A Framework for Developing Research-Based Curricula in Professional Writing Programs  

For our field, these are times of significant change. Undergraduate and graduate professional writing programs are proliferating across the country. At the same time, our students are moving into anincreasingly broad range of workplace settings. To respond to this reality, we need to establish reliable frameworks for developing curricula that are aligned with the discursive, technical, social, and ethicaldemands our students will face in these settings. We are proposing such a framework -- i.e., a set ofguiding principles -- for designing research-based curricula for professional writing programs. More specifically, we will describe how this framework can be used to orient the empirical research that willallow us to 1) identify the knowledge, abilities, critical awareness, and aspects of identity that ourgraduates will need as practicing professionals and 2) develop curricula that respond to these needs.

Smart, Graham and Nicole Brown. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Education>Business Communication

The Freelance Copywriter's Six-Pack  

This 24-page e-book is a compilation of six articles, all focused on starting and growing a successful freelance copywriting business. In addition to the articles, there is also a resource page with suggestions for courses and further reading.

Usborne, Nick. FreeIQ (2007). Careers>Freelance>Writing>Business Communication

Freelancing From Home: Don't Interview Folks in Your Pajamas

Have you ever considered breaking out of your nine to five and 5-by-5-foot cubicle to become a full-time freelance writer?

Hartsock, Nettie. WhitePaperSource (2006). Careers>Freelance>Business Communication>White Papers

From a Wasteland of Words to Corporate Language  

In recent years, the subject of terminology and its significance to technical documentation has gained importance. Training and education are paying more and more attention to this area, and an increasing number of software companies are offering sophisticated solutions to give companies a technological tool for handling terms efficiently.

Schaefer, Gregor. tekom (2006). Articles>Language>Business Communication

From Sentence to Bullet: How to Style a One-Page Résumé for Traction  

The one-page MBA résumé has become, in graduate management education, the self-representational document of choice. Sentences are out, bullets are in, details remain. The key is how to detail the bullet to describe, define, and deliver, in non-narrative form, professional achievements and accomplishments. In this paper, I examine samples of raw quasi-narrative descriptions and suggest restyled improvements for single-line bullets that more clearly, precisely, and effectively represent how authors describe their achievements. The raw data come from a data set of some 400 résumés submitted as a task in a studio-based broadcast course on business communication. The authors are mid-level managers in Latin America enrolled in a global MBA program. The paper examines the content and form of the objective, summary, and professional experience sections of the résumé and provides a set of tips for written language use in the résumé.

Staczek, John J. Association for Business Communication (2005). Careers>Resumes>Management>Business Communication

From Technical Writing To Marketing Communication: Growth From Common Ground  

If you think marketing communications are written by an entirely different brand of writer—in a version of the language wholly unlike the one you employ— then think again. Marketing and technical communications do share common ground. And by expanding the horizons of this landscape, you can move into marketing writing. To begin, you must explore what the disciplines share, what attributes are peculiar to marketing communications, and how you can go about developing your skills in this field.

Baker, Dina. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Writing>Marketing>Business Communication

From Technical Writing To Science Communication: How Do We Make The Leap?  

In response to their institution's need to explain its research to the public, a group of technical writers from Los Alamos National Laboratory is investigating methods to help writers make the leap from technical writing to science communication--the art of communicating science to nontechnical audiences. Through individual study and networking, members of the group are collecting resources that illuminate the techniques and complexities of science communication. From this foundation, they are preparing an extensive, annotated bibliography and assembling training materials so that they can become a resource for other writers shifting from technical to science communication.

Agnew, Marion, Anne Garnett, Grace Hollen, Amy Longshore, Judy Machen, Ann Mauzy, Eileen Patterson and Amy Reeves. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Scientific Communication>Documentation

From Vista to Zune: Why Microsoft Can’t Sell to Consumers

Microsoft’s marketing of Windows Vista and the Zune have failed in large part due to the fact that Microsoft has not learned how to effectively sell consumer products. Consumers buy Windows and Office, but that’s because they have no choice, not because of the company’s marketing savvy. Microsoft only effectively markets its products to businesses, which represents a very different type of sales relationship.

