assignments: assignment 4: positive message (draft) due job package (first draft returned) w/...

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Assignments: Assignment 4: Positive Message (draft) DUE Job Package (first draft returned) w/ review

Blog Post: Give an example of an effective (or ineffective) piece of

business communication (written, verbal or otherwise) that you’ve encountered. Don’t just tell what it was, but describe what made it work (or not). Be specific.

New: Designing Documents Assignment 8: Designing Flyers & Forms Assignment 9: Individual Oral Presentation Assignment 10: Visual Impression Analysis

‘Self’ Analysis

Well written, articulate, introspective

Some thoughts… Paragraph breaks Proofread…

Myself vs. my self Apart vs. a part Altogether vs. all together Their vs. there vs. they’re

Resume: “Education”

Move to top Reverse chronological order Complete university name, college name(s)

(Don’t abbreviate), city, state Name your degree Years attended (regardless of degree or not) Expected graduation date Major, minor, GPA Awards? Dean’s List? Related Coursework w/ proper course titles

“Integrated Communication in Business”

Resume: “Experience”

Use action verbs: Delegated, Designed, Administered,

Produced, etc. Emphasize results (if possible)

“Increased sales by 13%, Cut costs by $5,000,” etc.

Emphasize Skills (NOT Tasks) “Provided customer service” vs. “Waited

on customers” “Reconciled cash in excess of $150,000

annually (balanced ±0.01% )” vs. “Ran a cash register”

Resume: Formatting

Make documents look professional and inviting Not sparse and thrown together Make it easy to read It’s a reflection on you

No “essays” – incomplete sentences in active voice

Begin with active verbs in the correct tense Directed, managed, coordinated, moved…

Resume: Formatting

Don’t claim “Attention to detail” unless you can prove it.

Don’t say “Excellent oral and written communication skills” unless yours ARE

Be perfect – proofread(!) Be specific – set yourself apart from the

rest Make your document look professional,

more than just a bulleted list Use headings Sweat the details

Cover Letter: Formatting

Format professionally Return address Use paragraphs (intro, body, conclusion) Correct sentence structure Match their requirements Attention-getting; emphasize strongest

skills Bullet points

Closing sentence Be perfect – proofread

trademarks, capitalization, punctuation, grammar

Cover Letter: Content

Be specific – tell them what you want Avoid passive language…

Use active voice Tell them something they DON’T

know… “I am writing this letter in response to…” “I am writing this letter because I am…” “I would like to be considered…”Vs. “Please consider my application…”

Cover Letter: Content

Don’t just say it… PROVE it... “I know I would be a great asset to your

company…” “I feel like I would be a very good……” “This would be my dream job…”

…PROVE that you’re qualified

Match your skills to their requirements Use their words; their description

Be positive Be confident

Designing DocumentsApp A (p. A1-17)

Why Design Matters

Saves time and money Reduces legal problems Builds goodwill Attractive pages look

friendly, aids readability Grouping ideas shows

structure

8-11

Design: Part of Writing

Think about design at each step As you plan, think about audience▪ Skilled or busy?▪ Read straight through or skip around?

As you write, use lists, headings. Use visuals to convey numerical data

clearly Get feedback from your audience As you revise, check the design

guidelines that follow 8-12

Design and Conventions

What are conventions? Vary widely by audience, geographic area,

industry, or department Change over time

Rarely use Courier typeface anymore Italicize magazine titles rather than underline

Violating is risky Presents incorrect interpretations Signals author is unreliable or

unknowledgeable

Rules of Document Design

Color Use the color wheel to create matching

color schemes Four or Fewer colors Emotion-Saturation

Dark, desaturated colors = serious and professional

Bright, desaturated colors = friendly and professional

Fully saturated colors to grab attention Know how people and cultures respond to

colors Treat white as a color, treat black as a

color

blackhttp://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/2014/10/23/the-50-most-important-rules-of-document-design-color-crayon-tip-method/


Contrast Use contrasting colors for clarity

and visual interest. Size matters: most important thing

biggest and boldest Typefaces: use different font

families (headings vs. text) Highlighting: use bold, italics

sparingly (NOT ALL CAPS) Overlays: contrast the background

with the text significantly to avoid conflicts or visual noise.

http://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/2014/10/23/the-50-most-important-rules-of-document-design-color-crayon-tip-method/


Arrangement Give purpose; show relationships - avoid

arbitrary placement or “floating” objects Alignment: everything on a page should

be aligned to something else. Avoid center-alignment

Proximity: Avoid randomizing Stability: Arrange objects to show

stability Flat and horizontal = stable and calm. Vertical arrangement can appear more active. Tilted objects can appear in motion.

Position strategically. Space implies time. Tilted objects imply instability.



Organization Five ways

1. by location/space, 2. by alphabet, 3. by time/chronology, 4. by category5. by hierarchy

(most important vs least important) Make text scannable Rule of Thirds Bleeds: move edges of objects off the page



Negative Space 1 + 1=3: be aware of the

shapes created between objects

Empty Noise: white space (negative space) increases readability “What’s left unsaid, says it all.”

Avoid thin or awkward margins



Typography Two Fonts Max Know your font families Fonts have personality

Apply appropriate font Avoid default and overused fonts.

Be sure your font is legible For names, use only very legible fonts.

Readability Increase readability by increasing line spacing,

using legible fonts, shortening line length, and using contrast



Photography Picture Superiority

Will remember up to 60% more Resolution

NOT pixilated or distorted Face-ism Ratio

Increase face: personality, intellect.

Increase body: health, vitality Direction

Faces look toward the inside Match Photographic

Styleshttp://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/2014/10/23/the-50-most-important-rules-of-document-design-color-crayon-tip-method/

Page Design Guidelines

Use these eight guidelines to create visually attractive documents.1. Use white space 2. Use headings 3. Limit words in all capital letters4. Use no more than two fonts per

document5. Justify margins selectively6. Put key items at top left or bottom

right7. Use a grid for graphic unity8. Use highlighting, decorative devices,

and color in moderation8-21

Using Graphics Effectively and Ethically

A graphic should . . . Contribute to overall meaning Reinforce and supplement written or

spoken words Communicate ideas that cannot be

conveyed effectively in written form Have a simple, effective design that is

easy to understand Depict information honestly

Using Graphics in Text

Introduce graphic, show it, then interpret and analyze

When possible, position graphic immediately following text introducing it

Avoid only restating what graphic shows; instead, interpret based on audience interest

Semantically Resonant Color Choices

What is the color of money? Of love? Of the ocean?

In the United States, most people would say… money is green, love is red and the ocean is blue.

Stuff to do…

Read: Ch 14: Developing Oral Presentations (p. 452-476)

Assignment 8: Designing Flyers & Forms Final DUE August 10 (no draft)

Assignment 9: Individual Oral Presentation In Class August 3 & 5

Assignment 10: Visual Impression Analysis Final DUE August 12 (no draft)

Blog post: Describe how you feel about writing (of any sort). Is it difficult for you? How so? Or does it come easy? Do you enjoy it? Dislike it? What’s your favorite type of writing? (fiction, journaling, nonfiction, etc.) Least favorite? Why?