business communication contexts and controversies les hanson darryl hammond red river college red river college university of manitoba university of winnipeg business communication contexts and controversies Pearson Canada Toronto Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Hanson, Les, 1956– Business communication: contexts and controversies / Les Hanson, Darryl Hammond — 1st ed Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-0-13-814498-2 Business communication—Textbooks I Hammond, Darryl, 1964– II Title HF5718.H35 2010 651.7 C2009-904828-0 Copyright © 2011 by Pearson Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario Pearson Prentice Hall All rights reserved This publication is protected by copyright and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise For information regarding permission, write to the Permissions Department ISBN 978-0-13-814498-2 Vice-President, Editorial Director: Gary Bennett Editor-in-Chief: Ky Pruesse Acquisitions Editor: David S Le Gallais Signing Representative: Duncan MacKinnon Marketing Manager: Loula March Senior Developmental Editor: Patti Altridge Managing Editor: Sửgỹt Y Gỹleỗ Substantive Editor: Cheryl Cohen Copy Editor: Dawn Hunter Proofreaders: Audrey Dorsch, Sharon Kirsch Production Coordinator: Avinash Chandra Composition: MPS Limited, A Macmillan Company Photo Research: Mary Rose MacLachlan Art Director: Julia Hall Cover and Interior Design: Anthony Leung Cover Image: Veer Inc For permission to reproduce other copyrighted material, the publisher gratefully acknowledges the copyright holders listed on pages 487–488, which are considered an extension of this copyright page 12345 14 13 12 11 10 Printed and bound in USA Thanks to our families for their patience and support Brief Contents PART Foundations Business Communication in the Twenty-First Century Ideas: Planning the Writing Process Words: Looking at Your Language Media: Choosing Your Channel Intercultural Communication 27 52 79 101 PART Routine Communications Meetings Oral Presentations: The Counterintuitive Speaker Writing Routine Letters, Memos, and Emails Writing Persuasive Messages 10 116 137 170 211 Dealing with Negative Information 232 PART Longer Documents 11 Writing Instructions, Explanations, and Definitions 12 Preparing to Write Proposals, Reports, and Electronic Presentations 13 Writing Proposals and Reports 14 Writing Business Plans 257 280 306 348 PART Employment 15 Writing Resumés 16 Networking, Developing Effective References, and Succeeding in Employment Interviews 393 17 Interpersonal Communication: Surviving Life on the Cube Farm Appendix 366 Grammar, Punctuation, and Plain English 449 423 Contents Issues in Communication boxes Preface xvii About the Authors xxiii About the Contributors xxiv THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING xv Planning Routine Documents THREE-POINT PLANNING 32 32 Establish Your Purpose for Writing 32 Analyze the Audience 34 Obtain and Organize Your Information 35 Working with Others 36 Organizing with Outlines 41 Organization in Action: Getting Your Information in Order 43 PART Foundations Business Communication in the Twenty-First Century 1 CHANGING COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY 31 THE WRITING PROCESS IN ACTION Hard Skills and Soft Skills How Business Communication Differs from High School English Set Objectives for Yourself 45 Expect to Make Mistakes 45 Feel Free to Shift between Sections Set Your Work Aside When It Is Complete 45 Edit Your Work 45 Proofread Your Work 46 ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION WRITING TEMPLATES Issues in Communication: BlackBerry or Crackberry? WHY STUDY COMMUNICATION? COMMUNICATING IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY 16 Text Messaging 17 Living with PDAs 19 Multi-tasking: The New Normal Planning Ideas: the Writing Process THE COST OF POOR PLANNING Issues in Communication: Banning the Bags 29 28 48 Chapter Summary 48 Thinking and Writing Exercises 49 Writing Skills Checkup: Point of View Shift 51 Looking at Your Words: Language 20 Chapter Summary 24 Thinking and Writing Exercises 24 Writing Skills Checkup: Sentence Errors 45 46 Commercially Produced Templates The Limitations of Templates 48 Ideas 10 Words 11 Media 13 44 52 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RIGHT WORDS 26 27 Issues in Communication: New Words at Work: From Blogs to Bandwidth 53 53 STANDARD ENGLISH: USING DICTIONARIES AND STYLE GUIDES 56 Literal Meanings: Denotation 56 Deciding Which Words Are Appropriate Connotation: Emotional Meanings 58 57 488 Credits Chapter Chapter 13 Page 137: Alamy Images; p 139: Mike Margol/PhotoEdit; p 140: Alexei Kapterev, kapterev.com; p 149: Kevin Mazur/WireImage/ Getty Images; p 166: Table 7-2, (a) Big Cheese Photo LLC/Alamy; (b) PhotoAlto/Alamy; p 167: Courtesy of Joan Flaherty Page 306: Alamy Images; p 