Talking, Listening, & Writing for Success: The Not-so-Secret Keys

By Sharon Massen, Phd

About the book: 

Dr. Massen asks the readers of this book how they go about communicating in their daily lives: do they find themselves puzzled by how to talk with others on and off the job? Do they find that being asked to speak in front of a group brings horrors and nightmares of “Oh gosh, how can I do this? I don’t like to speak in front of others at all—and you want me to speak in front of my co-workers and give them help on their work assignments? Seriously?” Do they find themselves saying, “What did you say?” “I did not hear you; can you speak louder?” Is listening a key skill that has been lost to open the door to effective listening?

Do people find that the keys to the doors to success in writing for personal and business uses a silent key they continue to search for? Think of this book as your Locksmith: it can open the doors to talking, listening, and writing: READ ON and use those keys!

About the author: 

Sharon Massen is a well-known educator, speaker, and developer of business communication materials. She is a professor of business and professional communication and professional identities at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio, where she has been a faculty member since 2002. She is the author of a book on telephone and voice mail techniques, and the author of numerous chapters and materials in other publications. Sharon was honored by Franklin University graduating students by presenting her the prestigious Robert L. Bailey Teaching Award for her significant contributions to graduating seniors’ educational accomplishments in communication in 2014.

Dr. Massen has taught at the international level as well as at the college and high school levels. She is the developer of a business education program in a state prison that gave the inmates quality business education in various business courses.

Sharon sees the value of knowing how to select the appropriate communication mode and techniques in order to communicate clearly and correctly in business today; she practices those techniques every day as she works with others to hone their communication skills. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sentia Publishing
• Release date: Aug 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9780999323274

Book preview

TALKING, LISTENING, & WRITING FOR SUCCESS

THE NOT-SO-SECRET KEYS

1ST Edition

Sharon Massen, PhD

Copyright © 2017 by Sharon Massen

Sentia Publishing Company has the exclusive rights to reproduce this work, to prepare derivative works from this work, to publicly distribute this work, to publicly perform this work, and to publicly display this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN 978-0-9993232-7-4

Contents

About the Author

About the Book

Author’s Note

Talking

Introduction to Talking for Success

Keys to Talking for Success

Activity/Exercise

Preparing Effective Visuals

Activity/Exercise

Using Your Voice Effectively

Activity/Exercise

Yea for Body Language

The Body Also Talks

Activity/Exercise

Voice Mail

Activity/Exercise

Activity/Exercise

The Role of Your Voice in Talking

Using Your Voice Effectively

Active voice

Passive voice

Listening

Introduction to Listening: Keys to Success

Listening for Success

Activity/Exercise

Personal Obstacles to Hearing

External Obstacles to Hearing

Activity/Exercise

Customer Service

Activity/Exercise

Writing for Success

Introduction

Writing Business Letters for Success

Business letters go to someone at a business

Types of Letters

Activity/Exercise

Memorandums

Communicating with an International Audience

Skills you need to communicate effectively

Email and Texting Techniques

Activity/Exercise

Getting a Job—Tips for Success

Introduction to Getting a Job

Getting a Job

Seeking a Job: First Time or Repeat Job Seeker

Social Media in the Job Search

Activity/Exercise

Activity/Exercise

Applying for a Career Change Position

Activity/Exercise

Developing Your Résumé

The Interview

Report Preparations

References

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sharon Massen is a well-known educator, speaker, and developer of business communication materials. She is a professor of business and professional communication and professional identities at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio, where she has been a faculty member since 2002. She is the author of a book on telephone and voice mail techniques, and the author of numerous chapters and materials in other publications. She recently co-authored The Dog’s Guide to Your Happiness: Seven Secrets for a Better Life from Man’s Best Friend. Sharon was honored by Franklin University graduating students by presenting her the prestigious Robert L. Bailey Teaching Award for her significant contributions to graduating seniors’ educational accomplishments in communication in 2014.

Dr. Massen has taught at the international level as well as at the college and high school levels. She is the developer of a business education program in a state prison that gave the inmates quality business education in various business courses.

Sharon sees the value of knowing how to select the appropriate communication mode and techniques in order to communicate clearly and correctly in business today; she practices those techniques every day as she works with others to hone their communication skills.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Dr. Massen asks the readers of this book how they go about communicating in their daily lives: Do they find themselves puzzled by how to talk with others on and off the job? Do they find that being asked to speak in front of a group brings horrors and nightmares of Oh gosh, how can I do this? I don’t like to speak in front of others at all—and you want me to speak in front of my co-workers and give them help on their work assignments? Seriously? Do they find themselves saying, What did you say? I did not hear you; can you speak louder? Is listening a key skill that has been lost to opening the door to effective listening?

Do people find that the keys to the doors to success in writing for personal and business uses a silent key they continue to search for?

Don’t hide under your computer: The Keys to your Success can be unlocked as you continue reading!

Think of this book as your Locksmith: It can open the doors to talking, listening, and writing: READ ON and use those keys!

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Thanks for considering my book for opening the doors with the keys to success that you will find scattered herein. You will find yourself checking with the book to find out how to request information or how to give information. This book will provide the basic information you need to write letters, memorandums (usually known simply as memos), emails, and how to write and answer emails (and what not to do).

You will learn the importance of building your personal online image which is a new concept, known as branding. No, we are not suggesting that you get out the hot iron and brand yourself as is often done on a farm animal. Branding is important today because companies are telling us that they want to hire workers who stand out, and the résumés they are getting are just not enough to distinguish one candidate from another! Really? Yep, major companies are seeing one résumé fits all coming in and that just is not working for selecting the best qualified employee. Did you know that you should write a different letter of application and a different focused résumé if you are a first-time job seeker rather than a different career or repeat job seeker? Do you know the typical errors that are made in many résumés?

Customer service is another important aspect of business that seems to be slipping a bit. You can learn about super customer service and ways to retain happy customers: Both your internal ones and the external ones.

Are you finding that you shudder if your supervisor asks you to write a memo or a report? This book was written