Week 8

In the reading for this week, Annoying Ways People Use Sources, the author pay a lot of attention to how quotes and citations should be presented in order to keep the flow of the reading. By preparing the reader for an upcoming quote, the reader will easier understand the purpose of the quote and why the writer chose to include it in the text. The author claims that you should never start or finish a paragraph with a quote but I have to disagree with this statement. I personally have no problem with authors using a quote in the first sentence of the introduction since the right quote can be an effective hook to catch the reader’s attention. Besides as a hook, I agree with him when it comes to introducing and concluding the quote is essential which makes it impossible if you have it in the beginning or in the end of a paragraph.

Good flow is essential when it comes to making the reading easy to understand and grammar is a critical key in this case. Incorrect grammar is something that can drive me nuts and when it happens, I start focusing more on the grammar instead of the content which gives me zero understanding of the message. It can be such small things as using capital letters, or the absence of capital letters, in the wrong context and I will be frustrated immediately. Another grammatical issue can be the lack or overload of punctuations which interrupts the flow and makes the reading choppy. To avoid grammatical mistakes, I have started to proof read my text two or three days after I wrote it in order to look at it with fresh eyes. Before, I used to read it right after I finished the writing but this resulted in a lot of mistakes remained unnoticed since I was too tired after all the writing. By giving the brain a break, I can more carefully read through the text and discover sentences that need to be restructured or deleted. 

Second Draft - The Art of Persuasion

                     In today’s business world, every channel of communication is carefully planned and there are several thoughts and ideas behind every email, advertisement, and product. The ability to adapt to your audience is the key to make people understand what message you have to deliver. Cultures, nationalities, gender, age, and personality are only a few attributes to consider before deciding what kind of communication would be most efficient when it comes to make it easier for the counterpart of the conversation to understand. When talking to a group of elementary kids, people adapt and talk with a more informal and “everyday language” compared to if they are in a meeting with the dean of their University. Clear communication is the key to share information efficiently between the sender and the receiver and by adapting the style, provide credibility, and know your audience; the message can be structured to better apply to the audience which will ease the understanding of the information.

In order to complete this research, I met up with Johannes Beck to get some real life experience from how important communication is in the business world. Johannes is the founder and CEO of Melonboard which is a company producing and selling electric skateboards and hover boards. Johannes is 21 years old and has been working with his company for about two years. During the interview, Johannes mentioned how being young in the business world is tough and without credibility and experience, people do not take you seriously. The lack of trust affects his way of finding investors but also companies to work with. He explained how hard it has been to come out of nowhere and try to appear credible. Today, two years and two companies later, he is much more respected and when he talk to people in the business world today, people get impressed rather than skeptical when they hear about his accomplishments rather than his age. Despite his age, he now has evidence of what he has accomplished which makes him credible and it explains to the audience he knows what he is doing.

Johannes provided me with a few different documents which show how the writing is important for him when it comes to conducting business. Except for his website, he gave me four different emails which all follow the same kind of style and as I mentioned earlier, we met up for a forty five minute interview to better discuss how writing and rhetoric is important when it comes to persuade his customers. During the interview, most of our time was spent on customer service and how to communicate with the customers to make them happy and satisfied. By always being connected to social media, email, and phone, the customers can easily connect with him when they have questions. Johannes value customer contact and believe in a transparent business model where the customers always are in focus. If customers help him sell products by referring people, Johannes is not late to reward those customers with free merchandise as a thank you. This approach of give and take philosophy is what creates a great relationship between the communicator and the audience and it proves how important clear and simple communication is for a business and by knowing what and how his audience wants things; he can easier satisfy his customers.

One of the most important parts when it comes to clear communication is the style of it. Most often, there are four different styles used in order to persuade the listener and the styles are analytical, intuitive, functional, and personal. In the analytical style of communication, facts and data are very important and the conversation is most often filled with numbers which makes it more informative than other styles. No emotions are included in the content which means personal values and beliefs are excluded from the conversation and it is only the actual facts that are being presented. This kind of style is useful when there are a lot of emotions involved in the argument and by only focusing on the facts, it will increase the odds of the conclusion to be “correct” instead of involving bias to the argument. Instead of focusing on the facts, the intuitive style focuses on the big picture rather than specific facts. This style is great to use to get a bigger understanding of a problem or scenario and when the importance of the facts does not play a big role to persuade that picture. (Mark Murphy)

