Overall Writing Tips

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Articles at BNET." Find Articles at BNET | News Articles, Magazine Back Issues & Reference Articles on All Topics. 09 Apr. 2009 .

Collaborative Writing

At some point you will more than likely collborate with others in order to produce a superior end product such as, a report, a resume or a project. With each team member contributing to the planning, designing and writing you can draw on eachother's skills and create something that all will be impressed with.


When to collaborate

1. The project needs special expertise in many subject areas
2. The merging of different ideas and philosophies will benefit the project
3. The project could be very large, time consuming or of great importance and therefore requires a team approach.

Advantages and Disadvantages

• The more minds working on the project the better
• You can get immediate feedback from your collaboration partners
• Partners can help eachother through difficult points in the process and can ease stress and frustration
• Partners will write better when they know that others depend on their contribution to the project.
• Partners become more involved and connected to a project when they work on it in collaboration
• Collaboration can be demanding on your time and energy
• Partners are exposed to criticism from their peers
• Conflicts can arise among partners about workload and participation

The process of collaborative writing can add a whole new dynamic to your writing style and technique. Lasting partnerships can be formed through the effort, and the final result can be a project that you are proud to put your name on.

Oliu, Walter E., Brusaw, Charles T., Alred, Gerald J. (2007). Writing That Works (9th edition). New York: St. Martin's.

Communication: Resolving Conflict

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BusinessEnglishPod/~3/ADyEebFBvE4/

Communication with your colleagues and employees must be a two way road. It is very important to be open to suggestions from both your boss and peers, and if you are the head of the office, listen to what your employees have to say. When conflict arises, work it out and talk to the person you are having trouble with. Doing this will keep you and the people around you focused on what needs to be done. This video shows how to deal with such conflict in a story type manner. Pretty interesting. Check it out.

A Few Notes for Active Listening

Mistakes and errors are bound to happen in the office setting, one simple miscommunication can cause tremendous loss. By simply becoming a better listener, these mistakes can be avoided. Here is a short video towards making you a better listener.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO68uTk-T_E

Ten Tips to Become a Better Listener

http://www.box.net/shared/cezkktn2jh

"The Top 10 Tips for Becoming a Better Listener." CoachVille Knowledge Base. 03 Apr. 2009 .

Miscommunication In the Workplace

This ia a classic example of miscommunication. Active listening is the most important skill you will need to communicate effectively.

Active Listening Includes:

• Look directly at the speaker
• Watch the speaker's body language
• Do not get distracted
• Lean forward to show interest
• Smile and nod occasionally
• Provide feedback by paraphrasing
• Ask questions

These tools will help you better understand you speaker's message.

Professional Mentoring For Better Communication

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxNeqWFPmAM

Why mentoring?
Mentoring is the aiding of another individual to reach their goals and transition into new career areas. Even though it appears that the mentee is the person who benefits, mentoring in the workplace builds stronger organizations because the focus is on the future and as noted in the video the mentoring relationship lends itself to a wide range of topics that can be discussed so issues involving that particular organization can be discussed and often innovative ideas come from mentoring relationships.

Key Points
After watching the posted video a few key points about communication in a mentoring relationship are important to remember:

• The mentee drives the relationship
• A mentee can develop critical skills like proper time management and how to deal with confidential issues that will benefit them in their career development
• The mentor is there to support of the mentee and should develop a close relationship with the mentee
• The mentor should provide a friendly, secure environment that is relaxed enough so that the mentee can learn to make their own decisions and mistakes
• The mentor should communicate opinions, but not preach
• Both the mentor and the mentee need to prepare for their meetings in order to make the best use of time and have more open communication