Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting a workshop with Julie Laperouse, Director of Talent and Development for the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and owner of the networking business, Screaming Peacock.  Through Screaming Peacock, Julie delivers high-energy, customized keynote speeches and trainings focused on helping others “put their best feather forward.” In Julie’s words, a screaming peacock is “the person you have to hire, the person you want in front of your customers, the person you need in your organization.”

During the workshop, Julie taught students how an elevator speech can properly introduce themselves to potential employers and sell their skills.  An elevator speech is a short introductory summary of yourself or your idea that is given in the time it takes to ride in an elevator.  She also gave great tips on networking skills for people that are seeking employment.

She encouraged students to surround themselves with people who could help them get jobs and could promote them in the job market. Using Julie’s toolbox, students learned the following lessons:

1. Make a Friendraiser. A Friendraiser is an email, flyer or other communication to your friends and family, telling them specifically what job you want to do and specifically how they can help you. The more people you recruit to help you, the better chance you have at finding new opportunities.
2. Attend Networking and Professional Group events. Surrounding yourself with people in your field or future field can do wonders for your networking. Make sure you have met one or two key people when you leave the event. Show up, look professional and don’t cling to people you already know.
3. Know your Unique Selling Proposition. There is a fine line between being professional and letting your winning personality shine. Julie recommends to show a glimmer of personality, and follow that up with a gallon of professionalism. Know what makes you unique to employers.
4. Control your online presence. Generally, the world still works with paper resumes and personal relationships, but employers do search Facebook and LinkedIn for future employees. Make sure that you keep a professional online presence, especially when you are on the job hunt.
5. Prepare for interview questions. Employers usually ask four questions:
   1. Tell me something about yourself.
   2. Describe a weakness of yours.
   3. Describe a strength of yours.
   4. Why are you interested in this job?

   Keep your interview answers concise, and make sure you are present in the moment. Employers want to know how you are going to make their lives easier. 

6. Hand-written Thank You Notes. Always follow-up a meeting or interview with a potential employer with a hand-written thank you note.  It may sound old fashioned, but personalized notes mean a great deal to the recipient and will allow you to stand out.

After presenting her essentials tools, Julie asked students to write without pausing for a minute, making a list of things that could make them stand out to employers. When they were finished, she asked for volunteers and then helped them to market their responses as interesting elevator speeches when meeting professionals.  

How can you incorporate some of Julie’s tips and tricks to make your interviews and job search go well?  Be sure to check back on our website for more information on future CxC Student Workshops.

CxC is proud to introduce Kate Youngblood, an English Secondary Education major and previous CxC Studio 151 writing coach. Currently student teaching in her final semester, Kate applies her communication skills gained with CxC to her classroom. She tells us, “The variety of assignments and skill-sets brought in by the students acted as an amazing learning ground for me before I began student teaching.” 

As a writing coach  in CxC’s Studio 151, Kate worked with students, helping them to craft their papers through the writing process, from brainstorming to final draft. “The most important thing that we push is that it’s not an editing service. It’s a long-term project. We work on building better writers, not just better papers,” she says.

Kate was trained to be a writing coach through her English 3015 class, taught by CxC Director Sarah Liggett. Not only did Kate assist LSU students with their writing skills, she also benefited by strengthening her own communication. She says, “The most valuable communication skill I learned from CxC is to listen way more than I talk. It is the student’s piece of writing and his or her worries or concerns that are most important to address.”

We asked Kate about the benefits of being a writing coach, and she told us, “It’s always really positive when a student comes in and they’re struggling to even figure out why they’re having a writing roadblock. We can show them or guide them to a writing model.”

One of Kate’s biggest accomplishments was assisting Monica Montenegro with her personal essay for graduated schools. “She got into all of the graduate school programs she applied to, and I’m sure that had more to do with her than me, but it’s pretty nice to hear that I helped someone.”

Post-graduation, Kate plans to attend Wake Forest University, where she was accepted as the recipient of a fellowship to a Master’s in Teaching program in English Education. Congratulations, Kate! 

All LSU students have access to free writing coaching through CxC’s Studio 151.   They help with all types of writing in all disciplines, but you must schedule an appointment in advance. 

While there isn’t a singular app that will do everything for you, there are a group of top iPad apps that will greatly increase your productivity.  Here’s the brief recap of what was discussed.

Dropbox.com – file storage solution that allows you to store and access your any files from anywhere on any device, including your desktop.

