Essentials of Business Communication, 11th Edition
By Mary Ellen Guffey and Dana Loewy
Contents:
Unit 1 Business Communication
in the Digital Age
1 Succeeding in the Social and Mobile
Workplace 2
1-1 Mastering the Tools for Success in the
Twenty-First-Century Workplace 2
1-2 Developing Listening Skills 10
1-3 Learning Nonverbal Communication
Skills 12
1-4 Recognizing How Culture Influences
Communication 15
1-5 Becoming Interculturally Proficient 20
Summary of Learning Outcomes 23
Chapter Review 25
Critical Thinking 26
Activities and Cases 26
Grammar/Mechanics Checkup 1 31
Editing Challenge 1 32
Communication Workshop 33
Unit 2 The Writing Process in
the Information Age
2-1 Examining the Communication Process 36
2-2 Following the 3-x-3 Writing Process 38
2-3 Analyzing the Purpose and Anticipating
the Audience 41
2-4 Adapting to the Audience With Expert
Writing Techniques 44
2-5 Improving the Tone and Clarity
of a Message 47
Summary of Learning Outcomes 51
Chapter Review 52
Critical Thinking 53
Writing Improvement Exercises 54
Radical Rewrites 57
Activities 58
Grammar/Mechanics Checkup 2 59
Editing Challenge 2 60
Communication Workshop 61
3 Organizing and Drafting Business Messages 62
3-1 Drafting Workplace Messages 62
3-2 Organizing Information to Show
Relationships 65
3-3 Drafting With Powerful Sentences 67
3-4 Mastering Four Skillful Writing
Techniques 70
3-5 Drafting Well-Organized, Effective
Paragraphs 74
Summary of Learning Outcomes 76
Chapter Review 77
Critical Thinking 78
Writing Improvement Exercises 78
Radical Rewrites 83
Grammar/Mechanics Checkup 3 84
Editing Challenge 3 85
Communication Workshop 86
4 Revising Business Messages 87
4-1 Stopping to Revise: Applying Phase 3 of the Writing Process 87
4-2 Enhancing Message Clarity 92
4-3 Using Document Design to Improve Readability 95
4-4 Catching Errors With Careful Proofreading 98
4-5 Evaluating the Effectiveness of Your
Message 101
Summary of Learning Outcomes 102
Chapter Review 103
Critical Thinking 103
Writing Improvement Exercises 104
Radical Rewrites 109
Grammar/Mechanics Checkup 4 110
Editing Challenge 4 111
Communication Workshop 112
Unit 3 Workplace Communication
5 Short Workplace Messages and Digital Media 114
5-1 Writing Digital Age E-Mail Messages and Memos 114
5-2 Workplace Messaging and Texting 120
5-3 Making Podcasts and Wikis Work for Business 124
5-4 Blogging for Business 127
5-5 Social Networking for Business 131
Summary of Learning Outcomes 134
Chapter Review 136
Critical Thinking 137
Writing Improvement Exercises 138
Radical Rewrites 140
Activities and Cases 141
Grammar/Mechanics Checkup 5 147
Editing Challenge 5 148
Communication Workshop 149
6 Positive and Neutral Messages 150
6-1 Routine Messages: E-Mails, Memos,
and Letters 150
6-2 Typical Request, Response, and Instruction
Messages 153
6-3 Direct Claims and Complaints 159
6-4 Adjustment Messages 163
6-5 Goodwill Messages 166
Summary of Learning Outcomes 170
Chapter Review 171
Critical Thinking 172
Writing Improvement Exercises 173
Activities and Cases 177
Grammar/Mechanics Checkup 6 183
Editing Challenge 6 184
Communication Workshop 185
7 Negative Messages 186
7-1 Communicating Negative News
Effectively 186
7-2 Analyzing Negative News Strategies 187
7-3 Composing Effective Negative
Messages 191
7-4 Refusing Typical Requests and Claims 197
7-5 Managing Bad News Within Organizations 201
Summary of Learning Outcomes 206
Chapter Review 207
Critical Thinking 208
Writing Improvement Exercises 208
Radical Rewrites 210
Activities and Cases 211
Grammar/Mechanics Checkup 7 216
Editing Challenge 7 217
Communication Workshop 218
8 Persuasive Messages 219
8-1 Understanding Persuasion in a Social and Mobile Age 219
8-2 Planning and Writing Persuasive
Requests 221
8-3 Writing Effective Persuasive Claims
