module 25

Module 25 is all about Using Visuals. Visuals can be a great way to get and keep your audience’s attention through your whole presentation. There are many different ways to communicate with people and visuals are a way for people to see what you are talking about instead of just listening to the talk. Using visuals can help people understand your topic in a multitude of different ways.

I found out by reading this module that what kind of visuals is just as important as your topic. Choosing one type of visual over another can make or break your whole presentation. Tables should be used when you are using exact values. Pie charts should be used when comparing a group of ideas. Bar charts and line graphs can both be used when comparing two things.

I have always thought that by adding different colors to a visual would help the reader be able to differentiate between topics. The book says that you can use a few colors but they aren’t always useful. Sometimes simple is better because each part is important. When you add colors you create a sense that some aspects are more important than another. If you feel like one part is more important that only put that on your visual.

module 3

Module 3 is specifically directed to communicating across cultures. This is a very important part of business communication. With all of the diversity that surrounds us being able to communicate across cultures is very important. This module shows you exactly how to communicate in a way that everyone that you talk to will understand what you are trying to say.

I know that whenever you talk face to face that the body language that you use is very important. The book talks about the best way to use your body language positively. I knew that having your arms crossed was a sign of closed body position. One thing that I didn’t know was that crossed legs or legs being close together is a closed body position as well. I sit with my legs crossed all the time and I never knew that that was a sign of closed body position.

Something that I as found interesting that I didn’t know about before was that there are two kinds of cultures. Monochronic culture uses time as a resource, and polychromic cultures use relationships more. I had no idea that people were so different based on what they see as most important were in two separate groups.

module 24

Module 24 is called Long Reports. Long reports have many parts to them which make the very complex. The most important things to remember are organization, strategies, format, and style. Time management should also be something that is kept in mind so that you complete tasks on time and have a great finished product. Long reports need to include a cover, title page, letter of transmittal, table of contents, list of illustrations, executive summary, and report body.

The thing that I found most interesting in this module was how many parts of a long report that there is in a long report. In the previous chapter the short report was two pages long and in the long report the example are fourteen pages. The long reports have a lot of information in them but they also have a cover, title page, and table of contents.

Another important idea that I found out in module 24 was that the body of the long report has many separate categories within it as well. Each category has its own way of being organized. The categories also have a certain structure that should be followed. Every part that is in the report you have to cite individually.

module 23

Module 23 is titled Short Reports. This module shows you how to write short reports correctly. This module talks about the patterns, strategies, principles, and questions to use. In this module exactly how the report should look and read. This module also shows an actual report so that you can use it for an example when you write your own report.

One thing that I found interesting in this module was that the different types of reports are completely different. Each report has its own types of organization. The organization differs from each paragraph to the specific content of each report. Informative and closure reports shows the work that was finished or the research that was done on a certain topic. Feasibility reports tell you what would be the best choose to make based on the results that were found. Justification reports talk about why you should so something.

I also found out that reports should be written like business documents. I would have thought that they would have been completely different. While there are three differences most of the concepts are the same. The only things would be to make sure you choose the correct words, make writing short and concise, and to use different techniques to highlight certain information.

module 27 & 28

Module 27 & 28 are about Resumes and Job Application Letters. Module 27 talks about how to make sure that employers actually look at your resume. This module also goes into detail about the different categories in a resume. Module 28 is all about how to prepare your application letters. Each employer needs a different type of application letter. Depending on what the job is and what it details would alter your job application. For each job there are certain skills that are a must but may not be needed for another job.

Something that I found out interesting in module 27 was that there are different types of resumes besides just a paper resume. I found out that there is an online resume and a video resume. I had always thought that there was only a paper resume. I feel like a video and a paper resume are very helpful to employers looking for employees.