RoughlyDrafted (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Case Studies

Frontline Managers and Human Resources: Partnering for Effective Communication

In my human resources consulting practice, when I ask employees about their major concerns, their primary complaint is how poorly their managers communicate with them about human resources issues, especially compensation and job performance objectives. Ensuring that effective employee communication is embedded in the company’s culture is everyone’s responsibility—from senior executives on down. However, the primary players in effective employee communication are human resources professionals and frontline managers.

Rubino, John A. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Management>Business Communication

Fun With Measurement Math!

Recent research tells us that 97 percent of all public relations departments are involved in media relations, and 88 percent evaluate their campaigns using media analysis. On one hand, industry leaders urge us to measure the results of our work via business outcomes; yet on the other, communicators are still asked to supply output results as 'proof of performance.' Is there some link between the two that can cover both? Here are some relatively easy ways to make your media results speak with numbers that management will respect and understand.

Jeffrey, Angela. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Assessment

Fundamentals of Leadership: Communicating a Vision

Great leaders are not always born that way. Unfortunately, many management training programs don't sufficiently emphasize leadership development, but instead focus on fundamentals and the day-to-day tasks that confront managers within the organization. This article takes a look at how having vision and then communicating it is the foundation of leadership and contributes to the makeup of a truly great leader.

Harris, Kerri. Writing Assistance (2006). Careers>Management>Collaboration>Business Communication

Games: A Transactional Context  

Communication was not a theorized space until after World War II, it was just something we did. Both Claude Shannon’s seminal model of communication and Norbert Wiener’s model of feedback dealt with the technical transmission space for communication. From the beginning of communication theory, attention focused on technical aspects and broadcast models in which the recipient of the communication was presumed to be passive. All that was necessary was to use understandable codes (language, symbols, images) with which the recipient was familiar. Since those early days, a wealth of communication models have been developed that deal with various perspectives on communication including discourse models that seek to establish rapport; gratification models that attempt to sustain interest; innovation models that promote behavior change; and context models that seek to recognize and plan for the specific conditions in which a communication occurs. With these models the varieties of ways in which communication was received and interpreted came to the foreground, but the variables that influence any particular person’s interpretation remain daunting and undiscoverable in their totality.

Poggenpohl, Sharon. University of Alberta (2003). Articles>Communication>Theory>Games

Gender Differences in Employees’ and Students’ Knowledge of Office Politics  

Office politics goes on in most work environments. Learning the rules of office politics helps employees of both genders reap the rewards to which they are entitled. As future employees, students must become knowledgeable about office politics to be successful in the world of work.

Green, Catherine G. and Lillian H. Chaney. Association for Business Communication (2008). Articles>Education>Business Communication>Collaboration

A General Guide to Science Writing  

There are three fundamental aspects to good science writing - planning the structure, thinking about your reader, and choosing your words.

Garratt, John and Brian Mattinson. Education in Chemistry (1995). Articles>Scientific Communication

General Motors vs. The New York Times: A Case Study in Effective Blogging

For all the talk about corporate blogs, there still seems to be considerable debate about their value. As of early June, though, those questions should have been put to rest. General Motors illustrated just one of the benefits of blogs—bypassing the media and taking your message directly to the public—in its response to a column that appeared in The New York Times.

