Tips on Proposal Writing

Before this presentation I had no idea exactly what a proposal was.  Michael Ray Taylor who gave this presentation was one of the best public speakers I have seen.  This presentation was very well planned out, and he is very knowledgeable about the topic.  The approach part of the proposal should show that you fully believe in the company and what they are doing.  This will reflect confidence in your part, and will give more credibility to the proposal.  The professionalism and commitment part should provide credentials and work history.  This shows the person being proposed to that you have experience and knowledge in related fields.  This makes the proposers job easier and creates trust in your firm.  By looking at the example proposals a lot of work and editing seems necessary.  No one wants to have proposals that has math mistakes or costs that are different.  This link that I found http://www.professionalpractice.asme.org/communications/introproposals/index.htm has examples and tips to writing a good proposal.

Effective Proofreading

I believe proofreading is very underrated.  The way people write in e-mails, memos, contracts, and documents effects they way people are viewed.  Everytime someone writes something it should be checked over and over for accuracy.  The smallest mistake could jeopardize the entire paper and the competency of the person’s character.  Using scrap paper or making a rough draft is useful in all types of writing.  I know even when I write 1 line emails to my teachers I try and make sure there are no mistakes.  When teachers grade your papers they could remember the sloppy e-mail you wrote them and it could effect the grade of your paper.  The presentation on this topic suggest to go backwards but I think they are better ways to proofread.  Going backwards may find spelling mistakes but it does not check the content of the paper.  Reading aloud or having multiple viewpoints are the best ways to proofread.  This link http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_edit.html explains the differences between proofreading and editing and explains when each technique is useful. 

Dealing with Complaints

I think the best way to deal with a  complaint is to put your self in the position of the person filing the complaint.  Some people say it is important to decided if the complaint is true or not, but I believe you should always trust the complaint.  Disagreeing and putting blame on a already angry person could create even more problems.  The customer should believe you are taking their claim seriously not matter what your personal opinion.  Law suits and the loss of customers are what usually happens if a complaint is not dealt with.  Employees forget that customers have friends and that they refer them to different places.  Referrals are one of the best ways to attract new customers, and complaints have negative affects on these peoples viewpoints.  The best thing that can come from a complaint is a resolved situation.  People understand that bad things sometimes happen and most are willing to forgive and forget if they are treated with respect.  I believe that a sufficient customer service department is the most overlooked department in a business.  This link http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/157/audio-dealing-with-customer-complaints/ is an audio clip that provides good information on dealing with complaints.

Tips to Giving an Effective Presentation

The main tip should be to do your homework and prepare well for the presentation.  Many people can get nervous talking in front of people, and the more practice the easier they are to do.  I have done many presentations as a marketing major and started off with little experience and was very bad at them.  After every presentation I completed I became more confident and better at each one.  This is why it is important to practice and be well prepared.  Speaking is another tip that makes a presentation more effective.  It is important to smile and seem as knowledgeable as possible on the topic that is being presented.  This alwaysmakes for a better presentation and makes it more interesting for the audience.  Some minor tips that I can give from personal experience are to dress and appear as professional as possible.  Even if your presentation is not perfect a professional attitude will show that you care about the topic and have spend time on the presentation.  Another tip is to provide some multimedia objects into the presentation.  Not only does this take up some time, it also will engage the audience.  This link http://www.cgl.uwaterloo.ca/~csk/presentations.html provides tips for any presentation and will make a presenter less nervous. 

Part II Write Up the Corporate Ladder

Part II focused mostly on questions about about peoples writing preferences.  A lot of the questions were designed to explore the different ways people write.  This part will help when we write the Profile, and will gives us some ideas of questions we might ask.  I think these questions can be used for mostly any interview situation and does not pertain to certain occupations like Part III.  One thing that scared me about Part II was some of the responses were short and did not have a lot of detail.  The person I interview will have to have more personality so I will be able to fully write the Profile assignment.  I liked the interview question that asked if that any final thoughts or opinions.  This allows the person being interviewed to speak about any thoughts they had during the interview.  Usually you will be able to tell how the interview goes if the person complains or simply answers no.  If the person goes into more detail you know they are passionate about the subject and appreciate the time you took to interview them. 

Part III Write Up the Corporate Ladder

I think Part III had a lot of good questions but I do not know if all of them will work for my interview.  These questions were all for business associates and I do not know how they will work if I asked them to a sports writer.  These questions mostly were what questions are asked during interviews at a typical work day.  I think the questions that asks about his specific career will work since the business world is somewhat the same.  I guess a newspaper is considered a business, but this section wont be as helpful as the first two.  Part III emphasized that good writers speak and write well.  I think this is a good point since people in professions have to write like they speak to be consistent.  Although this part does not pertain to my interview it does work for my profession.  In this business world they way questions are asked is important to the way they r answered.  Another point that was made is people write a lot more then they think. 