308: Mike Baldwin/Cartoonstock.com; p 310: Dean Mitchell/Shutterstock; p 311: Dave Carpenter/ Cartoonstock.com; p 313: Fran/Cartoonstock.com; p 337: Patrick Hardin/Cartoonstock.com Chapter Page 170: Alamy Images; p 172: SuperStock/MaXx Images; p 173: Mike Flanagan/Cartoonstock.com; p 180: Mary Evans Picture Library; p 188: gladcov/Shutterstock; p 205: Fran/Cartoonstock.com Chapter 14 Page 348: PhotoDisc Images; p 350: Kalyan Chakravorty/The India Today Group/Getty Images; p 351: RAFIQUR RAHMAN/Reuters/ Landov; p 353: Mike Baldwin/Cartoonstock.com Chapter Page 211: PhotoDisc Images; p 212: Fran/Cartoonstock.com; p 213: Dan Rosandich/Cartoonstock.com; p 217: Chris Wildt/ Cartoonstock.com; p 221: The London Art Archive/Alamy; p 226: Mike Baldwin/Cartoonstock.com Chapter 15 Page 366: Digital Vision Images; p 367: Creatas Images/JupiterImages Unlimited; p 371: Andrew Toos/Cartoonstock.com; p 385: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock Chapter 10 Chapter 16 Page 232: Alamy Images; p 236: Mike Baldwin/Cartoonstock.com; p 246: Brand X Pictures Image/JupiterImages Unlimited; p 252: Zoran Mijatov/Shutterstock Page 393: Digital Vision Images; p 394: Dan Rosandich/Cartoonstock com; p 396: ZENG YI/Xinhua/Landov; p 400: AVAVA/Shutterstock; p 401: Dmitriy Shironosov/Shutterstock; p 404: Dave Carpenter/ Cartoonstock.com; p 408: Adam Gregor/Shutterstock; p 409: Thinkstock Images/JupiterImages Unlimited; p 412: PhotoAlto/ Alamy; p 419: Zsolt Nyulaszi/Shutterstock Chapter 11 Page 257: Alamy Images; p 259: BC Intellectual Property and Pierre Roussel/Getty Images; p 260: designalldone/Shutterstock; p 266: Larry/Cartoonstock.com; p 273: Fran/Cartoonstock.com Chapter 12 Page 280: Eyewire Images; p 281: DILBERT: © Scott Adams/Dist by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.; p 285: Shalom Ormsby/MaXx Images; p 290: Jim Sizemore/Cartoonstock.com; p 296: Figure 12-4, kabliczech/Shutterstock; p 297: Figure 12-5, (a) williammpark/ Shutterstock; (b) Luhanor/Shutterstock; p 298: Shannon Burns/ Cartoonstock.com Chapter 17 Page 423: Alamy Images; p 424: Chad McDermott/Shutterstock; p 427: Images.com/Corbis; p 441: Photo courtesy of Chris MacAskill, SmugMug, www.smugmug.com; p 442: Jim Sizemore/Cartoonstock com; p 444: Thomas Bros./Cartoonstock.com Appendix p 449: Alamy Images; Cartoon Network Index A a, an, the, 68 abbreviations, 20, 278–279, 473–474 in addresses, 193 in bureaucratic language, 67 in text messaging, 17–18 Abley, Mark, 53 academic style, 59 accents, 16 acceptance letters, 419 acronyms, 67, 278–279, 474 action in AIDA model, 218–219 request for, 223–224 action offices, 441 action verbs, 374, 379 active listening, 123–124 active voice, 59, 256, 268, 468–469 addresses abbreviations in, 193 on envelopes, 192 address line, in emails, 192–194 adjectives, 169, 450–451 commas with, 464 compound, 465–466 as content words, 68 administration, 360–361 administrative assistances, 436 AdScam, 312 adverbs, 169, 464 compound, 465–466 as content words, 68 coordinating, 464 advertisements to children, 213–214 ideas in, 10–11 job, 374, 375, 385–390 memorable, 92 Yellow Pages, 360 age bias, 71–72 agendas meeting, 125–129 private, 117 in verbal communication, 84 aggressiveness, 429 agreement pronoun–antecedent, 421–422, 455, 476 subject–verb, 304–305, 459–461, 476 AIDA organization, 216–218 Alberta Plastics Recycling Association, 30 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll), 181 alphabetical order, 300 alternative close, 219 American Psychological Association (APA), 299 analytical reports, 325, 343–344 and, 456, 464 animation, 263, 293, 294–295 annual reports, 338, 343 answering machines, antecedents, 455 anxious, eager, 57 APA style, 299–301 apologizing, 234–235, 237, 430 complaints and, 240 legal issues in, 235 purpose of, 234–235 sensitivity and, 247 apostrophes, 100, 461–462 appeals emotional, 221–222 logical, 220–221, 222 persuasive, 220–222 appearance for job interviews, 410–411 for oral presentations, 165–167 workplace, 434, 444 appendix, 336 Apple, 3, 234 appositives, 463, 464, 465 Arthur Andersen, 88 articles, 68 Art of Closing the Sale, The (Tracy), 218 asbestos, 260 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), 55 aside, 464 assertive communication, 425–432 bullying vs., 425–428 rights and responsibilities of, 428 techniques for, 428–432 attention, 216 490 Index audience, 17 analysis of, 34–35 connection with, 144–147, 150–151 for environmental messages, 30 internal vs external, 331 knowledge of, 34–35 me-orientation of, 36, 61, 215 for oral presentations, 141, 158–159, 160–162 for persuasive messages, 214 primary vs secondary, 34 for proposals, 309–311 purpose and, 32–33 for reports, 331 for routine messages, 176 authority appeals, 222 B baby boomers, 317 background checks, 369 background information, 354 in business plans, 354 in job search, 374 in reports, 