• Free account and quite a bit of storage (Cool tip: For every referral to dropbox, you receive more storage!).
• Allows you to share files and folders for group projects.
• Does require internet access, but can access file when offline.  Simply open the file you need while connected to Wi-Fi and it will be there when your Wi-Fi is not, which is great for when you are traveling.  Note: you can only do this with one file at a time.
• A must-have app to access files with the below applications.  It is the ideal app to gets your files onto your iPad.

Google Drive – stores converted files (not true MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint files) and enables document creation and real-time document collaboration on any device/desktop.

• Free app in which you can start and edit files in Google Drive, or upload existing files, but these files are converted to GDrive files which are slightly different from Microsoft files and may result in loss of some formatting.
• Real-time collaboration is the greatest benefit to this solution.  It allows you to work in groups on a document without having to constantly email the latest version to collaborators.
• Does require internet access, but can download multiple documents to review offline.

CloudOn – enables you to create and edit Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint using MS utilities. 

• Free app, but not for long so get it now!
• Features most major MS utilities, including track changes.
• Enables you to create, edit, or mark up a file and quickly send via email or save to Dropbox and GDrive.

Notability – easily annotate PDF files.

• Costs $1.99, but price is climbing fast!
• Gives you the ability to mark-up PDFs by typing text, handwriting notes, drawing, and adding voice annotations directly into the PDF.
• Once annotated, you can easily email your mark-ups directly from within the app.

SlideShark – free app for viewing and presenting PowerPoint content.

• Only for playback and presentation, not presentation design/development.
• Does a great job of maintaining most formatting and animations. (Be aware of non-traditional fonts as they may not convert well.)
• Allows you to use your iPhone as the clicker during a presentation.
• Has a built-in laser pointer and strong presenter view utility. 
• If you’re going to present from your iPad, you’ll need a specific cable to plug into classroom media centers or projectors (about $30 from the Apple store).

Prezi – free cloud-based presentation software that goes beyond slide-based presentations and opens up a new world between whiteboards and slides. 

• The iPad app allows you to access and edit old presentations or create new ones.
• Now allows you to import old ones and it converts a PowerPoint for you.  Just be careful at the conversion with settings, fonts, etc.
• Can import a PowerPoint into Prezi, but cannot import a Prezi into PowerPoint.

Evernote – free, robust note-taking and note collection solution that syncs across all devices and desktop.

• This is not for MS documents; think about it just like you would a traditional notebook. 
• Ability to search text within note, not just document title (which you cannot do for documents with Dropbox or GDrive).
• Great web clipping tool that enables you to save the URL, the whole page, or a portion of the page.  Perfect for those important web pages that might not be there when you need to go back to them.

Penultimate – free app that allows you to take handwritten notes as though you’re naturally writing on paper and saves notes to Evernote.

• Evernote sync allows you to run searches on your handwritten notes.
• Does not translate your handwriting into typed text.

Diigo – free, dynamic collaborative research/social bookmarking app and desktop browser add-on that allows you to store and share website bookmarks, highlights and notes.

• Powerful tool for conducting research online and collaboration between students or colleagues.
• Ability to see others comments and notes on marked webpages.
• Can save URL or full page content for later access.
• Able to access bookmarked items when offline.

TED – free app to view TED talks

• Easily search TED talks
• Build playlist for future viewing

Lynda – free app to access thousands of tutorials on software and professional development topics

• Robust training resource
• LSU pays for services for all LSU students, faculty, and staff to be able to log in for free with their myLSU credentials.  Be sure to select “Web Portal Access” when logging into the app.

Have you ever found yourself needing help with an Excel spreadsheet? Would you like to learn how to use Photoshop? Or how would you like to be better prepared for a job interview? Well, as an LSU student, you have free, 24/7 access to an amazing resource that helps you easily learn all of these things and more! If you are not already familiar with LyndaCampus, you are definitely missing out.

LyndaCampus is a professional and personal improvement website that allows you – regardless of your proficiency level, background or interest – to learn software, design principles, and business skills. Lynda is home to a massive library of online video tutorials ranging in subject from PowerPoint to photography to how to negotiate your salary.  Everything is broken down into short segments.  So for example, you can watch the entire chapter on “Fine Tuning Excel Charts,” which is 24 minutes, or skip directly to the 4-minute tutorial on “Moving and Resizing Charts.” Lynda features thousands of quick, easy-to-follow video tutorials sure to be able to help you with any software quirks you are fighting with, new tools you need to learn, or fun things you’re interested in delving into.

