PROFESSIONAL

COMMUNICATIONS
COMM1034
Week 2 Professor Li Koo (li.koo@georgebrown.ca)
Agenda
 Review - Week 1
 Getting to know you  What is your dream job?
 Meeting Minutes – Notetakers/Reviewers
 Planning Your Message
 Who is your Audience?
 Cultural Dimensions
 In-Class Activity
 Homework: Dream job description
 Proposed Group Agreement
 Check in about 5-10min break.
 Make sure everyone is able to contribute
 more talkative people: show a little restraint
 quieter people: your contributions are very welcome
 Only one person speaks at a time
 put up your hand if you want to speak and wait for your turn.
 Respect each others' opinions even/especially if you don't agree with them
 Participate!
 Use inclusive language, use *I* statements
 Confidentiality - some things shouldn't be repeated outside of this room
 Be conscious of time - help stick to it, or negotiate for more
 Mobile phones airplane/silent/vibrate mode to minimize disruptions
Meeting Minutes
 Be Prepared
• Take handwritten notes
 Structure your notes
 Be selective
 Topics covered (should be part of the agenda)
 Action items
 Decisions
 Items that you didn’t have time for that need to be “parked”
 Questions that need to be answered
 Key facts (Though not if they are documented somewhere else – list the
reference)
 Use Symbols & Abbreviations
 Type up your notes & Share them

 http://www.businessproductivity.com/how-to-take-good-meeting-minutes/
Meeting Minutes Rubric
Meeting Minutes Rubric
How to Write Meeting Minutes

https://www.wildapricot.com/articles/how-to-write-meeting-minutes
How to Take Notes in Class: The 5 Best Methods

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AffuwyJZTQQ
Planning your Message
5 W’s + How?
Know Your Purpose

 Why am I sending this message?

 What do I hope to achieve?
 Who am I sending this to?
 What…
 How…
 Where…
Copyright © 2019 by Nelson Education Ltd.
 Use PAIBOC when creating your message

P What is your PURPOSE in communicating?

A Who is your AUDIENCE?

Now, based on your purpose and audience, answer the

following questions:

I What INFORMATION must your message include?

B What BENEFITS will the audience get?
O What OBJECTIONS can you expect from your
audience?
C How will the CONTEXT affect audience response?
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The Communication Process

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Defining Business Writing Goals

 Purposeful
 Solve problems and convey information
 Economical
 Clear and concise
 Audience oriented
 Receiver’s perspective
Copyright © 2019 by Nelson Education Ltd.
Who is the Audience?
 Learning Objectives

Knowledge of
 The needs of the audiences who may evaluate your
messages
 Variables in the communication process

 The importance of adapting your message to your

audience
Skills to
 Analyze your communication audiences

 Begin to shape the content, organization, and form of

your messages to meet audience needs

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Anticipate and Profile the Audience

 Primary audience
 Secondary audience

Copyright © 2019 by Nelson Education Ltd.

Asking the Right Questions to Profile
Your Audience

Copyright © 2019 by Nelson Education Ltd.

Real Life Scenario: Awards
 https://www.georgebrown.ca/financialaid/external_awards_scholarships/

 CPAC-TDIMM Scholarship
Criteria: Awarded to a post-secondary student who has completed at least two semesters of full-time
studies (minimum 60% course load per semester) at a recognized post-secondary institution in
Canada. Candidates must demonstrate outstanding academic records and active community
involvement in a leadership role.
Value: $3,000
Deadline: January
FlipKey Study Abroad Scholarship
FlipKey is providing a scholarship to students enrolled as a fulltime student in a current or upcoming
study abroad program. Applicants must submit a 1000 word essay to press@flipkey.com describing
why travel is important to him or her.
Value: $1000.00
Deadline: August 15th

