Essentials of Business Communication 11th Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey Solution manual

 
 
Activities and Cases
 
1.1 Introduce Yourself (L.O. 1) This e-mail or memo is an excellent way to assess students’ skills and, at the same time, get to know them. Don’t grade this assignment, but be sure to write a friendly comment on all papers or send friendly e-mail replies to demonstrate that you have an interest in them as students and as individuals. You may want to use the profile function in your institution’s learning-management system to have students create professional profiles covering the information requested or additional information you may want to gather. This assignment may be revisited later in the term to practice professional online presence (e.g., in a LinkedIn profile) when you cover employment communication. If you are tech savvy and teach smaller classes, you may want to try introductions by tweet in 140 characters or fewer. These messages might include a tiny URL taking the recipient to a profile, website, or other virtual location. More information about using LinkedIn is provided in Chapter 13. 
 
1.2 Small-Group Presentation: Introduce Team Members (L.O. 1, 2)  Decide whether you wish each student to (a) interview a group member and introduce that person to the group or (b) introduce himself or herself to the class. Class size may help you decide. Encourage students to consider this a casual introduction. However, it is a good opportunity for students to not only learn about each other but also start to develop the skill of speaking in front of a group.
 
This informal oral assignment induces students to become aware of their employability skills. You could make it more structured by asking them to record in writing the information they learn in the interview to create a short biographical sketch. The main purpose of this assignment is to encourage students to start thinking about presenting themselves well on professional social media platforms such as LinkedIn and in other forums of public opinion. If students are not on LinkedIn yet, impress upon them that it’s about time they created an account! Many students are now urged to join LinkedIn in high school.
 
1.3 Social Media Inventory (L.O. 1, 3, 4)  The generalization that young people today are digital natives and as such must all be extremely tech savvy may not apply to all students, not even the millennials among them. Taking stock of students’ social media and technology use can be important for getting to know the class and its members’ preparedness. Assign the inventory activity to small groups or collect written responses from individuals if you fear that students might hesitate to admit that they do not fit the stereotype of the hyperconnected contemporary and do not own the latest electronics, particularly given that gadgets tend to be expensive. You may also want to ask about attitudes: how important are smartphones and staying connected with friends via text or Facebook to the students? Do they see any disadvantages in being connected nonstop?  
 
1.4 Soft Skills: Personal Strengths Inventory (L.O. 1)  Your students should submit a list of four categories of soft skills. Encourage them to frame statements that will be useful when they prepare a résumé later in the course. For example, under “Thinking and problem solving,” a student might write, “Learned new spreadsheet program and prepared cost projection for remodeling office,” or “Learn new software applications quickly and with little training.”
 
1.5 Rating Your Listening Skills (L.O. 2) This quiz focuses on good listening techniques as presented in the textbook. Although some of the answers are obvious, an interactive quiz presents an alternative learning mode that can pique student interest and reinforce good habits.
 
1.6 Listening: An In-Person or Virtual Social Media Interview (L.O. 2) The answers will vary. Students could brainstorm and discuss their interview questions in class or prepare questions at home. Then they could approach their interviewees in person, by phone, by e-mail, or via LinkedIn or Facebook. A special word of caution when contacting professionals on LinkedIn: Warn students not to relentlessly pursue random strangers, but to work from within their own established LinkedIn circle of professional acquaintances or their acquaintances’ contacts. This assignment could be done orally or in writing (e-mail, memo) individually, in small groups, or in class. The task could be expanded to a group oral presentation or written report. 
 
1.7 Listening and Nonverbal Cues: Skills Required in Various Careers (L.O. 2, 3) Student teams should generate lists of listening and nonverbal cues that include some of the following: good eye contact, avoiding being distracted by others, not interrupting, taking notes, paraphrasing instructions, asking pertinent questions in a nonthreatening manner, leaning forward, and showing empathy and compassion. Critical listening involves judging and evaluating what you are hearing. Discriminative listening is necessary when you must identify main ideas and understand an argument. Teams should generate cues and behaviors to reflect these forms of listening in relation to the professional roles they are analyzing.