The third style of communication is functional communication which is built on a step-by-step method to make sure nothing is left out of the communication. This kind of style is popular to use when it comes to timelines, processes, and plans since they cover all the information that is required to make the document useful. The problem with the style is that if the receiver of the message is more into intuitive or personal communication, they will most likely lose attention because it is too many facts to keep their interest up. The fourth and last style is personal communication which is about emotion and building a relationship with the people you are communicating with. This style is perfect if you want to build deep relationships and it works as glue in a group to keep everybody together. Personal communicators may have a problem when they interact with analytical communicators since they want numbers and not feelings to describe a situation. (Mark Murphy)

The knowledge of which kind of communicator your audience is should affect how you approach that person and the presented material should be adapted to the audience to keep his interest and make it easier for him or her to understand. According to Gerald Graff, the importance of explaining why something is important and why we should care is essential to keep the interest of the audience. By adapting to the audience’s style, the communicator can keep them interested by changing his or hers way of communication. If the audience is analytical communicators, the sender can interpret more facts and statistics to be more credible and trustworthy and when the audience is personal communicators, the sender can focus more on building a relationship rather than confusing the audience with statistics.

In the interview with Johannes Beck, CEO of Melonboard, he explained how important it is for him to adapt his communication to his audience. Since he knows his target market is teenaged guys in college who lives a couple of miles from campus and work three or four times a week, he knows that the best way to communicate with them is most often through a intuitive style of communication because these people are rarely interested in stats about the board and they are not interested in building a deep relationship with the seller. If he would have applied another style of communication, he would not have been as successful as he is when it comes to customer satisfaction.

By looking at the artifacts Johannes use in his every day operations, it is clear that he is not only adapting his style but also his language to make it more understandable for his target market. Instead of sending out long manuals with formal language, Johannes sent out a short email regarding tips and tricks to help his customers to maintain the condition of the board but also to use it safely. The email is structured in a way which makes it very easy and fast to both read and understand which applies to the lifestyle of his target market. The emails are also very transparent when it comes to explaining how and when the customers will receive their board and why there might be a delay in the delivery. As an example, one email explains that the delivery of the board is two weeks late due to a delayed transfer payment to the factory but as soon as the transfer is completed, the boards will be shipped to Shanghai Airport and then by air to each customer. This kind of emails are very transparent and gives the customer greater understanding of how much logistics are involved in the process of getting the board to their front door. It also provides the customer with more knowledge about the reasons behind the delay which makes the company appear more credible since they are open about the truth towards their customers.

In order to persuade the listener or reader, credibility is essential to appear trustworthy and knowledgeable. Within rhetoric, ethos, pathos, and logos are playing an important role in how the message is communicated. Ethos is the first part of the concept and it makes the message become credible and trustworthy. By using ethos, the communicator will convince the audience of the author’s character and credibility by using a formal language and supporting evidences which are adapted to the audience. The purpose of ethos is to communicate your expertise in a fair and unbiased manner which makes the audience believe in what the communicator has to say. Pathos is the second part of rhetoric and covers the emotional part of the communication. Instead of using credible sources, the purpose of pathos is to appeal emotions into the argument to easier persuade the counterpart. Humans are emotional creatures and a lot of their actions are performed based on emotions. If the message invokes sympathy, anger, happiness, or joy, the audience is more likely to find interest in the message since they get affected by it. The third and last part of rhetoric is logos which covers the logical part of the message. Facts and statistics are playing a very important role when it comes to persuade the person through logos and by presenting numbers, the audience gets introduced to certain beliefs and arguments about the subject

Ethos, pathos, and logos are not used all at the same time. Depending on if your audience is analytical, personal, intuitive, or functional, the author or speaker must decide to use more pathos when persuading personal communicators and more logos if the audience are more analytical. Ethos, pathos, and logos are the base of rhetoric and by not adapting the style to the audience, the change of successfully persuade the audience will decrease.

Style, credibility, and audience relationship do all play an essential role when it comes to clear communication. By choosing the right style to communicate with your audience, you will most likely be able to persuade the listener or reader much better compared to using a style not adapted to the audience. By knowing who your audience is and what they want, the communicator can adapt language, content, and style which makes it easier for the audience to understand. Just like Johannes did in all his emails, adapting the message is essential when it comes to persuade people. What if Johannes would have sent out long manuals and instructions on how to use the board instead of the short informative emails? His audience would probably not read it or they would give it a try but give up once they realize it is not interesting for them. This would result in customers not knowing how to use the board or what to do to make is safe and keep it in good condition. By adapting the style of communication to better accommodate his audience, Johannes manages to provide important information through informal language which applies better to his customers. Clear communication is the key to be success and persuading people is an important tool to reach that goal. By thinking of our audience and how to help their understanding, the communicator will be able to change the world through his or her communication. The art of persuading people is one of the most powerful tools you can have and by master its techniques, no one can be too small to make a difference.