325, 335 background knowledge, of audience, 34–35 for meetings, 126–128 for reports, 331 background reports, 344 backlash, 13 bad, badly, 451 bad news, 240–249 Baird, Kim, 107, 109 balance sheets, 362 bar graphs, 292–293 Bcc, 194 BDC Young Entrepreneur Awards, 47 because, 458 behavioural interviews, 406–408 best job in the world, 368 Better Business Bureau, 237 Beyond Culture (Hall), 105 biased language, 69–75 age and, 71–72 disability and, 73–75 gender and, 70–71 race, religion, ethnicity and, 72–73 Bing.com, 286 Blackberry, 4, blog, 53, 54 boredom, 148 bosses communicating with, 433–434 managing, 433 working successfully with, 434–436 Botox, 67 brainstorming, 10, 38–39, 95, 150, 315, 397–398 brand names, 55 break-even analysis, 362 Britain, 18, 23 broken record assertion, 431 budget, 314 buffer, 244–245 bullet lists, 185–187, 271, 295 bullying, 425–428 bureaucracy, 91–92 bureaucratic language, 55, 64–66 business communication elements of, 9–16 hard skills vs soft skills, 7–9 high school English vs., 7–9 as job skill, 5–9, 177, 370 business description, 355–356 Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), 47, 362 business language, business plans parts of, 352–362 purpose of, 349–350 business style, 59 but, 68 C camera telephones, Canada Safety Council, 427 Canadian Plastics Industry Association, 30 Canadian Taxpayers Federation, 309 Capital C Communications, 80 capitalization, 115, 451 in APA style, 300 in emails, 194–200 in MLA style, 302 of race and ethnic terms, 73–74 careers See employment Carroll, Lewis, 180–181 case, 456–457, 461–462 cash flow statement, 362 CBC, 55 Cc, 194 cell phones, etiquette for, 439 laws regarding, 22 in meetings, 124, 133 novels for, 18 overuse of, recording conversations on, 84 chairperson, 120–121, 128, 130 change language and, 53–54 resistance to, 33, 55 Index channels choosing, 80 formals vs informal, 88–94 for instructions, 263–264 many-to-many, 95–96 new and changing, 96–97 one-to-many, 95 one-to-one, 94–95 verbal vs written, 81–88 children, 213–214 chronological order, 43, 265–268, 269 chronological resumé, 375, 377–379 chunking, 271 Cialdini, Robert, 228 cigarette packages, 259 citations See also documentation in-text, 299 for table data, 291 clarity, 7, 176 clichés, 470 click, whirr, 228 clients, 34 Clinton, Hillary, 297 clip art, 293, 295 clothing See appearance cluster diagrams, 39–41, 49–50 Coca-Cola, 55 coffee fund, 440 cognitive dissonance, 229 collaboration, 36–43 collection letters, 239 collectivism, 106 colons, 346–347, 463 in letters, 192 in titles, 153 commands, 270–271 commas, 192, 364, 463–464 common areas, 440–441 commonly confused words, 452–453 communication See also business communication assertive, 425–432 cooperative, 433–437 cost of, 171 indirect, 13 interpersonal, 433–444 workplace, 424–444 communism, 106 communitarian cultures, 106–107 communitarianism, 106 comparison order, 43 competition, 357 assertiveness and, 425–432 direct vs indirect, 357 competitive edge, 356 complaints, 224–225 formula for, 238–239 making, 233–237 receiving, 240 resolving, 240 Completeplanet.com, 286 computers grammar checkers on, 449–450 history of, new words and, 53 outline functions on, 41 paperless office and, 171, 173, 174 spell checkers, 46 conciseness, 176 conclusions in instructions, 268 in interviews, 418 in meetings, 130–131 in oral presentations, 162–163 in reports, 325, 335 in routine messages, 181 conditional close, 219–220 condolence letters, 189–190 Conference Board of Canada, 7–8, 368, 370, 409 confidentiality, 187 conflict assertiveness and, 425–432 in meetings, 130 confrontive assertion, 431 conjunctions, 69 connection, 144–147 connotation, 58, 70 consistency, 229 in lists, 186 constructive pessimism, 158–159 Consuming Kids (Linn), 214 content words, 68–69 low information, 469–470 contractions, 59, 329 cooperation skills, 433–437 coordinating adverbs, 464 CORE’s Worst Technical Writing Contest, 262 corporate giving, 307, 308, 309 corporate social responsibility, 30 costs, 171, 187 counterintuitive approach, 138, 140–141, 161–162 Coupland, Douglas, 424 courtesy, 176 courtesy copy, 194 covering letters, 385–390, 418 co-workers, 436–437 CrackBerry, 3–4 crisis communication, 32, 233 criticizing, 435 cube farm, 424 491 492 Index cubicles, 424–425 cultural narratives, 107–109 cultural sensitivity, 69–73 culture See also intercultural communication in Canada, 108–109 collectivist vs individualist, 106–107 gender and, 102–103 high- vs low-context, 105–106 persuasive messages and, 216 Customer Care Alliances, 234 customer service workers, 436 D dangling modifiers, 448, 453–454 Daniel, Diann, 433 dashes, 465 databases deep web, 286–287 government, 286 journal, 174 library, 286, 288 date book, 23 David Suzuki Foundation, 30 deadlines, 37, 45 deep web, 286–287 definitions, 272–276, 307 demographics, 358 denotation, 56 description of