Writing & Speaking at Work - Softcover

Bailey, Edward

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0136088554 ISBN 13: 9780136088554

Publisher: Pearson, 2010

Synopsis

The practical advice needed to improve writing and speaking skills for the workplace.

Writing & Speaking at Work delivers practical insight and instruction to help readers become effective communicators no matter where their careers may take them. Instead of detailing the various communications theories, this text focuses on the two critical communication needs of business people: writing and speaking.

The fifth edition features a new chapter on how to prepare executive summaries.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Writing & Speaking at Workdelivers practical insight and instruction to help readers become effective communicators no matter where their careers may take them.

What is Good Writing?; Developing a Good Style; Using Examples and Comparisons; Making Your Page Look Inviting; Making Your Main Point Easy to Find; Preparing Executive Summaries; Illustrating Your Ideas; Getting Beyond Periods and Commas; Learning Commonsense Rules; Making the Most of E-mail; Writing for the Web; Preparing a Resume and Cover Letter; Documenting Your Sources; What Is Business Speaking?; Using Good Techniques of Delivery; Developing a Clear Structure; Designing Visual Aids; Giving a Presentation Using a Computer; Rehearsing, Setting Up the Room, and Overcoming Nervousness; Preparing an Annotated Presentation

For anyone interested in polishing their professional writing and speaking skills.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

A famous adventure writer once said, "When I write, I try to leave out the parts people skip."

I've tried to do the same thing in this book. You'll find this book is shorter than most other business communication texts, but it's full of practical advice. That advice comes from my years as a college teacher and as a frequent consultant to business and government.

Instead of dealing with various theories of communication, this book focuses directly on the two most important communication skills that people in business need: writing and speaking. The first half of the book covers writing; the second half, speaking.

While writing this book, I've pictured myself talking to my readers, as though they are my students in the classroom. As a result, I've adopted a straightforward, spoken style with—I hope—an accessible tone.

What's New?

This new edition, in addition to updates throughout, has added an important new chapter: Chapter 10, "Writing for the Web."

My goal is to help students dramatically improve their ability to write and speak—so they can be confident rather than self-conscious or embarrassed. The target audience is anybody in college at whatever level. The majority of my students are graduates in our MBA program. They're successful adults who want practical help they can apply today and every day in the future. Most of the examples in the book are from their work.

But undergraduate students want the same thing graduate students do, and this book aims to help them too.

If you want a quick overview of the book, Chapter 1 is a short introduction to writing and Chapter 13 is a short introduction to speaking. They're good places to start.

Edward P Bailey
Marymount School of Business Administration
Arlington, Virginia

Edition details

• Publisher: Pearson
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0136088554
• ISBN 13: 9780136088554
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 5
• Number of pages: 240