Shitty Rough Draft

Abstract:

                In today’s business world, every channel of communication is carefully planned and there are several thoughts and ideas behind every email, advertisement, and product. The ability to adapt to your audience is the key to make people understand what message you have to deliver. Cultures, nationalities, gender, age, and personality is only a few attributes to consider before deciding what kind of communication would be most efficient when it comes to make it easier for the counterpart of the conversation to understand. When talking to a group of elementary kids, people adapt and talk with a more informal and “everyday language” compared to if they are in a meeting with the dean of their University, where a more formal and professional language would be more appropriate. Clear communication is the key to share information efficiently between the sender and the receiver. By adapting the style, provide credibility, and know your audience; the message can be structured in different ways to better apply to the person receiving the message which will ease the understanding of the information.

Body:

                  One of the most important parts when it comes to clear communication is the style of it. Most often, there are four different styles used in order to persuade the listener and the styles are analytical, intuitive, functional, and personal. In the analytical style of communication, facts and data are very important and the conversation is most often filled with numbers which makes it more informative than other styles. No emotions are included in the content which means personal values and beliefs are excluded from the conversation and it is only the actual facts that are being presented. This kind of style is useful when there are a lot of emotions involved in the argument and by only focusing on the facts, it will increase the odds of the conclusion to be “correct” instead of involving bias to the argument. Instead of focusing on the facts, the intuitive style focuses on the big picture rather than specific facts. This style is great to use to get a bigger understanding of a problem or scenario and the importance of the facts do not play a big role to persuade that picture. (Mark Murphy)

The third style of communication is functional communication which is built on a step-by-step method to make sure nothing is left out of the communication. This kind of style is popular to use when it comes to timelines, processes, and plans since they cover everything that needs to be covered. The problem with the style is that if the receiver of the message is more into intuitive or personal communication, they will most likely lose attention because it is too many facts to keep their interest up. The fourth and last style is personal communication which is about emotion and building a relationship with the people you are communicating with. This style is perfect if you want to build deep relationships and it works as glue in a group to keep everybody together. Personal communicators may have a problem when they interact with analytical communicators since they want numbers and not feelings to describe a situation. (Mark Murphy)

The knowledge of which kind of communicator your audience is should affect how you approach that person and the presented material should be adapted to the audience to keep his interest and make it easier for him to understand. According to Gerald Graff, the importance of explaining why something is important and why we should care is essential to keep the interest of the audience. By adapting to the audience’s style, the communicator can keep them interested by changing his or hers way of communication. If the audience is analytical communicators, the sender can interpret more facts and statistics to be more credible and trustworthy and when the audience is personal communicators, the sender can focus more on building a relationship rather than confusing the audience with statistics.

In the interview with Johannes Beck, CEO of Melonboard, he explained how important it is for him to adapt his communication to his audience. Since he knows his target market is teenaged guys in college who lives a couple of miles from campus and work three or four times a week, he knows that the best way to communicate with them is most often through a intuitive style of communication because these people are rarely interested in stats about the board and they are not interested in building a deep relationship with the seller. If he would have applied another style of communication, he would not have been as successful as he is.

By looking at the artifacts Johannes sent me prior to the interview, it is clear that he is not only adapting his style but also his language to make it more understandable for his target market. Instead of sending out long manuals with formal language, Johannes sent out a short email regarding tips and tricks to help his customers to maintain the condition of the board but also to keep it safe. The email is structured in a way which makes it very easy and fast to both read and understand which applies to the lifestyle of his customers. The emails are also very transparent when it comes to explaining how and when the customers will receive their board and why there might be a delay in the delivery. As an example, one email explains that the delivery of the board is two weeks late due to a delayed transfer payment to the factory but as soon as the transfer is completed, the boards will be shipped to Shanghai Airport and then by air to each customer. This kind of emails are very transparent and gives the customer greater understanding of how much logistics are involved in the process of getting the board to their front door and it gives the customer more knowledge about the reason behind the delay.

Thesis Statements

These are the two thesis statements that I am considering to use in my paper:

1.      The cultural differences in the business world have affected Melonboard’s style of communication and by adapting to different audiences, being transparent to its customers and partners by various writing styles, and providing excellent customer service through different channels of communication, the company has become a well-communicative company facing the world of teenage skaters.