management and staff, 360 desire, 218 desktop publishing, 293 destruction of documents, 88 Dhaka, Bangladesh, 29 diction See language; word choice dictionaries, 54, 56–57, 103 direct pattern of organization, 184–185, 242 disability, 73–75 disagreement, 428–430 discussion section, 335 displays, 30 documentation APA style for, 299–301 of bullying, 426 MLA style for, 302 for table data, 291 documentation of sources, 297–302 doublespeak, 55, 238 drafts first, 450 of unsolicited proposals, 315–316 Drucker, Peter F., 433 drugs, 395–397 E easy, easily, 451 ebusiness, 67 Edison, Thomas, 37, 171, 174 editing, 45–46 on-screen, 174 of proposals, 316–317 of visuals, 331–332 education, 5–9 electronic addresses in APA style, 300 in MLA style, 302 email, age and, 16–17 benefits and pitfalls of, 16 effective, 92, 178–180 etiquette for, 196–200 ineffective, 178 for job searches, 369 layout of, 192–196 letters vs., 187–192 memos vs., 177–180 outlining for, 41 overuse of, 173–174 permanence of, 200 tone of, 60, 61 emblems, 109–111 em dashes, 465 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 144 emoticons, 199 emotional appeals, 221–222 emotional intelligence, 432–433 emotions, 82 empathic assertion, 431 empathy, 432 emphasis, 93 Employability Skills 2000+, 7–8, 368, 370, 409–410 employment, 367 ads for, 374–375 drug tests and, 395–397 letters for, 385–390 online search for, 369 skills for, 368–370, 409–410 employment history, 377–379 en dashes, 465 endorsements, 33 English, 7–9 plain, 468–474 Enron, 88 envelopes, 192 environmental messages, 29–31 eportfolios, 384–385 Index errors See also grammar; punctuation omitted function words, 68–69 in probationary period, 434 sic for, 467 escalating assertion, 431–432 E-Stat, 358 ethnicity, 72–73 ethnography, 104 etiquette cell phone, 439 for emails, 196–200 for meetings, 127–128 for text messages, 20 workplace (cubicle), 439–444 euphemisms, 12, 55 evaluation reports, 343 executive summaries, 334, 352–354 explanations, 272–273 extended definitions, 274 eye contact, 124, 167 F Facebook, 4, 96 familiarity, 94 fax machines, feasibility studies, 343 Federal Express, 357 Festinger, Leon, 229 financial statements, 361 financial plans, 361–362 flexibility, 93 focus groups, 269, 358–359 footers, 196 formal channels of communication, 88–93 formal definitions, 274 formality, 17, 59, 187, 329 formal outlines, 42 formal reports, 325–337 four P planning, 359–360 frontline workers, 436–437 full block style, 190, 191 functional resumé, 375, 381–382 function words, 68–69, 270 fundraising messages, 227–228, 307, 308 G Gates, Bill, 174 gender biased language and, 70–71 bullying and, 425–426 culture and, 102–103 genderlects, 103 General Motors, 55 Generation X, 424 gestures, 109–111, 167 Globalfest Calgary, 309 glossary, 337 glossophobia, 144 goals, 23 Goleman, Daniel, 432 goodwill letters, 189 Google, 286, 287, 288, 369 GoogleScholar, 287 Gore-Tex, 104 Grameen Bank, 350–351, 356 grammar, 450 active vs passive voice, 468–469 adjectives vs adverbs, 450–451 capitalization, 451 dangling and misplaced modifiers, 448, 453–454 in job applications, 389 need for, parallelism, 454 pronoun–antecedent agreement, 421–422, 455–456, 476 pronoun case, 456–457 reflexive pronoun misuse, 457 in reports, 329 in resumés, 372 run-on sentences, 457 sentence fragments, 458 subject–verb agreement, 304–305, 459–461, 476 graphics, 289–296 editing, 331–332 graphs, 292 pictures, 293 in PowerPoint, 294–295 PowerPoint as, 294–296 tables, 289–291 graphs, 292–305 grievances, 83 group interviews, 408 guerrilla marketing, 81 guidebooks, 258, 272–273 H Hall, Edward T., 105 halo effect, 90 hard sell, 219 hard skills, 7–9 Harper, Stephen, 297 he, 70, 473 he, him, 456 headings, 44 in instructions, 271 in reports, 334–337 in tables, 291 493 494 Index Heart and Stroke Foundation, 317 hidden job market, 395–401 hidden verbs, 68 high-context cultures, 105–106 hits, 288 Hofstede, Geert, 106 Hormel Corporation, 16 Howard, John, 297 hybrid resumé, 375, 382, 383 hyphens, 465–467 I I, me, 456 IBM, 39 ideas See also planning brainstorming for, 37–39 cluster diagrams for, 39–41 as element of communication, 10–11 generating, 37 for instructions, 262–263 organizing, 43–44 outlines for, 41–43 in routine messages, 176 templates and, 46–48 for unsolicited proposals, 315 writing process and, 44–46 identity theft, 2, 369 idioms, 470 illness, 441 images, 290 for instructions, 263 research and, 289–296 warning labels and, 260 immediacy, imperative sentences, 270–271 implementation plan, 360–361 income statement, 362 indirect pattern of organization, 242–249 individualist cultures, 106–107 Industry Canada, 358 inflated language, 55 informal channels of communication, 93–94 informality, 17 informal style, 59 information, 281–282, 284–288 business sources of, 357 excess, 282 libraries and, 284 online, 281–282 information age, 11, 171 informational