Dear Janet, I still remember the expressions of dread that appeared around the classroom when you announced our first seven-minute writing sprint. But just as you promised, we soon began to relish these exercises, surprising…
Academic Writing. Department of Computer Science, Columbia University. Spring Semester 2016. Great Presentations. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University. Spring Semester 2016 Academic Writing Seminar. NYC ASCENT – Computer Science Postdoc Consortium. Columbia University, Cornell University, the…
by Brian Smith “I was fairly confident in my writing ability if given enough time before I took Academic Writing, but I knew that there were still areas for improvement in my writing and…
by Melody Ju “Before taking Great Presentations, I always blamed myself for spacing out during lectures, or for failing to follow a speaker’s train of thought. I had believed that the speaker’s…
A question that comes up very often in my Great Presentations class is — “What do you think about memorizing a talk?” The question of memorization touches on the three central parts of…
“Dear Jenny: The way to do a piece of writing is three or four times over, never once. For me, the hardest part comes first, getting something — anything — out in front of me….
Here is my response to a question from “Angie” about communication style in the workplace:
“How can I get my team to see me as a critical team member? I’m the youngest person in the office by several years and find it hard to get them to treat me as their equal.”
My thoughts are that no matter what your age, “being taken seriously” is a mutually negotiated subtlety of communication, a kind of contract between participants. Angie’s commitment would be to be an engaged and authentic listener; prepared and on time for meetings; respectful; making appropriate eye contact; and so on.
Janet L. Kayfetz and Tim Sherwood 2014. IEEE Potentials. Volume 34, No. 4.
A pivotal element of the composing process is when the writer determines the communicative purpose of her text. This decision not only provides the inspiration for the story. This decision unifies all of the rhetorical…
A year and a half after completing my Great Presentations class at UCSB, Claire Phillips sent me this email with her thoughts about the class’s teaching/learning dynamic. I appreciate hearing what she has to say…
© Copyright 2014-2018. All rights reserved. Janet L. Kayfetz.