Professional communication is being able to persuasively communicate ideas through verbal and written mediums. Expressing ideas through professional communication involves articulating your beliefs in a concise, organized, and inspiring manner. Verbal communication can be in the form of presentations, digital media, panels, etc. While written mediums can be in the form of a memo, report, resume, or proposal. In BA 352, we focused on 2 written forms and 1 verbal form of professional communication. I found these assignments to be particularly difficult and time consuming, because it required much more practice and revision.

Written
During the second week of class, Professor Bramhall lectured about the importance of the 3 factors in professional communication:

• Ethos–persuading by the character of the author
• Pathos–persuading by appealing to the reader’s emotions
• Logos–persuading by the use of reasoning

Equally incorporating these 3 factors is what sets successful professional writing apart from  the basic 5-paragraph-structure writing. Our first writing assignment was a professional memo to a mock committee in the Lundquist College of Business. After spending a week brainstorming, outlining, and revising for the first draft, I received positive and constructive feedback from the graders. Based on their grading rubric, I had clarity in my objectives, good structure and approach, and an effective conclusion. Unfortunately, I needed to establish more credibility (Ethos), and address the purpose of my memo earlier and consistently throughout my paper. In response to the feedback, I revised my paper and added a personal experience to gain creditability. This was effective, because I received a 97% on my final draft and the grader believed my memo to be convincing.

Memo Sample: Writing Assignment 1-Memo

Verbal
In BA 352, we spent much of our class time talking about “stickiness”–making your ideas memorable to the audience. In Chuck and Dan Heath’s book, Made to Stick, they discuss the impact that successful presentations can make for an audience. Using the techniques they offered cannot guarantee a foolproof presentation, but it will make a presentation much more memorable and enjoyable. Here are their 6 principles to SUCCESs:

• Simple–present the core message
• Unexpectedness–generate interest and curiosity
• Concreteness–visuals
• Credibility–give your idea credibility
• Emotions–make your audience feel something
• Stories–tell a story

Each principle brings the audience closer to understanding and believing in the idea that is presented. One of the most challenging assignments in BA 352 was the final proposal presentation. Among the 5 principles, my group and I struggled most with simplicity, credibility, and emotions. To bring more simplicity into our presentation, we created an outline for the different slides we wanted to incorporate. Then, we revisited our goals, objectives, and solution to create a concise and effective core message. This way, we were able to introduce our message in the beginning, and easily carry it throughout the presentation. To establish credibility, we interviewed the Assistant Director of Career Services in the Lunquist College of Business, and the Director of the Career Center at University of Oregon. In addition, we spent many hours researching data, in order to bring accurate information into the presentation.

Lastly, I believe my group and I could have brought more in terms of evoking emotion from the audience. To combat this issue, we needed more practice as a group. Even though my part in particular was the situation analysis–a portion that weighs more toward Logos–I could have been more enthusiastic when presenting. In general, I am a strong presenter, because I practice my lines, remind myself to talk slow, and make direct eye contact with the audience. For future presentations, I will improve myself by being more dynamic while presenting. With more practice, I will find ways to incorporate all 6 principles of stickiness and become a successful presenter.

Final Proposal Presentation Grade: 91%