Module 28 talked about T-letters. Before I read this module I had no clue that there was such a thing as a T-letter. This letter helps employers be able to look through many resumes and job applications at one time. This way the employer can look more closely at people and their strengths.

module 22

Module 22 is about Finding, Analyzing, and Documenting information. This module talks about how to write questions correctly to get the most detailed and helpful answers. Deciding who to give the survey or interview that you have prepared is just as important. The reason is because if you are interviewing for a certain job there are certain questions for that particular job that you should answer. Analyzing the information that you have collected from the interview or survey is also an important step. When the report is written from you findings from personal interviews or from information you found on your own needs to be cited. The citations need to be in APA or MLA format.

Something interesting that I found out was that there is a certain way to search for information. I had always thought that you just put what you want into a search engine and it found the information. To my surprise I learned that by using articles you can narrow your information. When you use words such as “and” and “or”.

I knew that when you collected data that you had to analyze everything that you have found. The things that I didn’t know were four different ways to do that. There is understanding the source, analyzing the numbers, analyzing the words and checking the logic. I feel like this information will help me sort through the entire information hat I find for the next paper I have to write.

module 21

Module 21 is called Proposals and Progress Reports. This module talks about the different types of reports. This module also shows you how to write a proposal. There are many types of proposals that the module talks about. There are proposals for class research projects, sales proposals, proposals for funding and Figuring the budget and costs. This module also explains the types of progress reports. The types of progress reports are chronological, task and recommendation progress reports.

The interesting thing that I found in this module was the three levels of reports. I thought that it was interesting to know that there are levels to reports. I thought that all reports were written exactly the same was. Each different kind built on each other. The first was simple with only information. The next level added analysis. The last level had information, analysis and recommendations.

Time is a very important thing these days. As I was reading this module I saw a chart that explained just how long it takes to write a proposal. The total time was 30 hours that completely shocked me. The book explains that 15 hours is spent planning, 5 hours writing and 10 hours revising. In the previous chapter I read about how much money it took for a single hour. When I realized how much money just one proposal cost it showed me just how important proposals are to a company.

module 15 & 16

Module 15 and 16 talk about understanding what writing and making your writing make sense. Module 15 is about choosing the right word. Many words sound alike when they are said out loud but mean completely different things. Many of these words get mixed up all the time. The wrong word can be written down and make the whole paper confusing because the reader doesn’t know what you are talking about. Module 16 is all about revising sentences and paragraphs. This module shows you how to make your writing be understood by anyone who reads your paper. This module explains how to make your writing tight so that it doesn’t become too wordy.

The interesting thing that I learned from module 15 was all the words that sound alike bout that are different when it come to what they mean. The module showed 50 words the sound the same. I didn’t know that there were that many words that were like that. I found it interesting because some of the words I had never thought of before. Others words still confuse me and the text help me understand the difference between them.

In module 16 I found that it is important to vary sentence length and structure which I didn’t know before reading this module. I was always told to keep my papers the same all the way through my entire papers. I found it interesting that the book told me the complete opposite. I realized that by changing the sentence structure and length that the reader stays more interested through the entire paper. I feel that by changing throughout your paper it becomes more interesting to read from start to finish.

module 20

Module 20 is about making oral presentations. This module will help you be able to provide the best oral presentation. The module tells you about presenting, opening, closing, delivery, organization, effectiveness, techniques, and group presentations.

One thing that I found interesting was that there are different kinds of presentations. I had always thought that a presentation was just a presentation. The book talks about monologue, guided discussions, and sales presentations. Each one of them differ by to what they do, how they look, and what the content concerns. After reading this section on the kinds of presentations the differences between the types started to make more sense. Each kind is directed to a certain type of outcome. Depending on what points that you want to make important depends on the type of presentation.