 CHFT Diversity Scholarship

Criteria: Awarded to a student who lives in a CHFT member co-operative entering his or her first
year of college, based on financial need and a positive contribution to his or her school and/or
community.
Value: Varies
Deadline: February
Example
Real Life Scenario:
Social Innovation Hubsters
ARE YOU:
 A Self-directed and a highly motivated learner, able to work
independently and in a team
 Solution- focused and open to experimenting & leading projects that bring
about social change and social justice
 Committed to working with marginalized communities to facilitate social
change
 Someone with strong interpersonal, group and communication skills

EXTRA QUALIFICATIONS include:

 Past Experience working or volunteering in the social services sector or in a
social enterprise
 An ability to think outside the box to develop creative & innovative solutions
for addressing social issues
 Project management and social media skills
Real Life Scenario: Typical Requirements
APPLICATION PROCESS (for Social Innovation Hub):
 All interested students are required to submit a resume and a 1-
page letter
 The letter will need to outline the following:

 Why you believe you are best suited for this placement

 What you are passionate about

 How you can add value to work being done in the SIHub.

 Two references, one from a Professor, and another from a volunteer

or placement supervisor
 The SIHub Management team along with the faculty team will
review the applications and select acceptable candidates. All
applicants will be notified of their acceptance status via email.
 Focus on Audience

• Who is my audience?
• Why is audience so important?
• What do I need to know about my audience?
• How do I use audience analysis?
• What if my audiences have different needs?
• How do I reach my audience?

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 Maximize the success of your message
by applying audience-focused strategies

1. Adapt the message to the specific audience.

2. Show the audience how they benefit.
3. Anticipate and overcome objections.
4. Adopt a good attitude.
5. Use visuals to clarify.
6. Specify what you need from the audience.

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 Audiences for a Marketing Campaign

Five Kinds of Audiences

Initial Is the first to receive the message

Primary Decides whether to accept or act on the
message
Secondary Comments on the message or implements
recommendations
Gatekeeper Has the power to stop the message
Watchdog Has power and may base actions on the
message
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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 Consider audience and the
communication process
Communication is the transfer of meaning: both
sender and receiver, using multiple symbols,
reach agreement on the intended meaning.

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Isn’t Coffee just Coffee?
 What Do I Need To Know About My
Audience?

When it comes to your audience, you need to know

everything that’s relevant to what you’re writing or
talking about.
Empathy allows you to be
“audience-centered”, and
critical thinking skills help you
to analyze and make
decisions about information
you have gathered about
your audience.
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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Building Messages That Suit the
Audience
 Spotlighting audience benefits
 Empathy

 Cultivating a “you” view

 Second-person pronouns
 Sounding conversational but professional
 Diction

Copyright © 2019 by Nelson Education Ltd.

Levels of Diction

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Applying Expert Writing Techniques
 Be positive rather than negative
 Pay attention to tone
 Express courtesy
 Use polite phrases
 Employ bias-free language
 Be aware
 Choose plain language and familiar words
 Use appropriate language
 Use precise, vigorous words
 Expand word choice
Copyright © 2019 by Nelson Education Ltd.
Cultural Dimensions
Edward T. Hall: High and Low Context Cultural
Taxonomy
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
High and Low Context Cultural taxonomy

https://youtu.be/qKViQSnW-UA
https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/
Hofstede’s Cultural Taxonomies
Summary

Analyzing your audience is key to making

decisions on the best way to “reach” that
audience.

Effective audience analysis includes

 identifying the individual or group,

 examining who that person or group is,

 and shaping the message based on its purpose

and on the needs of the audience.

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In-Class Activity
 Analyzing Social Media Users - Exercises and Problems
 How useful are social media posts for audience analysis? What does membership in specific social media
sites say about its users? What do members' posts—including text and visuals—demonstrate about them?
What might you assume about people based on their social media involvement?
 Instructions:
 Choose two-three other people to team with. *Max total of four people in a group.
 Exchange access to at least two different social media—on Facebook and Twitter, for example—with your
teammates. Each of you should have access to the social media activity of two other members, on two
different sites.
 Review your teammates' social media activities: read posts, examine photos and visuals.
 Based on this review, make notes on your assumptions about your teammates'
 Discourse communities
 Age, education, marital status, number of children, home ownership, location
 Values and beliefs
 Personalities
 Exchange your impressions with each other; explore which assumptions are valid and which are not.
In-Class Activity – Hubster or Dream job
 Find a job that you are interested in or reflect on the Hubster requirements
 Print out the job description and bring it in.
Next week we will:
 Get into Groups of 3-4
 Review Job Samples and apply the following process:
 PAIBOC