The LyndaCampus rep visited LSU earlier this semester and shared a few quick tips to help us maximize our use of Lynda:

• Watch the welcome course. For every Lynda course, there is a welcome video that will quickly explain what the focus of the course is and what you can expect.
• Choose your skill level. Do you know a lot about Photoshop, but aren’t as familiar with Illustrator? Then try the “beginner” level for Illustrator. By choosing the appropriate skill level, you’ll be able to learn more effectively.
• Use the 3-scan rule. First, watch the tutorial to simply watch it. Then, watch it a second time so you can pick up on the details and things you may have missed the first go around. Finally, try the action yourself.
• Create playlists for your favorite courses. Did you really enjoy a few tutorials from the “Excel 2010 Essential Training” course? Save them on your playlist for future reference. Are there a few tutorials you like that aren’t necessarily for school? Save them to a “Fun Stuff” playlist!

Here’s a list of top Lynda tutorials to help you along your path to graduation:

• Creating an Effective Resume
• Time Management Fundamentals
• Job Search Strategies
• Writing Fundamentals: The Craft of Story
• Acing Your Interview
• Pitching Projects and Products to Executives
• Up and Running with LinkedIn

But don’t stop here. LyndaCampus allows you to learn anywhere, anytime, about anything, so what are you waiting for? Start learning now!

Have you heard about TED? TED champions one big goal: ideas worth spreading. The nonprofit began as a conference to bring together people from the backgrounds of technology, entertainment and design, challenging its speakers in these fields to give the talk of their lives in under 18 minutes. Since its beginning in 1984, TED has expanded into more than just its namesake, and now LSU is shaping it further, exploring topics such as healthy lifestyles, entrepreneurship and coastal preservation.

TEDxLSU gives the LSU and Baton Rouge community the opportunity to converse at a local level, bringing the TED experience home. It’s planned locally and independently, gathering intelligent, successful speakers with students and local residents to spark a discussion. With an amazing line-up, the first TEDxLSU is quickly becoming a hot topic around campus. Among the many great speakers are Jensen Moore, LSU professor of strategic communication, as well as a CxC faculty advisor.

“I never dreamed I’d be giving a TED talk, so this is really an honor,” Dr. Moore tells us. She will be speaking alongside other local enthusiasts including filmmaker Zack Godshall, BR Walls Project co-curator Casey Phillips, and more.

We couldn’t be more excited for Dr. Moore’s talk, a look into the way the grieving process is shifting through the use of social media. “I’m going to be talking about how we are starting to use social media to keep people alive,” Moore tells us. With an emphasis on effective communication, CxC fully supports TEDxLSU. We believe it’s a special project that brings together all modes of communication, and is an inspiring source of professionalism. Dr. Moore says, “I’m just extremely happy that CxC is involved. CxC is an amazing program and a great fit with TEDx.”

TEDxLSU will be held on March 9 and tickets are now on sale, but seats are limited and they are going fast!

www.christopherwitt.com

BY SARAH LIGGETT, PHD

Christopher Witt, a management consultant and author of the blog Communication Matters, recently posted an entry, Improving the Speech Delivery Skills of Engineers, that caught the attention of the CxC team.  Witt writes, “Engineers aren’t generally regarded as dynamic presenters, and yet I spend little time trying to improve their delivery skills.”  He gives three reasons:

(1) “there’s not enough time,”

(2) “other things are more important than delivery,” and

(3) “there’s a better way to improve their presentation skills.”

The first point is a given:  there is never enough time in any field to teach everything we want students to know and be able to do.  But what is really more important than delivery? And is there really a better way?

Since time limits are not unique to any field, it is important to learn how to quickly evaluate the purpose for a presentation and what information can/should be covered and your audience. That said, seasoned presenters may need less time to organize a talk, but no matter what stage you are at in your career, everyone needs critique in delivery to be able to deliver a truly engaging speech that gets others excited (about your research or ideas) and ultimately moves the audience to action (generating funding support or job offers).

Perhaps without knowing it, Witt argues outright for attention to three of the five canons discussed by classical rhetoricians such as Aristotle and Cicero: invention (purpose), arrangement (organization), and style (clarity, conciseness, and completeness).  And while Witt never mentions memory as such, he does help clients practice their presentations until they have “internalized their message.”  But what about the final canon—delivery? It seems to me that Witt does in fact teach delivery when he encourages presenters to act natural, but speak a bit louder with more pronounced gestures.