reports, 324–325, 338–343 information overload, 199 initialisms, 67, 278–279, 474 inquiry letters, 418–419 instant messaging, 17 instructions, 258–272 introductions in, 264–265 need for, 258 principles of, 269–272 step-by-step, 265–268 testing, 268 types of, 258–262 writing process for, 262–268 intelligence quotient (IQ), 432 intercultural communication, 102 within Canada, 108–109 cross-cultural communication vs., 103 cultural narratives and, 107–109 gender and, 102–103 with high-and low-context cultures, 105–106 with individualist vs communitarian cultures, 106–107 non-verbal, 109–113 sensitivity and, 102 interest, 217–218 internet communication channels, 96 history of, 3, job search on, 368–369, 382–384 networking on, 398 research on, 284–287 resumés and portfolios on, 368–369, 382–385 interpersonal communication, 433–444 interruptions, 84, 430, 442–443 interviews, 402–411 appearance for, 410–411, 413 behavioural, 406–408 formal vs informal, 403 format of, 413–420 group, 408 new wave, 408–409 performance during, 414–419 preparing for, 402–403, 409–411, 413–415 pre-screening for, 403–405 questions in, 406–408, 415, 417, 418 references and, 412–413 salary and, 417–418 stages of, 403–405 stress, 406 introductions, 45 commas after, 464 in instructions, 264–265 in job interviews, 414 in meetings, 128 in oral presentations, 148–154 in reports, 335 in routine messages, 181 investors, 30, 34, 36 iPhones, 3, 234 is when, is where, 275 Index J Jaekel, Fred, 433 Japan, 18 jargon, 35, 53, 55, 61, 63, 64, 67, 268, 470 Jarre, Maurice, 282 Jaspar, Catherine, 284 job application letters, 386–390 job interviews See interviews Jobs, Steve, 234 job search employability skills and, 368–370, 409–410 letters for, 385–390, 418 networking and, 395–401 ongoing, 401 references and, 411–413 resumés and, 370–385 Jordon, Ryan, 282 journals in APA style, 300 in MLA style, 300 for oral presentations, 155 professional and academic, 286–287, 288 JPEG compression, 295 judgment, delaying, 39 junk mail, 196 justification reports, 344 K Kapterev, Alexei, 140 keitai shousetsu, 18 key factors, 44 key words, 286, 337, 384 L language See also word choice audience knowledge of, 35 biased, 69–75 change in, 53–54 inflated, 55 jargon and, 67 negative vs positive, 60–63 in oral presentations, 147 outdated and bureaucratic, 64–66, 75–77 pompous and outdated, positive, 75–76 standard English, 56 laser printer, lawsuits, 259, 349 layoffs, 12, 13 leaders, 37, 145–146 Leaf Rapids, Manitoba, 29, 31 Lee, Bruce, 119 legal liability, 87–88 apologizing and, 235 in business plans, 361 instructions and, 258, 259 printed documents and, 174 of written records, 87–88 legal structure, 354 legislation, 30 letter format reports, 325 letters, acceptance and refusal, 419 condolence, 189–190 covering, 385–390, 418 emails vs., 187–190 goodwill, 189 inquiry, 418–419 job application, 385–390 layout of, 190–192 outlining for, 41 prospecting, 386 punctuation in, 191–192, 463, 464 resignation, 419–420 thank-you, 307, 418 of transmittal, 334 liability See legal liability Liberal Party of Canada, 312 libraries, 284, 288 line graphs, 292, 333 linking verbs, 450 Linn, Susan, 214 Listeria outbreak, 283 lists, 472 colons with, 463 commas with, 464 of figures, 334 in routine messages, 185–187 of tables and figures, 314, 334 Loblaws, 30, 31 logic, 33 logical appeals, 220–221, 222 long distance telephone, 15–16 long documents organization of, 43 outlines for, 42 low-context cultures, 105–106 low information content words, 469–470 Luminato Art Festival, 309 Lutz, William, 55 M Madoff, Bernie, 338 magical number, 165 495 496 Index main ideas in complaints, 239 in routine messages, 184–185 in short documents, 42 managers, 34 manuals, 258 many-to-many communication, 95–96 marketing four Ps of, 359–360 guerrilla, 81 strategy, 357–360 viral, 80–81 market research, 357, 358–359 market share, 359 maturity, 432 McDonald’s, 259 McLuhan, Marshall, 13–15, 102 media See also channel as element of communication, 13–15 environmental messages and, 30 as message, 13–15 MEDLINE, 288 Meeting Miser, 121 meetings, 117 agendas for, 125–128 cell phones and, 439 closing, 130–131 formal communication and, 90 keeping focus of, 129–130 with PDAs, preparation for, 124–129 purpose of, 125 roles and responsibilities in, 119–124 simple vs complex, 117–118 starting, 128–129 tasks after, 131 text messaging and, 20 tips for success in, 133 verbal communication and, 82 virtual, 133–134 memo format reports, 324–325 metric, 474 Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch (M-LAW), 261 micro loans, 350–351 Microsoft, 23, 48, 67, 140, 265, 286, 418 Miller, George, 165 mind mapping, 39 minutes, 116–131 minute taker, 122–123, 131 Mirabel Airport, 28 miscommunication, misplaced modifiers, 448, 453–454 mission statement, 355 mistakes, 22, 45 MLA style, 302 Modern Language Association (MLA), 