Holtz, Shel. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Blogging

A Generational Approach To Using Emoticons As Nonverbal Communication    

The purpose of this article is to help determine whether the use of emoticons in computer mediated communication (CMC) are truly nonverbal cues. A review of the literature revealed that the traditional nonverbal theorists failed to predict the future employment of nonverbal cues in electronic CMC. A variety of emoticons are then described including the traditional happy face 3 and sad face 3, numerous variations of faces employing keyboard keys, a number of abbreviations commonly in use, and FLAMING. Inasmuch as emoticons are presently in widespread though informal use, the problem of how and what business communication instructors should teach about emoticons is discussed. The conclusion reached is that of a generational recipient determinism. It is recommended that recipients who are Traditionalists (born before 1946) should not be sent e-mail with emoticons; those who are Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) probably should not be sent e-mail with emoticons; those who are Generation Xers (those born between 1964 and 1980) may be sent e-mail with some of the more common emoticons; and those who are termed Millenials (born after 1980 and coming of age after 2000) may be sent e-mail with generous use of emoticons.

Krohn, Franklin B. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Correspondence>Email

Genre Patterns in Language-Based Communication Zones    

This article modifies and elaborates the language-based communication zones model. The authors distinguish between potential zones and activated zones, add MegaZone Two and MegaZone Three to the model, define language competency more completely and precisely, and identify three types of genre patterns (i.e., professional genre, commercial genre, and relational genre). Concentrating on the language patterns in the direct channels of language-based communication zones, they focus on determining the language competencies required to communicate directly in different communication situations and about different communication tasks. Professional, commercial, and relational genre patterns in Zone One, MegaZone Two, and MegaZone Three are identified and described. Research-based examples are included to illustrate the genre patterns.

Du-Babcock, Bertha and Richard D. Babcock. JBC (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Genre

The Genre System of the Harvard Case Method    

Focusing on the case write-up within the Harvard case method of instruction, this study provides historical and empirical evidence for the theory of genre systems. The Harvard case literature and interviews at a case-based business school in the Harvard tradition show that the purpose of this largely ignored written genre is to prepare students to participate in the primary genre, oral classroom discussion of the case. The case genre system provides highly conventionalized conductor-choreographer roles for instructors and blunt, detached consultant roles for student writers/speakers who repeatedly enact decisive, adversarial personae affirming practices and values of the business school.

Forman, Janis and Jone Rymer. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (1999). Articles>Education>Business Communication

Getting Started on Your Assignment

This is the first of a series of articles on BA consulting. This is some of my perspective on starting your consulting assignment as a BA, and understanding the organization that you're working with. This first article: Start your BA assignment with a bang and will be followed by two additional articles discussing requirements basics, followed by closing the project.

Furey, Jim. BA Collective (2007). Careers>Consulting>Business Communication

Getting the Ear of Your CEO

Communication professionals can and should have frequent, direct access to and influence on executive leadership. Your CEO needs you, but are you ready? It is a misperception that CEOs are too busy, uninterested or unreceptive. While some communicators have close contact with executives, many other communication professionals rarely see the CEO and may have many layers of management between themselves and that "C-level" suite. But you don't have to report directly to the CEO to get his or her ear.

Gayeski, Diane. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Management>Collaboration

Global Communication: Building a Bridge between Ohio and Japan  

In 1999, an alliance was formed between the Central Ohio and Tokyo Chapters. This unique relationship, the only STC sister chapter, was based on the desire to share information about our profession, our industries, and our cultures. This presentation addresses the challenges and rewards we discovered in forging this globe-crossing bond.

Kauppi, Michael, Brenda McGuire, Laura Modisette and Sue Wolford. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Communication>Regional>Japan

Glossary of XBRL Terms  

A glossary of technical terms regarding the XBRL standard of of XML.

Phillips, Mary E., Tammy E. Bahmanziari and Robert G. Colvard. Journal of Accountancy (2008). Resources>Business Communication>XML>Glossary

Go from Brochureware to E-Care

Online brochures don't attract return visits or serve your customers, so turn your Web site into a customer interaction center.

Writing that Works (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Writing

Good Communication Is More than Just Good Writing

Writers can be good at writing, but lousy at communicating verbally. These tips will help you communicate better with your clients—and instill clients with confidence in your real strengths.

Holland, Anton. Writer's Block (1996). Careers>Consulting>Communication