Chapter 12 Reflection

I don't mind giving talks and oral presentations; in fact, I usually enjoy giving them!  I was pleased with the mention of TED Talks early on in the chapter.  Most TED speakers are eloquent with their speech and really know how to captivate the audience with their words.  Although each speaker is different and they all present on a wide variety of subjects, all speakers seem to have amazing abilities with giving oral presentations.  Another point I really appreciate from the chapter is the mention of gestures.  I am a dancer and a kinesthetic learner, and I find it useful when speakers use their hands to help demonstrate what they are talking about.  When I speak, I tend to use gestures myself quite regularly.  Last of all, I would like to mention the chart found on page 190.  The chart lists a variety of problems matched up with possible solutions.  I found this to be very useful.  Of the problems listed on the chart, Boredom is possibly my biggest worry.  I can handle misunderstandings and disruptive behavior, but boredom is something I don't want my audience to ever experience.

Chapter 11 Reflections

First off, I was very pleased with the way they used the word “visual aids” instead of “art” in this chapter.  I believe “visual aids” is a more accurate way of describing the concepts being taught.  I am a dancer; I am an artist.  The principles I read about are very useful when considering the application of visual aids in written documents, and it was interesting to assess the crossovers into dance.  The color wheel was perhaps one of my favorite points in the chapter as it explained complementary colors, and triad/primary colors.  While I am mostly a kinesthetic learner, visuals are major supports that help me learn and understand new content.  Charts, images, and even handouts can make a world of difference for me when engaging in the learning process.  As a brief rant, I highly disliked the explanation of shapes in the chapter: “horses are shaped like horses, violins are shaped like violins, etc.” (page 170).  Overall, the chapter was insightful and offered great tips for enhancing business papers and presentations.

Chapter 10 Reflections

Chapter 10 did an excellent job with explaining the methods of writing business reports.  I found it interesting, however, that the guidelines and techniques given are not much different from those given for writing report papers for school.  The chapter quickly explained the basic steps for creating a report: Data gathering, composition, and revision.  These steps are commonly found when creating any form of report, whether in the business world or not.  One of the main differences, though, is the cover letter which is presented in the front matter of a long report.  Aside from the cover letter, all of then other aspects of a business report seemed familiar in relation to other written reports for school.  The examples at the end of the chapter were also helpful in seeing the principles in use.  I cannot imagine writing a 100 page report, but I feel confident in the ability to do so now that I can see how simple the formatting of a business letter is.

Chapter 7 Reflections

Between this M COM class and the English course I was taking earlier this semester, a lot of stress has been placed upon the importance of creating resumes, cover letters, and other documents related to seeking employment.  Both classes provide valuable information, yet I found more valuable tips from the M COM class through chapter 7.  Not only does this chapter provide detailed descriptions and examples of these documents, but it also gives helpful information for participating in interviews-- as the potential employee and even as the employer.  Interviews are a critical part of the hiring process, thus making it even more important for the job seeker to perform well in interviews.  One last tip that I appreciated from the readings was the impact of writing a thank-you letter as a follow-up to an interview.  I have never written a thank-you/follow-up letter, but I can now see the importance of doing so.  If I was an employer and I received a follow-up letter from a potential employee, I would be impressed and perhaps consider them more seriously for the job.

Chapter 6 Reflections

Before reading chapter 6, I hadn't realized how many different types of documents there are in the business world.  I am a dance major, and this M COM class is my first experience dealing with business writing.  I can write stories, research papers, and letters galore, yet business writing is still a new creature for me.  Despite the differences, there are still many commonalities between business writings and the writings I'm already familiar.  In all genre's, importance is placed on the purpose of the writing, the intended audience, and the strategy for achieving the purpose.  Something that stood out to me in chapter 6 was the information about different formats for writing letters.  The three formats discussed are full-block, modified-block, and simplified.  I will need to practice writing it each of these formats before I can comfortably identify them and understand them, but this chapter gave a wonderful guide to grasping them.

Chapter 5 Reflections

Sometimes I fall victim to thinking that my first drafts of writing projects are acceptable, especially when under a time crunch.  Chapter 5 clearly explains, though, how valuable it is to revise and edit text.  This helps with clarity, maintaining credibility, and truthful expressions.  A great method for helping with the revising process is to have a peer go over the text and have them offer feedback.  Knowledgeable editors are valuable, so someone that can provide truthfully helpful feedback is important to have.  I found it useful to go over the Ten Common Proofreaders’ Marks.  I had already seen many of them before, but some of them were new.  Now that I know all of these ten marks, editing papers ought to be more effective.  As a final note, I am not sure why it is necessary to have so many acronyms for revising and editing.  I wonder if DOCS could be just as valuable on a paragraph and sentence level, thus doing away with CLOUD and SPELL.  I understand what each of these acronyms is trying to portray, and with the regular overlap in values I believe they could be grouped together.