301 modified block style, 190 Montreal-Trudeau Airport, 28 Monty Python’s Flying Circus, 16 motivation, 432 movement, 164 Ms., 55 multi-tasking, 21–23 N nag factor, 213–214 National Association of Colleges and Employers, 410 National Organization for Marriage, 309 negative language, 60–63, 224 negative messages, 232–249 apologies and, 234–235, 237 complaints as, 233–237, 238–239 conclusions of, 245, 248–249 giving, 240–244 indirect pattern for, 244–249 receiving and resolving, 240 tone of, 238 value of, 233 negative reactions, 127 neologisms, 53–54 nervousness, 84, 415 Nestlé Rowntree, 16 networking, 117, 395–401 new wave interviews, 408–409 new words, 53–54 Nichols, Ralph, 122 no, 23 noise, 439, 443–444 non-action verbs, 450 non-sexist language, 473–474 non-verbal communication, 415 assertiveness and, 430 gestures as, 109–111 intercultural, 109–113 personal space and touch as, 112–113 regulators as, 111 time and, 113 non-words, 57–58 nouns, 68, 471–472 numbered lists, 185–187, 265–267, 271 numbers, 209 formats for, 472–474 volume and issue, 300, 302 O Obama, Barack, 5, 118, 297 obesity, 317 Index objectives, 45 objective statement, 376, 379 odours, 440 one-to-many communication, 95 one-to-one communication, 94–95 Online Innovation Jam, 39 only, 451 operating documents, 344–345 oral presentations, 84, 137–167 attention-grabbers for, 150–153 audience and, 141, 158–159, 160–162 body of, 154–162 clothing for, 165–167 conclusions of, 162 connection in, 144–147, 150–151 counterintuitive approach to, 138–141, 161–162 delivery of, 167 fear of, 144 introductions in, 148–154 PowerPoint and, 138–140, 165 preparation for, 150–153 props, 164 visuals in, 158 organization chronological, 43, 265–268, 269 spatial, comparison, and problem-solution, 43 of emails, 178 planning and, 35–36 Osborn, Alex, 38, 39 outcomes from complaints, 239 for routine messages, 185 in short documents, 42 outdated language, 64–66 outlines, 10, 41–43, 86 formal, 42 sentence-level, 42 overview of the business, 353 overview of the industry, 356–357 Oxford University, 23 P Pacanowsky, Michael, 104 paperless office, 171, 173, 174 paper trail, 82–83, 86 paragraphs, 298, 316 parallelism grammatical, 391–392, 454, 456 in instructions, 271–272 in lists, 186–187 parentheses, 466–467 parenthetical in-text references, 299 in APA style, 300 in MLA style, 301–302 parenthetic definitions, 274 parking lot attendants, 436 Pascal, Blaise, 184 passive-aggressiveness, 429 passive voice, 59, 71, 255, 467–468 passivity, 429 Patrick, Deval, 297 pauses, 111 PDF, 174 Pearson International Airport, 28 peer review, 287 perfection, 147, 159 personal digital assistants (PDAs), 3, controlling, 19–20 in meetings, overuse of, 3–4 personal pronouns, 59, 329 personal space, 111–113 persuasive messages, 212–213 AIDA organization of, 216–218 audience of, 215–216 automatic responses and, 228–229 closing of, 219–220 logical and emotional appeals of, 220–222 nag factor in, 213–214 objective of, 214 types of, 222–228 persuasiveness, 90 pester power, 213 Phelps, Michael, 397 phishing, 178, 368, 369 pie charts, 292, 332 pigeon meat project, 349 Pinker, Steven, 53 Pittinsky, Todd, 130 place, 359 plagiarism, 297 plain English, 468–474 abbreviations in, 473 format for numbers in, 472–474 lists in, 472 non-sexist writing in, 473–474 passive vs active voice, 468–469 verbs as nouns, 471–472 wasted words, 469–470 planning audience and, 34–35 of business plans, 349 collaborative communication and, 36–37 four Ps of, 359–360 idea generation and, 37–43 importance of, 31–32 for instructions, 262–264 for meetings, 124–129 for oral presentations, 141–147 497 498 Index planning (continued) poor, 28–29 purpose and, 32–33 three-point, 32–36 for unsolicited proposals, 315 plastic bags, 29–31 plurals agreement with, 459–461 apostrophes with, 461 biased language and, 71 for sexist language, 474 political correctness, 69–73 political messages, 441 policies and procedures, 344–345 polling See surveys portfolios, 384–385 portmanteau, 67, 474 positive language, 61 possessive nouns, 100, 461–462 possessive pronouns, 422, 455 post hoc ergo propter hoc, 222 Powell, Colin, 106 PowerPoint, 92, 138–140, 165–166, 294–296 prairiedogging, 442 prepositions, 68 pre-screening, 403 presumptive close, 219 price, 359 primary audience, 34 primary research, 35, 283, 330 printers, printing, 171–173 privacy, 96–97, 439 probationary period, 434 problems anticipating, 37 brainstorming and, 38 problem-solution order, 43 problem solving, 435 problem-solving reports, 344 product, 359 product, price, promotion, place, 359–360 product focus approach, 261 productivity, 435 product warnings, 259–260 professionalism, 89–90 pro forma statements, 362 progress reports, 338, 343 promotion, 359 pronouns, 421–422 agreement of, 455 case of, 231, 456–457 gender-biased, 70–71 for oral presentations, 155–157 personal, 59, 329 reflexive, 