The Info on Infographics

I LOVE infographics! In my opinion, there’s no better way to draw in the audience than a fun, well designed, graphic. It just mixes things up a bit. When it comes to infographics being the ONLY source of information for a document, however, I’m not convinced that they do the trick all on their own. There needs to be a dimension to them beyond the nice design and pictures. I feel that an infographic leaves out some key information especially for a detailed report, such as our proposals.

After watching the BBC video on “200 Countries, 200 years, 4 minutes,”, I think there’s something to be said for interactive infographics surviving on their own. Hans Rosling did a wonderful job incorporating the real-life infographic and providing effect information. By involving himself in the infographic, it adds dimension and raises its value.

In Dr. Porter’s article, he highlights an infographic showing Napoleon’s march to and from Russia and points that it tells both a tragic and a celebratory story. I 100% agree with that, but if the viewer doesn’t know anything about Napoleon’s story, there needs to be something else.

All in all, infographics are an excellent way to supplement a document and add dimension to your story.

Intercultural Communication: Some Advice

After reading the posts regarding global communication, I learned several lessons that I know will stick with me as I embark in the professional world following graduation.

When I studied abroad last fall, I took a class called Intercultural Communication. It provided me with a lot of great information, but something that I’ll always remember is a phrase my professor told the class on the first day “intercultural communication is not international communication”. After practically the identical phrase was uttered in PWO, I saw the connection between my past class and these readings.

The Forbes article; How Culture Controls Communication, carried some of the most practical and important information that I would pass along to others embarking on international endeavors. As the article ends with “he key to cross-cultural success is to develop an understanding of, and a deep respect for, the differences,” is a simple piece of advice. Another key is understanding exactly what those differences are, which are outlined previously in the article. The most interesting part, to me, was the difference in time management, from sequential versus synchronic.

Although cultures most definitely have difference modes of going about business, although time management was not one that I thought of.

That being said, advice I would pass along would be to recognize the way in which an international company may go about business and keep that in mind, whether it is in order of what needs to be done or completing multiple tasks at once.

New Found Advice for Resume Writing

Is anyone else familiar with Levo League? I recently stumbled upon this site which produces articles for young professional women. These are the kind of blogs and sites I could spend hours upon hours reading. With easy to read with practical info that I can actually apply to my daily life.

One of their sections is dedicated to career advice and today I read an article entitled “5 Major Faux Pas of Resume Writing”. It brought me back a few weeks to our employment package and how I was looking to revise my resume. Something they touched on in the article and also something I’m struggling with is creating a personal brand for myself. Now that’s what just merely pulled me in to read the article, but my favorite “faux pas” they expanded upon was “showing rather than telling”

A great point was made: if I’m applying for an editorial position, the person who is interviewing me will most likely know what general duties are involved with an editorial internship any number of publications. Therefore, use the space and writing talents to express how you made a different at said internship, such as the increase of followers on the company blog during the time you managed that blog.

Maybe most people already had this on lock-down but it was certainly something for me to think about. Now I know how I’m going to fix my resume this week!

Communicating in the Workplace

I stumbled upon this article from Forbes and it was definitely an attention-grabber. Since starting this course I’ve been more aware of how I’m communicating with my co-workers at my internship, especially with what mode of communication I’ll choose. We have so many options now; e-mail, GChat, Yammer (a social network platform for companies), phone, or even just taking a stroll to his or her desk.

The information that Amy Rees Anderson shares in her eye-opening article, “Successful Business Communication: It Starts At The Beginning”, covers information that is useful for internal or external communication and even how to interpret received communication. Here’s what I took away from it:

– Three key points to touch on before engaging in a conversation: how long it will take, the topic, and what you want from whomever you are speaking with.

– Interpret what people are saying to you with their facial expression, tone of voice, and the words they say. What I found interesting that 55% of a message is based on expression, while only 8% is based on the actual words they say.

 

Anderson left with a lasting phrase and excellent food for thought: “don`t communicate to be understood; rather, communicate so as not to be misunderstood.”

