring the body of your outline. These subtopics should be equal in importance. The biggest challenge in this part of the assignment is envision how you will make this document into a useful tool.
The opening needs to reflect what we discussed in class today--background, purpose (primary objective), preview.
Clips used in Thursday's classes:
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Clips used in Tuesday's classes:
Can you find the mistake?
It's certainly possible that there was some other motivation --- there is such a thing as palace intrigue --- but for the most part it's safer to assume that in a crisis a president isn't going to appoint someone whom he thinks is making things worse.
Whomever from The Office
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Me, Myself, and I. "Don't say myself if you mean me or I. Me is a perfectly good and acceptable word. I think myself is misused so often because as people are speaking, they become uncertain about whether the word they want to use is me or I. They retreat into myself because they think that's correct in every circumstance." Read more.
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Rhetorical Word of the Day
Aporia/Dubitatio (JH p. 75): Admitting that you don't know. Establishes that you're not an arrogant know-it-all, that you have doubts, that you're sincerely seeking answers. It invites the audience to start coming up with its own answers:
"I'm not sure what to do. Help me out here."
"Now I can't do it for you. I'm too old."
Monday, January 9, 2012
The links are fixed. You should be able to find everything you need here now.Thursday, January 5, 2012
Proactive with Mr. Goodwin
Dear Mr. Goodwin:
I am writing to you in response to your August 15 email questioning the $108.00 in overdraft fees charged against your account. Upon receiving your email, we investigated and learned that apparently a miscommunication between you and United Oregon led to our imposing this charge. Enclosed you will find a credit for this amount, but we would like to take this opportunity to explain what happened.
In your August 15 email, you mentioned that you had instructed the United Oregon Bank of Portland to transfer $45,000 to your account here on August 1. Unfortunately it did not make the transfer until August 10--which explains why on August 8 we charged your account for the overdraft.
We value your account with us, Mr. Goodwin. You have been one of our most reliable and valued customers, and we understand that miscommunications like this happen from time to time. On this occasion we are happy to refund to you the $108. But please contact United Oregon to be sure that they send future transfers on the date you specify.
Perhaps an overdraft line of credit would be appropriate if you anticipate this kind of miscommunication in the future. You might also consider consolidating your accounts in such a way as to make these transfers unnecessary.We’ll have one of our personal bankers contact you in the next week to see if we can help you to meet your banking needs in a more streamlined way.
Sincerely,
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Words of the Day
Commonplace: accepted values of a community summarized in adages, and cliches. "The children are our future." "Freedom isn't free." "Everyone has a right to choose." "I'm living the American dream."
Amplification: Word pile on: “Entertaining, thrilling, completely addictive, and a little scary.”Adding detail after detail to make your case, and when the audience thinks you're done, you say, "And that's not all--I'm just beginning to tell you how wonderful X is.
Tactical Concession: Instead of challenging your opponent's facts or assumptions, you concede that he is right. This has a disarming effect, and makes him feel that he has been heard and is well understood. You then either change the subject or use those facts or assumptions as the foundation for the argument you want to make.
Chiasmus: A figure of speech that structures elements cleverly in an ABBA pattern. You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy. Boy = A; Country = B.
Antithesis/Syncrisis: Figure of speech that compares opposites."Not that, but this." It can be used to redefine terms, change the subject, or reframe the discussion on terms more favorable to your argument: "It's not manipulation; it's instruction." "It isn't just a matter of faith; it's a matter of science." Also: "We support the victory; they decry the cost."
Prolepsis: Anticipating your opponent's counterargument: "Some will say . . ., but I say . . ." In the movie "All Quiet on the Western Front," a militaristic German schoolteacher tells a class of boys, "Perhaps some will say that you should not be allowed to go yet - that you have homes, mothers, fathers, that you should not be torn away by your fathers so forgetful of their fatherland...by your mothers so weak that they cannot send a son to defend the land which gave them birth."
Links to today's movie clips:
- Tobacco Industry front man
- Clooney confronts his brother-in-law-to-be
- Newman confronts Nurse in The Verdict
Monday, December 26, 2011
Welcome to Business Communications for Winter Quarter 2012. I'll be using this space as the quarter progresses to summarize and amplify points that I make in class with verbal comments, video, and other supplementary materials. Check in at least once a week to make sure you're up to speed.
It will probably take me until mid-January to get all the relevant links updated, but the ones that are live now if you want to get a feel for the resources available here.
The assignment links will be activated the class day I introduce the assignment. Even if you miss class, you should know what the assignment is.
Class Slide PDFs
Class 12
Class 13
Class 14
Class 15