 Read the qualifications for the position and note each time
communication skills that are mentioned.
 What skills do you have, don’t have and need to improve?
 Outline the skills you have, what experiences you have and what sets
you apart, etc.
 Draft a short email of introduction to request an interview and identify
why you would be a strong candidate.
Real Life Scenario: Hubsters
ARE YOU:
 A Self-directed and a highly motivated learner, able to work
independently and in a team
 Solution- focused and open to experimenting & leading projects that bring
about social change and social justice
 Committed to working with marginalized communities to facilitate social
change
 Someone with strong interpersonal, group and communication skills

EXTRA QUALIFICATIONS include:

 Past Experience working or volunteering in the social services sector or in a
social enterprise
 An ability to think outside the box to develop creative & innovative solutions
for addressing social issues
 Project management and social media skills
Real Life Scenario: Hubsters
APPLICATION PROCESS:
 All interested students are required to submit a resume and a 1-
page letter
 The letter will need to outline the following:

 Why you believe you are best suited for this placement

 What you are passionate about

 How you can add value to work being done in the SIHub.

 Two references, one from a Professor, and another from a volunteer

or placement supervisor
 The SIHub Management team along with the faculty team will
review the applications and select acceptable candidates. All
applicants will be notified of their acceptance status via email.
Practice! Chapter 2 Editing Challenge
To fine-tune your grammar and mechanics skills, in each of the next chapters you will be editing a message. The email below is a
short report about beverage sweeteners from a researcher to his boss. The message suffers from proofreading, spelling, grammar,
punctuation, and other writing faults. Study the guidelines in the Grammar/Mechanics Handbook as well as the lists of Confusing
Words and Frequently Misspelled Words at the end of the book to sharpen your skills.
To: Vicky Miranda <v.miranda@dino.ca>
From: Aliriza Kasra <a.kasra@dino.ca>
Subject: Sending Information on Beverage Sweeteners
Cc:
Bcc:

Vicky,
Per your request, herewith is a short report of the investigation you assigned to Oliver
Orenstein and I pertaining to sweeteners. As you probaly already know, Coca-Cola co.
and PepsiCo inc. market many drinks using sweeteners that are new to the market.
Totally awesome!

*Refer to handout
Diagnostic – Grammar Challenge
Grammar/Mechanics Challenge – 1 (p.29)
MEMO
To: Jessica Wu-Santana
From: Martin Fitzgerald, Manager
CC:
Date: November 4, 2014
Re: Suggestion for Telecommuting Successfully
To help you become an effective telecommuter Jessica, we have a few suggestion to share with you. I understand you will be working at home
for the next nine months. The following guidelines should help you stay in touch with us and complete your work satisfactory.
Be sure to check your message bored daily, and respond immediate to those who are trying to reach you.
Check your email at least 3 times a day, answer all message promply. Make sure that you sent copys of relevant message to the appropriate
office staff.
Transmit all spread sheet work to Scott Florio in our computer services department. He will analyze each week’s activitys, and update all
inventorys.
Provide me with end of week reports’ indicating the major accounts you serviced.
In preparing your work area you should make sure you have adequate space for your computer printer fax and storage. For security reasons
you’re working area should be off limits to your family and friends.
We will continue to hold once a week staff meetings on Friday’s at 10 a.m. in the morning. Do you think it would be possible for you to attend
1 or 2 of these meeting. The next one is Friday November 17th.
I know you will enjoy working at home Jesica. Following these basic guidelines should help you accomplish your work, and provide the office
with adequate contact with you.
Solution