So while Witt’s initial argument on its face seems counter-intuitive to CxC pedagogy, his approach actually supports CxC pedagogy in most regards.  Like many C-I faculty do with their students, Wit teaches his clients to focus on higher order concerns (purpose, audience, content, organization, etc.) before later order concerns (sentence structure, word choice, usage, punctuation, style). And although he doesn’t “have time” to partake in video recording, in Communication-Intensive (C-I) courses and in CxC Studios, where we do have—or at least—take the time to develop delivery skills, we know the uncomfortable, yet significant growth that students achieve when they are able to self-evaluate their presentations.  Little—but significant—things like eye contact, speech pace, and gestures can be taught quickly, improve over time, and take little time to point out.

At the end of the day, an amazing delivery* cannot make up for lack of knowledge or ideas.  But a poor delivery can severely impair the effective communication of knowledge and ideas.  The two go hand-and-hand and must remain priorities for us across all disciplines as we teach students to be strong oral communicators.

*Note:  Strong delivery is not defined by comedic approaches or slides overrun with images. Rather, it focuses on a presenter who draws you in, helps you clearly understand why this information is important, and motivates and inspires you.

As part of a series of posts highlighting our students, staff and resources, the first installment of “Meet CxC” features one of our star graduates, Joseph Tran.

CxC is proud to introduce Joseph Tran, a LSU 2012 graduate and Distinguished Communicator. Joseph earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering at LSU and used his DC certification as his ticket into Loyola Law School where he is currently studying Intellectual Property Law.

We asked Joseph how his time with CxC helped him ultimately pursue his dream career. He told us, “The program helped me tremendously with my law school application process, as well as with my networking skills. I found building a digital portfolio to showcase my cumulative efforts most rewarding. I received personal notes about my portfolio from law school admissions committee members which was exciting.  It was instant confirmation of the effectiveness of the LSU Distinguished Communicator program.”

While at LSU, Joseph completed an internship with LHA, LCC in Houston as a member of the research and development team.  Also, he participated in the LaACES research program for 2.5 years. A self-motivated student, Joseph tells us that law school is not the end. “Eventually, I intend on starting my own business and possibly picking up an MBA in the process.”

To future Distinguished Communicators, Joseph gives some good advice: “Communication is vitally important; good communication simply sets you apart. Personally, these skills have allow me to effectively network with my peers, potential clients and employees, which has proven to be invaluable.”

CxC loves its graduates, and we thank Joseph for checking in with us! 
Be sure to watch for future “Meet CxC” posts.

At a recent LSU faculty development workshop, Dr. Bill Wischusen shared how he has flipped his large biology course (800+ students!).  He discussed what has worked for him (and what hasn’t worked), and how he’s seen student learning and grades increase as a result of this approach to teaching and learning.  It is true that not one-size-fits all, but “flipping the classroom” is certainly an approach worth exploring further for both large and small classrooms.  Below is a fantastic infographic that that explains just what a flipped classroom is and some additional resource links.  Happy teaching!

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

Resources

• To Flip or Not To Flip: Musings on Flipping the Classroom
• Flipped Learning: A Response to Five Common Criticisms
• Flipped Classes: Dispelling Myths and Sharing What Works
• The Flipped Classroom: Rethinking the Way You Teach

Email is a critical communication medium for all professions and it can make (or break) your success, so it’s good habit to always think before you send.

Do you know the difference between the “to” field and the “bcc” field when sending an email? Do you effectively use email subject lines? Do you always proofread your emails for tone and grammar before sending? We will be talking about these things and much more! Yes, email is quick, easy, and a major communication medium for all professions, but this doesn’t mean all grammar rules go out the window. There are also many genre and etiquette rules to email and you should know them all if you want to successfully correspond with other in a professional manner.

Here are some tips for professional email etiquette:

• Select an appropriate email address and signature. “HotTigerGirl87@gmail.com” is not professional.  Also, you should always have a signature line at the end of your email, even as an undergraduate. Consider structuring it this way:

Jane Smith
LSU Biological Sciences Student
JaneSmith@gmail.com
(225) 555-5555

• Fill in the “to” field last. This way you can focus on drafting and editing your message and it will not accidentally be sent before you have a chance to proofread it a couple of times.
• Understand the difference between To, CC and BCC.
  • “To” involves a message to a specific person(s). It’s a direct email.
  • “CC” is how you keep people in the loop; you are copying them on the email.
  • “BCC” stands for blind carbon copy and is rarely used unless you are sending emails to a large group of people.  BCC protects the identity of those to whom you are sending.  It also protects them from being bombarded with responses from recipients who hit “reply all” because only you will receive the response if you used BCC, not everyone on the list.

