Miles Lomanno's blog

  Title: Reading Blog 10: EBC Ch. 11 Summary: Chapter 11 starts by saying how important it is for a job applicant to have a professional demeanor and good manners. It mentions how it is important to keep these traits in the digital world as well, as the world, which includes businesses, is becoming increasingly digital. Then it goes into the different aspects of a courteous individual and the positive effect on the business of displaying these traits. Comment: I believe that there is not much of a clear distinction between ethics and etiquette. If someone believes that they should not be rude to others because it is good etiquette, then that carries over into their ethics since they believe that being rude is wrong and not being rude is good. Question: What is a good way to help somebody that does not have good soft skills, manners, or ethics?

  Title: Reading Blog 9: EBC Ch. 9 Summary: Chapter 9 starts off explaining what a report is and what good it does for a company. Reports are used to provide a basis on what a business needs to do differently. The way they present this information can vary, but it mostly stays in one of two categories. Information reports present only facts with no recommendations. Analytical reports take facts and analyze them, and they sometimes give a recommended solution. Comment: There are so many different formats to reports, but I feel like it would be much easier to keep one universal format for every report with slight variations. The letter format is the only one that I think seems necessary, apart from small changes with the email format, with the added option of bullet points. The words that the report contains could determine the level of formality, and infographics could be added if the writer wishes. Question: Are there some times where formal reports are more preferred than formal ...

Title: Reading Blog 8: EBC Ch. 8 Summary: Chapter 8 starts by explaining how important it is to be skeptical of persuasion as a lot of it is faulty. It then goes into saying how vast the influence of media is, giving examples such as America's being perceived as great by other countries and the popularity of TV shows and franchises skyrocketing. Then, the chapter gives tips on persuading others, including establishing one's own credibility, explaining what the reader or consumer has to lose, and making a request. It also says how it is important to build a solid foundation of facts and logic before getting to the main point or making a request. Comment: I wonder if any vastly agreed upon notions are actually not the way they seem because of the effect of persuasion. I feel like conspiracy theorists have similar thoughts, but thinking about skepticism in the media has made me wonder if any of what the theorists are saying has some line of truth. I believe that major things such...

  Title: Reading Blog 7: EBC Ch. 6 & 7 Summary: Chapter 6 explains when you would send a letter as opposed to when you would post a memo. It then explains the benefits of writing a letter instead of some digital means of communication. The chapter also goes into how to write and format a professional letter. a direct message on social media, online customer comments, instruction messages, and memos. Chapter 7 starts off with explaining how to handle sending negative messages or posts. It explains how it is important for the receiver to understand the negative comment and feel as if the sender has sympathy for the receiver. The sender must be flexible and use different strategies depending on what the bad news is. There is the direct strategy and the indirect strategy. Comment: When delivering straightforward business news or bad news, it is important to be aware of what the reader will feel when they read it. Because of this, I find it hard to stay professional when writing em...

Title: Reading Blog 6: EBC Ch. 4 Summary: Chapter 4 explains the process of revising messages, including editing, proofreading, and evaluating. The chapter explains what each of these terms mean. It also give tips on how to get rid of clutter when writing a professional message or document. These tips include using more concise language like saying "although" instead of "in spite of the fact that," avoiding redundancies, and getting rid of empty words. It also give similar tips in regards to social media messages. Comment: Classes in school make it difficult for students and graduates to write a professional message. For a large chunk of most students' lives, they are taught to write wordy sentences to fill up a word count in an essay. This is directly contradictory to what is wanted from businesses, since conciseness is the most efficient aspect of writing a business-related message or document, since there is no grading happening, and the text should be cle...

Title: Reading Blog 5: EBC Ch. 14 Summary: Chapter 14 talks about trends in job interviews, and it details how to succeed in interviews. There are two types of interviews: screening interviews and hiring/placement interviews. The purpose of screening interviews is to weed out blatantly unqualified candidates for the job. The purpose of placement interviews is to reject the candidates that would not fit the position and to hire the candidates who would be best for the position. Comment: I find it unfortunate that some interviews are only done through a phone call. Unless the job involves mainly talking on the phone, I feel that a phone interview is not a sufficient way to test a person's abilities to do the job, such as social skills. Some people, myself included, have a much harder time with phone interviews because there is no nonverbal communication that there would be in an in-person interviews, and nonverbal communication is a huge component of human interaction, which is a hug...

Title: Reading Blog 4: EBC Ch. 13 Summary: Chapter 4 gives advice on how to find the perfect job and how to get an employer or interviewer to see that you are a good fit for this job. Similarly to most aspects the job world, technology plays a big part in a job search. Networking and social media are practically necessary skills when showing off your assets to an employer or company. It then goes into the open job market, mentioning all of the sites that can be used to find tons of openings. After that, it explains how the hidden job market is perfect for someone who is looking for a more niche job with more specific skills. Comment: Persistence can pay off, but it needs to be done correctly. One needs to have ideas of their own and not let their potential employer decide what job the applicant gets. If an applicant gets turned down for a job because someone else has better qualifications, it is up to the applicant to come up with a new plan of what their skills can provide the employ...

  Title: Reading Blog 3: EBC Ch. 2 & 3 Summary: Chapter 2 gives tips on how to have successful digital communication, particularly in the world of business. It details the differences casual or school-related communication have with business communication. Professional communication is meant to be brief and concise. Too much length can overcomplicate things and confuse the receivers. The chapter is mostly focused on what to do before actually writing a message. Chapter 3 goes into a little more detail about what to do before writing, such as research, but it mainly gives tips on the process of when one actually starts writing. It mentions going back to previous steps in the writing process as the writing goes on. Comment: Chapters 2 and 3 mostly talk about the same thing, that being professional communication through digital means. However, they go through different parts of the process. While chapter 2 focuses more on the prewriting aspect and chapter 3 focuses more on researc...

Title: Reading Blog 2: EBC Chapter 1 & 5  Summary: Chapter 1 explains the importance of communication in the workplace or when applying for a job. It mentions how the growth of automation is causing a rise in the demand of communication-oriented jobs and a drop in the demand of jobs where one can be tucked away in a corner. It provides strategies for better communication and listening skills. Chapter 5 explains how email is taking over the workplace. There are not many better or universally-used methods of conveying professional messages than through email. It also give tips on how to construct a professional email. Comment: Chapter 1 and chapter 5 both talk about how important communication is in the workplace. Chapter 1 talks more about in-person verbal and nonverbal communication, and chapter 5 talks more about digital communication, but both have the commonality of requiring professionalism. Body language, tone, and dictation need to be professional while talking directly t...

  I am Miles Lomanno, and I am an environmental studies major and writing minor at Christopher Newport University. My favorite kind of writing is creative writing, mostly in the form of short stories, poems, or songs. I'd say creative writing is also a strength of mine, with it being something that I have a lot of practice with since I often just do it in my free time. I have trouble writing with my own voice, so when writing a song or poem I will often get in the mindset of taking on the persona of a character I create during the writing process. My writing can also be too short and concise sometimes, even when I think I have added sufficient details, so I'd say my inability to fill a page is another weakness of mine. Most of the writing I do is in an inherently shorter format, which probably explains this. I also struggle to get started on writing something, but once I start, ideas tend to keep flowing so I don’t have much trouble continuing. In the future, my goal is to be...