and Complaints 222
8-4 Crafting Persuasive Messages in Digital Age
Organizations 224
8-5 Creating Effective Sales Messages in Print
and Online 228
Summary of Learning Outcomes 237
Chapter Review 238
Critical Thinking 239
Writing Improvement Exercises 239
Radical Rewrites 240
Activities and Cases 243
Grammar/Mechanics Checkup 8 248
Editing Challenge 8 249
Communication Workshop 250
Unit 4 Business Reports and
Proposals—
Best Practices
9 Informal Reports 252
9-1 Preparing Reports in the Digital Age 252
9-2 Report Formats and Heading Levels 256
9-3 Identifying the Problem, Defining
the Purpose, and Collecting Data 259
9-4 Preparing Short Informational Reports 262
9-5 Preparing Short Analytical Reports 268
Summary of Learning Outcomes 276
Chapter Review 277
Critical Thinking 278
Activities and Cases 278
Grammar/Mechanics Checkup 9 281
Editing Challenge 9 283
Communication Workshop 284
10 Proposals and Formal Reports 285
10-1 Preparing Business Proposals 285
10-2 Preparing Formal Business Reports 291
10-3 Collecting Information Through Primary and
Secondary Research 294
10-4 Documenting Information 300
10-5 Incorporating Meaningful Visual Aids
and Graphics 303
10-6 Understanding Formal Report
Components 308
Summary of Learning Outcomes 312
Chapter Review 313
Critical Thinking 314
Activities and Cases 315
Grammar/Mechanics Checkup 10 320
Editing Challenge 10 321
Communication Workshop 322
Unit 5 Professionalism, Teamwork,
Meetings, and Speaking Skills
11 Professionalism at Work: Business Etiquette, Ethics,
Teamwork, and Meetings 326
11-1 Developing Professionalism and Business
Etiquette Skills at the Office and Online 326
11-2 Communicating Face-to-Face on the Job 330
11-3 Following Professional Telephone and Voice
Mail Etiquette 335
11-4 Adding Value to Professional Teams 338
11-5 Planning and Participating in Face-to-Face
and Virtual Meetings 343
Summary of Learning Outcomes 350
Chapter Review 351
Critical Thinking 353
Activities and Cases 353
Grammar/Mechanics Checkup 11 358
Editing Challenge 11 360
Communication Workshop 361
12 Business Presentations 362
12-1 Creating Effective Business
Presentations 362
12-2 Organizing Content to Connect
With Audiences 365
12-3 Understanding Contemporary Visual
Aids 371
12-4 Preparing Engaging Multimedia
Presentations 374
12-5 Polishing Your Delivery and Following
Up 380
Summary of Learning Outcomes 384
Chapter Review 385
Critical Thinking 386
Activities and Cases 386
Grammar/Mechanics Checkup 12 392
Editing Challenge 12 394
Communication Workshop 395
Unit 6 Employment
Communication
13 The Job Search, Résumés, and Cover
Messages 398
13-1 Job Searching in the Digital Age 398
13-2 Developing a Job-Search Strategy Focused on
the Open Job Market 402
13-3 Unlocking the Hidden Job Market
With Networking 404
13-4 Customizing Your Résumé 409
13-5 Using Digital Tools to Enhance Your Job
Search 421
13-6 Cover Messages—Do They Still Matter? 425
Summary of Learning Outcomes 433
Chapter Review 435
Critical Thinking 436
Radical Rewrites 436
Activities and Cases 438
Grammar/Mechanics Checkup 13 441
Editing Challenge 13 442
Communication Workshop 443
14 Interviewing and Following Up 444
14-1 Interviewing Effectively in Today’s
Competitive Job Market 444
14-2 Before the Interview 448
14-3 During the Interview 452
14-4 After the Interview 462
14-5 Preparing Additional Employment
Documents 465
Summary of Learning Outcomes 468
Chapter Review 470
Critical Thinking 471
Radical Rewrites 472
Activities and Cases 473
Grammar/Mechanics Checkup 14 479
Editing Challenge 14 480
Communication Workshop 481
Appendixes
Appendix A Document Format Guide A-1
Appendix B Documentation Formats B-1
Appendix C Correction Symbols and Proofreading Marks C-1
Appendix D Grammar/Mechanics Handbook D-1
End Matter
Notes N-1
Index I-1