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This sounds interesting! I'll see you there! Amy On Sat, Jan 14, 2012 at 2:53 PM, Mary Knepper <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Invitation: Our 2012 kickoff program for STC-ETC is this coming Tuesday, > January 17! Do come. > > > > Topic: How individual styles of negotiation affect careers and the > workplace: Controlling tone and creating a professional persona through > written communication > > Speaker: Mary Ryba Knepper, PhD; president, Ryba Associates, Inc. > > Time: 6:30pm > > Place: UTK campus, Hodges Library, Mary Greer Room, 6:30pm > > > > Why this topic: Part of Mary's role as a technical communicator and owner of > a training and documentation company has been to function as a > "communications coach" for a wide spectrum of clients, e.g., CPAs, nuclear > physicists, engineers, marketing specialists, lawyers, tax advisors, > technicians, and IT professionals—competent people who somehow were not > succeeding because of poor communication skills. Her observation about the > world of work is not original: "Success takes more than technical > competence; it takes people skills too." Without people skills, written and > oral communication becomes a career breaker because it underscores that > fact. The consequences of not controlling professional image can cost jobs > and peoples' willingness to offer recommendations. > > > > "But how do I learn?!" A manager's directive to "improve" is easily said, > but how does a person improve in the "people skills" area? It seems > abstract, "soft," arbitrary. > > > > Focus on email: Tuesday's topic is one of demystification: Mary will address > one small aspect of the "people skills" area, one that, in her experience, > seems to provide the most immediate, specific, and broad benefit. It is part > of the art of crafting a professional persona in the workplace and describes > (a) how to recognize and characterize people's perception of us and (b) how > to craft communication that effect that perception. > > > > Mary will show real examples of email, which is the backbone of business > communication and can cause the most havoc, identify how they did their > damage, offer revisions, and provide an approach for crafting professional > email. This approach also holds for oral communication. > > > > If you want personal analysis...: As an added bonus, she is inviting anyone > to bring his or her email and she will, in total confidence, identify the > negotiating style as represented in that email and suggest a revision or > reinforce a current approach. > >