457 proofreading, 46, 450 proposals, 307 analytical reports and, 343 audience and, 309–311 internal vs external, 307 preparation for (See also research) request for, 312–315 solicited, 311–315 unsolicited, 315–317 writing process for, 307–317 props, 164 prospecting letters, 386 public speaking See oral presentations punctuality, 434 punctuation apostrophes and possessives, 461–462 brackets, 462–463 colons and semicolons, 346–347, 463, 464 commas, 192, 364, 463–464 dashes, 465 hyphens, 465–467 in letters, 191–192 parentheses and brackets, 467 quotation marks, 467–468 purpose formal channels and, 90 of meetings, 125 in three-point writing, 32–33 purpose statement, 307–309, 315, 329 Q qualifications, 375 summary of, 376–377 questions, interview, 406–408, 415, 417, 418 QuintCareers.com, 374 quotation marks, 463, 467–468 R race, 72–73 rapport talk, 103 readers See audience real, really, 451 Rebagliati, Ross, 397 receptionists, 436 reciprocity, 228 recommendations section, 335–336 recorded conversations, 84 records, 82–83, 84, 86, 87, 88 redundancies, 64–66, 470 reference checks, 411 Index references, 297–302 list of, 299, 301, 302, 336 parenthetical in-text, 299 styles of, 299–302 references (job), 411–413 reflexive pronouns, 457 refusal letters, 419–420 regulators, 111 Reid, Angus, 433 relationship appeals, 221–222 religion, 72–73, 441 repetition, 64, 159–160, 470 Reply button, 199 reports, 317–345 analytical, 325, 343–344 background, 344 formal, 325–337 graphics in, 289–296 informational, 324–325, 338–343 letter format, 325 memo format, 324–325 preparation for, 329–331 sections of, 333–337 simple vs complex, 32 report talk, 103 requests, 222–223 for action, 223–224 for information, 181–183 rejecting, 240–249 requests for proposal (RFPs), 312–315 research See also information internal vs external, 330 internet, 281–282, 285–287 for job interviews, 410 journal databases and, 287–289 libraries and, 284 market, 357 marketing, 358–359 primary vs secondary, 35, 283–284 referencing of, 297–302 in reports, 330 visual presentation of, 289–296 Research in Motion (RIM), resignation letters, 419–420 respect, 161, 165 restaurants, 359–360, 439 resultsmatching, 286 resultsranking, 286 resumés, 370–385 chronological, 375, 377–379 functional, 375, 379–382 hybrid, 375, 382, 383 in interviews, 410, 411 jobs ads and, 374–375 overreliance on, 410 portfolios and, 384–385 references and, 412 sections of, 376–377 verbs for, 374, 379 web-based, 368–369, 382–385 revision, 10, 86 risks, 361 Robert’s Rules of Order, 128–129 roles audience and, 216 in meetings, 118–124, 128, 130 routine messages, 32 beginnings and endings of, 181 direct pattern for, 183–185 emails, 177–180, 192–196, 200 information requests, 181–183 letters, 187–192 lists in, 185–187 memos, 177–180, 196–197 outcomes of, 176–177 purpose of, 175–176 rugged individualism, 107 rule of thumb, 72 rules formal channels and, 91 for technology, rules of order, 128–129 run-on sentences, 457, 463, 464 S sales messages, 225–227 sales reports, 338 sales trip report, 32 salutations, 190, 192, 196 Saroyan, William, 14 scannable resumés, 382–384 sealing wax, 187, 188 search engine optimizers, 286 secondary audience, 34 secondary research, 35, 283–284, 330 secretaries, security personnel, 436 Seinfeld, Jerry, 149 self-awareness, 432 -self pronouns, 456–457 self-regulation, 432 semi-block style, 190 semicolons, 346–347, 463, 464 sensitivity, 69–75 in bad news messages, 247 cross-cultural communication and, 103–104 sentence definitions, 274–275 499 500 Index sentence-level outline, 42 sentences, 457 imperative, 270–271 length of, 268, 317 run-on, 457 sentence fragments vs., 458 September 11 terrorist attacks, 53 sexist language, 2, 70–71, 473–474 shariah law, 350 short documents, 41–42 shorthand, 17–18, 20, 199 Short messaging System (SMS), 17–18, 20 sic, 467 signatures, 187 simplicity, simplified style, of letters, 190 single-source contracts, 314 slang, 56, 57, 59 slide presentations See also PowerPoint Smith, Frederick W., 357 snail mail, 187, 196 Sobeys Inc., 30, 31 sob stories, 220 social skills, 432 Society of Human Resource Management, 411 soft skills, 7–9 solicited proposals, 311–315 sound, 295–296 sources See information; research assessing, 287 documentation of, 297–302 internet, 287 for table data, 291 spam, 2, 16, 178, 196, 199, 216 spam filters, 194 spatial order, 43, 44 spelling, 176 Blackberry, computer checkers of, 46 in emails, 178 in job applications, 389 in proposals, 316–317 in resumés, 372 sponsorship scandal, 312 stakeholders, 30, 215 standard English, 56–59 Statistics Canada, 358 status reports, 338, 343 stereotypes, 102, 425 stick notes, stress interviews, 406 Stuff of Thought, The (Pinker), 53 style, 58–59 academic, 59 business, 59 informal, 59 style guides, 56 subject lines, 194–195 subject–verb agreement, 304–305, 459–461, 476 summary of