This week is a different type of reflection, I would like you to reflect on this course.

What did you learn? Business communication has taught me how to conduct a professional message. Also, They are different channels that require close analysis of which one is rendered most useful for the type of message you will be sending.

What aspects of the course did you enjoy or did not like? I enjoyed these blogs, it requires more critical thinking. Even when I try to rush though them, I can not allow myself to just say anything and be content with it. I am very particular on what I write about as well as the context.

What advice would you give a fellow student that was going to take this course? Study and read all available slides the professor has to offer. Block out a day or afternoon to complete the required work for the week. lastly, the presentations are not that bad. listen to some ted talks and don’t forget to breath this is where I struggled the most. Although I did hear something that helped me “Judge the content not the delivery”.

Do you feel that you have learned information that you can use in your personal and professional life? Yes, my professional form of communication dialogue has increased greatly. Before this class, I would have made a lot the mistakes that are commonly made by those with out proper business communication skills. Personal, yes business communication can be applied various ways professional or personal.

Now that you have presented in class already and have completed the reading for this week. What would you do differently about your presentation earlier on in class, based on what you know now about giving presentations? 

Well I have read and learned a lot since the week of our presentation. That being said I would have to start with the building a better presentation outline. This important step was vastly over looked and I now believe it is the most important step. The presentation of the information should have a flow, this would be easier for the presenter and audience to give and receive the information.

When i think about my first presentation, I also would have to point out the anxiety part, breathing too much or too little with sweaty palms. Public speaking anxiety effects 73% of the population according to the national social anxiety center (nationalsocialanxietycenter.com). Im far from overcoming this public speaking disorder, but working on this would be an important skill set for my future professional career.

There are other important things that i would have done differently. I just feel like these two things are going to be important to work on for my final presentation.

Describe an effective process for conducting business research. In my Principles of management class we discussed SWOT analysis. This would be a great first step into what will be needed to be studied on about the company I need to do research for. then study my target market through a survey with very specific questions that I will be needed answered.

explain how to evaluate the credibility of an information source. Through my secondary and primary research, and making sure my survey is consistent and reliable. My research will be needed to be planned well from the beginning, and will either support my conclusion or not. Either way i should not with hold any information that is deleterious to my research. Withholding any information that contradicts my findings is unethical

identify the five ways to use research results. using the information in your conclusion, paper or even a proposal. The findings of you research can also be put into a recommendation for how the company is being ran, maybe your survey uncovered something the company has been over looking.

Think of a time when you had to give a negative news to someone. Did you use radical candor? Radical condor, I usually use this when giving any bad news, for most all negative news. Whether it’s for a family passing or my sons practice got cancelled. It’s important to me to continue a relationship professional or not. It’s as easy as thinking how I would want the bad news to be given to me.

How did you give the message? Deep breath, then a soft tone of sorrow. depending on the situation, I will begin with an explanation or take the direct approach with the bad news right away. Assessing the situation is an important skill that one needs to have. feel out the situation, what does this bad news mean to the people your giving it to. should there be direct or indirect approach. Other wise it comes off as not nice or unsympathetic which could do more damage to the people receiving the information.

What did you do right and what could you have done better? Here I am talking about different scenarios, with that i believe i am giving the news appropriately. timing is something i can work on if i am thinking about it. A sense of urgency has to come when the news is a little more pressing, but its also important to have a understanding on who the bad news should come from. I am Levi’s father so the cancellation of his baseball practice should come from me, also I may have a family member pass, that news should come from a more immediate family member, this is important to understand.

 Now that you are able to recognize and identify routine and positive messaging, think of a situation in your current personal life or career where you may use this type of messaging.

Please share either a time where you received this type of messaging or when you sent this type of messaging. Schoology has been my only place where I get mine from, updates on class changes as well as class times. Messages like this are really fine, from a professional standpoint. I really look forward to using this kind of messages. simple and straight forward.

How did it make you feel? these kind of messages are really helpful. Although I am not a fan of the over sharing part, the part that people like to really go over board with. The ones that say what they really need to but also explain the reason a little bit more then I care for. As long as the message is courteous and easy to follow, that’s all I really need to see in messages.

What was the purpose of the message? For the most part, class times and online changes. Covid-19 is the topic of most messages I receive. This pandemic is changing how all my classes are being held and what is expected of me as a student. So these messages I get are short sweet and to the point. Proving how effective these messages can be if written right.

This week think about some of the last commercials you have seen on TV or heard on the radio. Were that persuasive? For me, knowing commercials are trying to sell me something makes me ignore them, but fun public events do catch my attention. Commercials are not really persuasive to me, but gorilla marketing is. If the commercial is fun or intuitive then I will give it my attention.