Profile Assignment

I think my mom would be an interesting person to interview to see her opinions about her writing practices.  She works for a bank and uses a lot of different writing techniques.  Almost half of her day consists of writing.

I also want to interview someone who has written a  fiction novel.  I think this would be very interesting to see where they get their ideas from, and what tips they have for personal writing.

Another idea would maybe be another classmate.  They do some of the same work that I do, and I wonder what they do differently then i do.  This would be easy to relate to, and would provide insight for future classes. 

Ideas about Assignment

I Will be interviewing Dan O’Neill Sr. for the STL Post Dispatch.  He is my roommate’s dad, so I should have no problem with him cooperating.  He mostly writes about golf, but when it is not golf season he writes his own column about what is going on in the world of sports.  This column has a lot of humor built in and touches on odd sports like fencing and different controversial issues going on.  I will ask him about his technique to writing, his favorite column to write, and what he sees himself writing about in the future.  I believe he only writes for the Post but I am not sure.  The challenges of this project will definitely be the deadline.  2 weeks is not a lot of time to set up an interview and to write a report, bio, and who knows what else.  I guess I will have to contact Dan as soon as possible.  Hopefully I can get it done but I’m sure the more time the better the interview and report would be.  I think it will actually we interesting to see exactly what he likes to write about.  Where, when, environment, time frame?I usually write at night or whenever I have the time.  I write in my room on my laptop with no distractions like noise or the TV.  I have to write with my fan on so I cannot hear my roommates singing in the shower or making other noise.  Sometimes I will put my headphones on to drown out the noise from other people.  I usually write an entire paragraph and then go back and edit and make changes.  I try to not edit until I am done with the paragraph so I don’t forget any key ideas that come to my head at random moments.  Once the entire paper is written I go back and edit the entire thing about twice.  The next morning before the paper is due, I edit it one more time.  This gives me a chance to let time pass and look at the paper with a new point of view.

Chapters 10 – 12

The beginning of chapter 10 is where I believe the tile of the book “Naked Conversation is derived”.  This chapter explains that everything you post on your blog should be real and express your true self.  Since people all over the world can view blogs, it is important for readers to understand the feelings and emotions you are trying to portray in your blog.  Being naked is how the book puts it, but what I believe they are trying to say is let people know whom you are and where you are coming from.  I didn’t realize that there are people out there called blogger vigilantes that can expose your false entries and make you and your blog seem useless.  It is important to keep these things in mind during every blog entry because one poorly written statement can lose credibility for every other blog entry that you have made.  A good blog should build trust, interest, awareness, and enthusiasm.  I believe enthusiasm is the most important because it keeps readers interested about the material, and keeps them excited about posts from you in the future.  One of my favorite tips in chapter 11 was to read a bunch of blogs before you start.  I needed to do this before I stared blogging because I thought I wanted to see what other entries looked like.  What I found that was more useful was to see what bloggers actually did that I didn’t like.  I found many entries that were boring and were really a waste of time to read.  I also liked to see the responses that people wrote that gave helpful hints and feedback on their personal opinions.  In chapter 12 a good point that was made was if you make a mistake fix it quickly and take responsibility.  This lets your readers know that you are not hiding anything about yourself, and that you are human and make mistakes like everyone.  Readers will respect a honest blogger before someone who lies about information during their blogs.

Chapter 4-6

I think the very first quote of chapter 4 pertains to what was going on this weekend.  I believe freedom of press and the First Amendment right should only by granted to the people that have earned it.  Like blogging, anything you do out in public can legally be published.  Every time we post on our website recruiters and future employees have open access to it.  During the NSM rally this weekend many people who attended had their picture taken and published without their consent.  Mark Cuban the owner of the NBA team the Mavericks found out this first hand.  He was posting on his own personal blog ignorant comments about officiating and other players in the league.  This is his right to post whatever he wants, but many people from the press took what he wrote and made a big deal about it.  There is no doubt in my mind that while Mark Cuban still is the owner of the Mavericks his team will face diversity from officials every time they step on the court solely due to Cuban’s blog.  Brian Bailey from the Fellowship Church explains the beneficial purposes that blogs represent.  Bailey explained how he now is exposed no new ideas and has learned to listen to other peoples point of views.  This is a good lesson because the more different opinions people are exposed to, the better prepared they are to deal with them.  Everyone should be allowed to voice their freedom of speech, and people with different ideas should show respect while explaining their opinions of disagreement.  I think a good point made by the 5 success tips are to write on issues you know and care about.  So far the blogs I have been to have been a lot of pointless information about things that are common knowledge.  When people like me view blogs we believe what is said on the blogs to be of high quality.  When people ramble and speak about things they do not know, it makes information in general on the internet seem to not be credible.