2.      Clear communication is the key to share information efficiently between the sender and the receiver. By adapting the style, provide credibility, and know your audience; the message can be structured in different ways to better apply to the person receiving the message which will ease the understanding of the information.

Week 6

The first reading of the week was “So what? Who cares” which talks a lot about how to connect to the reader and how to make it easier for him or her to understand. The text explains the importance of explaining for the reader why it is important to read and why the reader should care about the subject. This is an important part of adapting your writing to make it more applicable to the reader. By explaining why the subject is important and to whom it is important, it is easier for the reader to understand why this is important for him or her to read. 

The reading from “Understanding Rhetoric” continuous on the same subject, but instead of focusing why it matters and to whom, the text talks about the importance of supporting your arguments. Dropping statements without backing up with evidence will make it hard for the reader to understand what and why you are arguing for a specific topic and a confused reader is less likely to continue reading your text. A good argument needs to explain the different evidences that need to be considered before someone can decide if they are pro or con the specific argument. Fact, circumstances, relationships, and reasons, are all important parts of the “investigation” and if they don’t make sense and point to the same conclusion, the reader will have a hard time following the argument and he or she will probably not be able to understand what and why you are arguing for the specific argument.

During these last couple of weeks, we have read a lot about how to persuade the reader by adapting your writing to make it easier for the audience to understand. By explaining why someone should read your text and how it is important for that person, the reader will be more interested and focused on what you have to say. A focused and interested reader is easier to persuade and if you at the same time can support your arguments with great evidences, the reader will understand what and why you are arguing for and hopefully, the writer managed to affect the reader through his writing. 

Week 5

There was a lot of interesting thoughts in Bunn’s essay about how to read like a writer. I have never really enjoyed reading and when I read, I often do it to get it done rather than learning something from it.  When you think of every word you read and why the author chose to use that specific word, you get a greater understanding of the message. If you read the text as the author wants you to read it, it will make much more sense and you will most likely learn more, compared to if you are only skimming through the text looking for the key words.

If you learn how to read properly, it will automatically help you develop as a writer as well. Through the reading, you will learn how different authors structure their texts and it will help you understand how to deliver a message as good as possible. Since English is not my native language, I tried to read books in English when I grew up to develop my English vocabulary. After a while I noticed I understood more and more and I believe it works the same way when it comes to reading like a writer. The more you read and think about it, the better you will be able to apply it to your own writing.

In the same way as we earlier have been talking about adapting to the audience, I believe the audience sometimes also has to adapt to the communicator. The writer must write in a way which attracts the reader but the reader must also adapt his or her reading to understand the message in full.

When Bunn interviewed a few students about their tips to how to be successful in college, one of their suggestions really caught my attention. All of the students recommended having a pen and paper available when you read in order to easier remember the main ideas of a text. Earlier when I have been reading, I have never written anything down which resulted in that I was unable to remember anything from the readings. Since I started Antioch, I have begun writing down the ideas I get while reading and it makes it much easier to remember and understand the text. I feel it helps my learning much more compared to how I did it before and it is something I will continue to do to increase my learning.

In Driscoll’s essay, it was interesting to read about how different methods of research will affect the result of your paper. For the most of the time, the only research I do is through Google which limits the research to one specific kind. In the same way as the communicator needs to adapt to different readers, you must also adapt your method of research depending on the purpose of the paper.

You must also be careful when choosing a topic to make sure it is not too broad. A few words in the topic may make a huge difference to the meaning of the topic. Imagine doing a research about students in general compared to students at Antioch. If the topic only says students, it means we must include all students on the planet but if the topic involves students at Antioch, we have narrowed it down to a small number of students which will make the research must easier.

Interview Questions

• How did you come up with the name Melonboard?
• What does Melonboard mean for you as a person?
• What do you do to increase your credibility?
• What is the most challenging part with your work?
• Which kind of written document is most important for your business?
• How do you most often communicate with your customers?
• Describe the process of finding a manufacturer.
• How did you get in touch with the people currently in your team?
• -         What kind of issues have you been facing dealing with different cultures?
• -         What kind of problems have you been facing dealing with your product?
• Explain the process for you getting patent on your invention.
• What kind of insurance do you need in case someone gets hurt while using your Melonboard?
• What liability do you have towards you customers and your team?
• How do you advertise your product?
• -         What do you focus on to make sure you reach your target market?
• How do you deal with the problems of doing business in different time zones?(California, Norway, China)?
• If I were to start my own business, what advice would you give me?
• If you only can choose one thing, what is the greatest lesson you have learned while developing your business?