| 8 ampersand 19 |

Chapter 8

Do you have your own style? Many of us may think we have our own writing style, but a good point this chapter brings to light is reading your writing out loud and hearing if that is what you really sound like.  The chapter gives you many guidelines to follow was one thing they left out that I have applied to my own life.  

-Listen to how those around you are communicating.

I hear some of my friends, colleagues, coworkers, family members, etc. and sometimes think to myself, "Do I sound like that much of a fucking idiot?"  

Saying things in your own words is a great way to communicate but you should also step back and think of ways to make yourself sound better.  Avoid saying 'like' or 'umm' between thoughts and sentences.  I am victim to this and will continue to do so but reading your work out loud will make you realize how silly you can sound sometimes.  You may be quick to judge others but take the time to judge yourself as well.

As you analyze your everyday communication be sure to avoid the stereotypes that chapter 8 offers.  I consistently stereotype within my social group and have grown far to accustomed to some stereotyping that would typically get me in trouble.  Be careful.

Be careful with bureaucratese as well.  Plain English, as the text mentions, helps people understand what you are trying to say much easier and gets your point across much quicker and much more successfully.  

Chapter 19

When you manage client and service-learning projects, you must maintain order, communication, and always remember the client is always the client.  This chapter is a great way to get to know someone and learn the ropes by offering them a service you can use through your learning.  This especially applies to my marketing class.  One of our group projects is to assess a firms marketing.  We have chosen a smaller firm in which we may be able to develop a concrete marketing plan through all the steps given in Chapter 19.  

We are focusing on Stumptown coffee and they have unique ways of marketing, maintaining customer brand loyalty, financial success, segmentation, differentiation and positioning...all while they are still a private company.  This is a group project but can easily lead to a foundation for their future marketing success. I hope we can be helpful!

So far the most important chapter I will take away from this book and continue to use throughout the semester.