Chapter 4 Reflections

There are many ways to make potentially boring and difficult-to-read documents more vivid and interesting.  Some of the ways mentioned in Chapter 4 that are worth implementing are use of typography, spacing, alignment, and visual aids.  The book itself did a great job at implementing the techniques as they were being explained.  The headings are diverse and interesting, and images are found throughout the chapter to enhance the teachings.  I was disappointed, though, to find that ART was used as a title for the subheadings of Tables, Bar and Line Graphs, Pie Graphs, Photographs and Clip Art, and Miscellaneous Graphics.  Art is a pathos strategy that can help with logos and ethos.  I would debate that “art” is not the correct term for grouping these elements of visual aids.  In fact, that is probably the best term for this section:  Visual Aids.  The title of the chapter is Enhancing Visual Appeal, thus making it even more appropriate to refer to these artifacts as “Visual Aids” rather than “Art”.  Art is chiefly used for beauty and emotional influence with the expression of creative skills.  I, for one, cannot imagine a time when someone was emotionally moved by a bar graph (but that’s not to say that it hasn’t happened).  And now, to get off my soap box, I believe this chapter is very useful and informative.  I will surly reference this chapter in the future.

Chapter 3 Reflections

When composing written messages, careful attention must be given to the tone of voice and articulation of words.  Most people like to brush through their writings without much thought.  However, the more clear and concise the writing is, the more likely it is that people will receive the outcomes they are looking for.  From the Chapter 3 readings, I found it interesting to learn about types of logic fallacies.  I know that I have fallen victim to using a large number of those fallacies listed.  The rooted concern with fallacies is when writings become too self-serving, and then as a result end up ruining the argument or informative statement in the long-run.  As writings develop, coherency is an important quality to search for.  In relation to coherency, I found it interesting that one-sentence paragraphs can be acceptable.  I sometimes feel as though my paragraphs have to be at least three sentences long, but this reading proved me wrong!  The Chapter 3 reading helped me in many ways while preparing my one-page memo (with OABC  format).

Chapter 2 Reflections

I learned from chapter two about valuable tools to help plan and outline messages.  Top-down approaches are my preferred way to outline a message, but bottom-up methods are sometimes utilized.  Of all of the strategies (between top-down and bottom-up) I am most comfortable with the tree diagram.  I use this method when writing professional letters, essays, and sometimes even journal entries.  It helps me keep my thoughts organized in a manageable way.  Another impactful lesson from the reading is the five outline tests.  Among the tests, inclusion and exclusion are probably my greatest weaknesses, although I don’t think that I’m terrible with them.  I know that I can be more mindful of both the details I should include and also the details I ought to exclude.  Lastly, I appreciated learning about the rhetorical strategies from Aristotle.  Logos and Pathos will be valuable to remember when considering the audience and tone of a message.  I naturally want to speak to the pathos when writing, so it will be a good challenge for me to try writing to the logos more.

Chapter 1 Reflections

As a dance specialist and therapist, the way that I communicate will be very key to making sure that students and clients receive what they need in the most efficient and personal way.  Detailed plans and articulate notes will be necessary, and they must be organized in a manner that will be useful for others.  Although a lot of the work I do will be independent, there will still be time for collaboration with others in my department and field of study.  It will be critical for me to not only provide accurate and clear information, but I will need to be capable of listening and receiving information from others.  By developing the right listening skills and abilities to work with others, my research and works will be more acceptable and tangible for recipients.  I will be working closely with people of cultural variances and those with disabilities.  My communication with these people must be articulate and holistic.

Personal Biography

Rachel Marie Kimball was raised by Richard and Venice Kimball in Spanish Fork, Utah.  As the middle of five children, she enjoyed playing with her siblings but also learned to be independent.  When she was five years old, she began taking dance classes at a neighbors studio, and her mother began teaching her to play the piano.  Rachel continued to develop her love for the art as she danced at numerous studios and explored other interests such as playing the violin, singing, photography, and writing.

Travel is another one of Rachel's passions.  Although she was raised to live frugally, she has been blessed to visit places outside of Utah and even travel internationally.  Rachel has traveled to international places such as Mexico, Canada, Germany, France, and Hungary.  Her favorite places to visit have been those where she was able to take part in the culture by living among the people and serving them.  She lived in Hungary for nearly a year and a half as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  As she lived in Hungary, she learned to speak Hungarian and bonded with the people as she taught them about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This experience refined her abilities to work hard, seek learning, and to create healthy and long-lasting relationships with others.

Rachel is currently a student at Brigham Young University (BYU) where she is studying Dance Education.  Her time at BYU has given her opportunities to perform with different companies such as dancEnsemble and Kinnect.  She has been worked as a dance teacher at The Dance Conservatory and On Broadway Academy, and looks forward to teaching in the public schools after graduation.  Rachel would like to further her education by becoming a Dance/Movement Therapist and utilizing her skills in Psychotherapy.  She has a firm belief in the connections between the mind, body, and spirit, and knows that dance can be the medium through which people can strengthen and heal those connections.