 

Exploring LinkedIn

There’s no doubt that social media has become the forefront for employment in recent years. With nearly 9 out of 10 jobseekers using social media, it’s important to utilize every inch of the web to make sure you’re not being overlooked.

LinkedIn has become the leader of this new age job search, with a new user joining the network every second, according the LinkedIn website. I’m still battling with LinkedIn and finding out all of the interesting and useful tools one can use. I just created my own professional profile a few months ago but hadn’t really explored or updated my profile beyond the education section. In case you’re wondering, no one will find you just based on that. I recently allotted more time to updating my profile and just like that I was getting several connection invitations from people who didn’t previously know that I signed up for LinkedIn. Though I may still be a LinkedIn amateur, there are several ways it can help you with your job search.

 A few years ago Businessweek gave some great tips on enhancing LinkedIn for your job search. Here’s what I took from it.

Liz Ryan, author of “Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn in Your Job Search” compared enhancing your profile to telling your story. I love that analogy, I think it helps take the pressure out of LinkedIn and help the user to seamlessly sell themselves to potential employers or clients.

That being said, LinkedIn goes beyond your story; it helps to drive your career path through groups, such as companies, organizations, or fields in which you’re interested. To expose yourself to professionals, follow your dream company. In addition to following the company I’m interning for, I’ve started to follow big-name companies that would cause me to faint if they ever offered me a job. I’ve also joined the “Miami International Education” group due to my study abroad experience and interest in travel.

The recommendations feature can help professionals to see the work you’ve done directly. This is the beauty of LinkedIn—it’s interactive and fills the holes of a resume. A supervisor or colleague can comment on your hard work and dedication, giving potential employers a third-party opinion.

Beyond this, the article shed some light on features that I have not yet acquainted myself with. Adding a PowerPoint deck, published articles, a personal blog, and any other useful applications can further increase your desirability. I’m looking forward to adding more tools to my profile in the near future.

This and more is all possible just as a bystander. Participate in discussions within groups and recommend your own clients on their profiles; endorse your peers’ skills and share noteworthy articles. Be proactive—the more your participate the more LinkedIn can make a difference in your future!

I’m still exploring all that LinkedIn has to offer—but I can’t wait to utilize every inch and use it to enhance my career.

Thoughts On Phatic Communication

Phatic communication is something that is increasingly important not only in the business world, but in every situation. I wasn’t sure what phatic communication was prior to reading about it. As someone who is pursing degrees in journalism and professional writing, and more importantly considering public relations as a possible career path, phatic communication speaks more to me that I would have ever thought

Defined as “principles of communication that pertain to establishing and maintaining good relations with others”, it’s incredible how such a concept can seem so simple, yet it’s something that many people don’t grasp or comply with. The videos on email etiquette and how to stand in line are incredibly important, but overlooked because most people think they understand the proper way to go about standing in a line or sending an appropriate e-mail. One might think that by using simple words such as “please” and “thank you” are as polite as an e-mail can be, the video draws on the idea of using acronyms. While I don’t usually use acronyms in e-mails, it’s not something I was ever concerned with or would have thought of as “rude” if I did.

“On phatic technologies for creating and maintaining human relationships” by Wang, Tucker, and Rihill expands phatic communication to the idea of phatic technologies. Phatic technologies are considered to be any sort of mode to utilize phatic communication, which could be a simple “hello” face-to-face. They state that, “A phatic technology must involve communication. Thus, phatic technology is a subset of communications technology, which is designed for processing and transferring of messages and information.” As the internet continues to expand, Wang, Tucker, and Rihill continue to say that the internet has become a base for phatic technologies and also a basis for socialbility.

I find it interesting that phatic communication means so much, yet is not as widely recognized beyond social media. Everyone utilizes phatic communication each day, increasingly through social media. It’s important that we continue to draw on these principles to be polite in person, through email, or Twitter, creating a positive community through these technologies.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I’ll be focusing on interactive business communication, drawing on readings from my current course. Thanks for stopping by, and keep checking back for updates about communicating in the business world.