qualifications, 376–377, 379 in reports, 324, 325, 334, 335 supervisors, 34 sure, surely, 451 surveys, 30 on advertising, 35 on apologizing, 234, 237 on bad news messages, 248 of entry-level job skills, 435–436 on job interviews, 410 of librarians, 284 as market research, 358 as primary research, 283 on reference checks, 411 on resumé errors, 385 on writing as job skill, 177 sweetheart deals, 314 symbols, 293 sympathy appeals, 222 T tables, 289–291 of contents, 334 tact, 121 Tannen, Deborah, 103 teams See also collaboration technical writing, 262 technology, 2–5 global village and, 102 history of, increased use of, 173 telephone history of, 3, 15–16 long distance, 15–16 outlining for, 41–42 taking messages, 439 at work, 438–439 in workplace, 443 templates for business plans, 352 commercially produces, 48 company, 46–48 limitations of, 48 in PowerPoint, 295 Index text messages, 4, 17–18 etiquette for, 20 informality of, 17 uses and abuses of, 19–20 thank-you letters, 307, 418 thesis statements, 316 Thompson, Clive, 139 Thoreau, Henry David, 165 three-point planning, 32–37 ties, 263 time email and, 174 in meetings, 121 timekeeper, 121–122 time management, 23, 113 time zones, 15 Tim Hortons, 308–309 timing appropriate, 33 networking and, 401 of proposals, 317 title pages, 334 titles of oral presentation, 152–153 of oral presentations, 148 of tables, 291 Toastmasters International, 149 tone, 60–63 in complaints, 224–225 in negative messages, 238 topics, 151 touch, 112–113 Tracy, Brian, 218 transitions, 295–296 transmittal letters, 334 travelling, 23 Trump, Donald, 117 Tsawwassen First Nation, 107 Tufte, Edward, 138, 140, 148, 165 Turner Broadcasting Network, 81 Twain, Mark, 46 Twitter, 12 typewriter, U Unilever Canada, 80 United Arab Emirates, 110 units, 474 unsolicited proposals, 315–317 usage, 452–453 user focus approach, 261–262 V vague wording, 68, 470 value added, 325 Vancouver Olympic Bid Committee, 307 Vanderbilt University, 22 veal fattening pens, 424 verbal channels of communication, 81–86 verbs agreement of, 459–461 as content words, 68 hidden, 68 linking (non-action), 450 nouns forms of, 471–472 for resumés, 374, 379 simple, 67–68 videos, 293 for instructions, 263 in PowerPoint, 294–295 video stores, 356 viral marketing, 80–81 virtual meetings, 133–134 visuals, 158 editing, 331–332 voice active vs passive, 468–469 for oral presentations, 154–158 voice recognition systems, 174 W warning labels, 259–260, 265 Warringer, Keith, 283 wasted words, 469–470 we, us, 456 webcrawling, 286 websites in APA style, 300 assessing, 287 employment, 368–369, 382–384 for instructions, 264 in MLA style, 302 networking and, 398 reliability of, 281–282, 284–287 resumés on, 382–384 who, whom, 56 Whorf, Benjamin, 70 Wikipedia, 281–282, 286 wisdom, 432 Woods, Tiger, 33 word choice See also language appropriateness of, 57 brand names and, 55 clichés, idioms, and jargon and, 469–470 commonly confused words and, 452–453 501 502 Index word choice (continued) connotation and, 58, 75–76 content and functions words and, 68–69 denotation and, 56 doublespeak and, 55 euphemisms and, 12 importance of, 28 for instructions, 263 low information content words and, 469–470 noun forms of verbs and, 471–472 plain English and, 468 repetition and vague words and, 470 in reports, 329 standard English and, 56 style and tone and, 58–63 vague vs precise, 68 verbs and, 67–68, 374, 379 wordiness and redundancies and, 64 wordiness, 63–66 word of mouth, 235 words as element of communication, 11–12 new and changing, 53–54 non-, 57–58 workplace See also workplace communication cell phones in, 416–439 common areas, 440–441 etiquette for, 439–444 odours in, 439–440 telephone manners in, 438–439, 443 workplace communication, 424–444 cell phones and, 439 in difficult situations, 429 etiquette for, 439–444 with frontline workers, 436–437 with supervisors and bosses, 433–436 telephone and, 438–439 works cited list, 299, 302, 336 World Wide Web, World Wildlife Federation, 30 writing process for instructions, 262–268 organization in, 44–46 planning in, 31 writing templates, 46–48 written channels of communication, 86–88 written records, 82–83, 86 Y Yahoo!, 286, 288 You Just Don’t Understand (Tannen), 103 Youtube, 80, 95 Yunus, Muhammad, 349, 350–351, 356 .. .business communication contexts and controversies les hanson darryl hammond red river college red river college university of manitoba university of winnipeg business communication contexts and. .. discussion Business Plans Business Communication: Contexts and Controversies includes a chapter that provides an introduction to the writing of business plans—a task that will be faced by many business. .. Kathryn Davis authored the Appendix, “Grammar, Punctuation, and Plain English.” business communication contexts and controversies Business Communication in the Twenty-First Century CHAPTER LEARNING