• Choose your subject line carefully. You want to be descriptive, but concise. Avoid terms like “urgent” or “important” as they are typically spam triggers. Also, make sure to use the high priority marking sparingly.
• Be clear, concise, and complete. Use clear language, so your message is understood.  Be concise; emails are no place for a manuscript.  Anticipate questions from your reader and be sure to include that information upfront.  Be informal, but professional. Get to the point, but don’t come across as a jerk.
• Find the right tone. Email is not typical social media. It’s a formal mode of communication. Don’t email a boss as you would text a friend. They cannot hear your voice or see your face, so be conscious of the tone and approach you use in relaying your message. When in doubt, save a draft and consult a colleague.
• Apply the proper styles. Here are the “technical don’ts”:
  • Avoid unprofessional fonts such as Comic Sans
  • “Pretty” backgrounds and graphics distract from your text.
  • Text formatting is good (bolding, bullets, etc.), but beware of text-to-html conversions.
  • Acronyms can cause confusion (and make you seem immature). LOL and BRB are not professional speak.
  • All caps indicate screaming, so stick with sentence-case.

• Employ the 3-step Writing Process: 1- Plan (think), 2-Write (draft), and 3-Complete (proof and send).
• Use Attachments Wisely. You want to make the file size as small as possible and remember to actually attach the file. Keep in mind that some company systems do not allow attachments to be received.
• Know when (and when not) to reply and/or forward.
  • Reply: Do you need to include anyone else when you reply?
  • Reply All: Does everyone really need to hear your response? It’s easy to make this mistake when you meant to reply back privately.
  • Forward: Is it appropriate? For example, email humor isn’t for the workplace.

• Avoid the “Nastygram.” Attacking emails that are rude and unprofessional are never appropriate. Responding to controversial email is better done via conversation. If you need to vent, type it out in a word document and then delete it.
• Consider other effective methods of communication. It’s okay to call or talk in person. You need to be considerate of confidential and/or sensitive information, especially on the Internet.

Don’t forget to check the website for future student workshops. They’re free and typically open to all students, so plan to attend one soon!

What students said about the CxC Email Etiquette Workshop:

“It helped me realize how important it is to formulate emails in order to come across as professional, competent and intelligent.” – Richelle Saluga, marketing senior

“It was especially relevant for us as seniors entering the corporate business world.” - Ryan Hernandez, marketing senior

“It was a great reminder of the do’s and don’ts of  sending and replying to emails. You should always be cognizant of what you say and how you say it online. This especially goes for many of us who are trying to apply for jobs after college or for when we do reach the corporate world.” - Amanda Murphy, marketing senior

LSU graduates often take time out of their hectic, post-college lives to write back to CxC and share how the program has helped them. Recent alumna Monica Montenegro wrote in to share the success she experienced as a result of CxC’s Studio 151 and its writing support services. At Studio 151, Monica met writing coach Kate Youngblood, who worked with Monica on writing her personal statement for graduate school. The following is a tribute to her success!

AT LSU…. The New Orleans native came to LSU in 2009 to study Communication Disorders. While studying at LSU, Monica interned at the Baton Rouge Speech and Hearing Foundation and worked with Autistic children. In her senior year, she was named Historian of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA), the lead organization in her field.

AT CxC’s STUDIO 151… Monica recalls her experience: “I found out about CxC’s Studio 151 through one of my COMD classes.  It was a Communication-Intensive course and we used the Studio to make a video.  While there, I realized they also had writing coaching available so I signed up for help.  I was pretty clueless on where or how to start my personal statement for my graduate school application.  But when I met with Kate, we looked over the question prompts and she helped me pick them apart into manageable sections. We took all my experience and turned it into a cohesive statement that showed my strong points and my passion for the field. I saw her once to come up with an outline and then again to review my final draft.  I know my personal statement was one of the strongest elements in my application and without Kate’s help it would not have been so.  She coached me through the writing process and showed me a new way to approach writing any paper, not just a personal statement.”

AFTER LSU… Monica graduated in May 2012 with a B.S. in Communication Disorders.  With help from her CxC writing coach, Kate Youngblood, Monica had her pick of graduate programs and now is at LSU School of Allied Health Professions in New Orleans pursuing a masters in Speech-Language Pathology.  She continues to use the skills she gained through CxC’s writing support services in her graduate work.

Congratulations, Monica!  Learn more more about CxC Studio 151 and CxC Writing Services.