How were they persuasive? Commercials are persuasive depending on their demographic. I am a male at a certain age that uses his Mobil device more then his T.V. or radio. so, I am exposed to M-Commerce more then the traditional commercial. My attention is short when it comes to persuasiveness of the commercial. Vary few are persuasive, but if they are, then its up to the message to get me to check out the product. This part will need to be covenant for me.

What techniques did they use to try and sell their product? Based on current era based attention seeking. A commercial would use meme like marketing. Short sweet and to the point. Much like letting me find the funny and seeing the product as well. The deodorant commercial “Old Spice” comes to mind. Something for me and my family to laugh at while letting us know about their product they are selling.

Do you think it is ethical for commercials to use persuasion? Why or why not? No, if the benefits of using the product would better my life in any way, I wouldn’t mind having them spell it out to me. while persuasion in terms of a political campaign ad I do mind, using marketing to lead me to water and letting me decide to drink the water vs. shoving facts and arguments down my throat with out letting me fact check or have a better understanding of the product will smear the lines of ethical or not. but ethics are a personal, individual affair.

This week I want you to look back at some of the papers that you have submitted this semester. How could you have improved the quality of these papers by reviewing your work? Structure would be my most needed improvement. I am really good a reviewing, because I will always be kind of nerves about how my writing is coming off to the reader. Also the flow or transitional wording is a misstep for me. I will write a paragraph, and just end the idea right there, instead of leading it to the next sentence or “flow”.

After this week, what steps will you take to ensure your future writing is error free and more professional? I will be using my time more slowly because of this weeks lessons. Slowing down the proofreading process will be the next step to help my writing. Along with choosing my descriptive words more wisely when it comes to my papers and emails.

Why should you always proofread your writing, even outside of work and school? Proofreading is just good habit, I write in text more then any other professional form of writing. So I will need to relearn, and learn new forms of writing moving forward with my chosen profession. Practice makes perfect when it comes to proofreading.

: This week I want you to practice saying the word “oh” but I want you to practice saying it with at least 5 different tones, for example “surprised” or “doubtful.”

Do you think tone has a major impact on how your message is received? Yes, even as I write my “yes” answer i can read it in a tone that reflects my message. A little formal, but with direct explanation. When I read other forms of messages, text, email, or a FB post I can really read in the tone the publisher is trying to convey.

How do you change your tone in a text or an email? When writing a message, I put my self in their shoes and reread the text over and over until I feel the tone I want to emit is depicted. I don’t want a message to come off as snobby or even lack of empathy. My go to would to just add a “LOL” at the end of the text or a “sincerely Lawrence Wakemup” at the end of an email.

Has anyone said something to you this week that could have meant something entirely different had they used a different tone? A text message from my wife, “Oh I thought you were done call me when you’re done!”. had she used the correct punctuation, this message could of came off as passive and annoyed. “Oh, I thought you were done, call me when you are done!” But I know my wife and the way she wrote her messages was a up beat flow message, she was just excited to share information that “just couldn’t wait”.

 Before taking this class, what actions/steps did you take to write a paper or maybe even just an email? Did you plan what you were going to write, or did you just write whatever popped into your head? When do you think it is important to plan out a “message” that you are sending and why do you think that?

My actions or steps taken for writing an email almost entailed the same concepts in this weeks lecture. My steps taken are similar, how i approach the audience, what is the subject, and my conclusion. Short sweet and to the point. My writing style for papers is a little more complex, but rounds the bases the same way.

I did plan on what i was going to write, weather it was for a question I had or answering or responding to an email. formal when its an email, professionally responding as much as i can when its email. Less formal when its texts or posts of FB. The notion of “writing what ever popped into my head”, was used when writing a paper for class.

its always important to plan out a message that I am sending. I am doing this as I am writing this response. in this instance I am trying to come off as a professional, with little emotion in this text. Emotions are best in other avenues of communications.

Think about on recent conversations you have had with your friends and/or family. How did you know that they were actively listening to you? How did you show that you were actively listening to them? Do you find it difficult to be focused on their conversation? Why or why not? What would be some implications for being distracted during a business related conversation?

I had a conversation with my sister, as it was over the phone as she lives in MN. I knew she was actively listening to me from her tone of her responses. I showed I was actively listening by paying attention to the conversations subjects and relaying the information that was the topic at the moment (adding in my own thoughts into the conversation). The topic of conversation was important to talk about, so it was not hard to focus on our phone call.

What would be some implications for being distracted during a business related conversation? The first implication that comes to mind would be their body language as well as their verbal response. Are they looking like their body language is giving off the vibe of alertness to the business related conversation? Also verbally, is the other person responding at all to the topic of discussion? as I write about the other person, I need to remember that I need to come off at the same vibe level as well.