Past power points that I have done for other classes have not been as productive that I had planned on them being. After reading this module I figured out how to make my presentation more informative and interesting to the people that I am talking to. This section showed the percentages of what worked best in ways of learning certain information. This section also gave guidelines to make the power point easily readable and understandable.  

module 8 & 13

Module 8 and 13 are directed to the reader. In module 8 the text talks about how the reader will benefit from what they are reading. This module helps you write directly to the reader. This module shows you how to relate more towards your reader by identifying their wants and needs. Module 13 tells you about e-mail messages and internet writing. This module takes you step by step to show you the ways of writing an e-mail. It emphasizes that your subject line is very important to the reader. The subject line helps the reader identify if they even want to read the e-mail.

The thing that I found interesting in module 8 was that the more detailed that you are towards the writer the better the reader will understand. I have always been told to make my points short and to the point. In this module it talks about how to write more for your reader.

In module 13 I found that subject lines are very important. I always write a subject line in all my e-mails but don’t usually put much thought into them. When I was reading this module I re thought about how important a subject line is to the person that’s reading the e-mail. I now know how to  write a subject line that will get my readers attention.

website designs

Website One: Dell

The first web site that I looked at was dell.com. This website sells different types of electronics. When I first looked at the web site there was a slide show with 5 different slides. The slides talked about savings for the summer, rugged computers, storage forum, the power of dell and becoming green. When you click on each slide it takes you to a different link to elaborate more on the slide. Each slide is easy to read without many words. The slides each have a picture to help the reader get an understanding of what dell is trying to tell them.

The audiences that I think dell would appeal to is anyone that is looking to buy certain types of electronics. Dell has a wide range of audiences. To help people easily navigate the website based on which audience that the person is from there are tabs at the top. The taps are named for home, small and medium business, public sector and large enterprise. When you establish which audience that you are you click on that certain tab. That then takes you to things that would be most important for you personally. This helps people not have to look through information that doesn’t apply to them it leads them in the correct direction immediately.  

The overall design and layout of the website is thought out and creates an inviting website.  The colors on the page help bring out the most important parts. For example the dell logo is in blue and it’s the only thing on the page that is in blue which helps it stand out. The tabs at the top are all in black which helps differentiate them for everything else as well. The slides each have a different color scheme to help you see the difference from each slide which helps the viewer see that the topic has changed with each slide. There is also a whole lot of white space between each idea to help you see the differences between each new idea.

Website Two: Apple

The second website that I looked at was apple.com. Apple sells electronics as well. When I typed in the website the first thing that I saw was a lot of white space. There were words at the top and then words at the bottom but not much in between. The only thing in the middle is a picture of the new iPhone 4. Above it in bold letters is “Finally” and it also says “The amazing iPhone 4. Now available in white.” I think that by using this design it helps show the newest and latest technology that they are selling. By doing this more people would click on it to look at it and read the information.

Along the top of the page there are tabs when you click on each tab it takes you to a specific item. The tabs are store, mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes and support. When you click on each one of the tabs it takes you to that certain product. The page that comes up shows pictures and tells about each item in more detail than on the first page. At the bottom of the page it says “Hot News Headlines”. A little below this it tells about the new technology that is out and what people are saying about technology.

I think that this website is designed for any audience that wants to buy some sort of technology. Everyone is always buying the new and latest thing in technology this website helps those people. This website shows people what is new and available. The world changes every day when it comes to technology and this website helps people see those everyday changes.

module 4 & 5

Module 4 talks about how to improve your writing. Writing is a step by step system that takes time and many revisions. Writing can be improved each time you reread what you have written. Module 5 communicates how to make a paper, website or presentation more appealing to the reader. There are certain ways that people look at and process information. If the information is easier to read or see you will get you point across easier and faster to the reader.

The important idea that I found in module 4 was that writing has three steps. These three steps are planning, writing, and revising. I also thought that when you wrote those three steps happen in that order each time. After reading module 4 I found out that when you write those steps can be in a different order each time. Each time you write it doesn’t always have to be the same you can write first revise and then see if your ideas were completely written out.

The concept that I found interesting in module 5 was that a paper that has exactly the same words can be much easier to read when you adjust the layout. Just by putting headlines, bullets, numbers, and spacing can make a paper more reader friendly.