First Pearl Diving Assignment

Erin Nolan
ENCE424
Communication for Project Managers

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Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Book Concepts 3
Classroom Concepts 4
Business Civility 4
Networking 4
Conclusion 5
References 6

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Introduction

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are vitally important to the future of
society. Civil engineers must be able to communicate technical findings and research to experts
in their field and novices. Communication for Project Managers is a course which explores
communication and helps individuals learn to embrace public speaking. It is a valuable course
which bridges the gap of STEM fields and communication with others. In this paper, I will
review three concepts I learned from the readings, a concept learned in the classroom, describe
how I practiced have recently practiced business civility, and describe how I have increased my
networking abilities.

Book Concepts

One of the most important concepts I’ve read about in this class is Aristotle’s theories of
rhetoric. Rhetoric describes types of persuasive speaking and methods that can be implored by
the speaker to be more persuasive. Aristotle specifically pioneered the rhetorical concepts of
pathos, ethos, and logos. Pathos is persuading your audience through emotion or passion.
According to “Five Stars, the Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great” by Carmine
Gallo, emotion is the fastest way to the brain. Gallo uses Kennedy’s powerful delivery of the
1962 “moon speech” to show the true effect of pathos. Kennedy’s emotional appeals of
mankind’s perseverance and desire to overcome obstacles convinced the public to stand behind
the moon project. Ethos is persuading your audience through morals or your identity. Ethos is
about convincing your audience that you as a speaker is a credible source and that you have
experience with the specific topic. Logos is persuading your audience through logic and facts.
This rhetorical appeal shows your audience that you are coming from a place of fact. Though
logos is important, Gallo focuses more on the importance of pathos and ethos when appealing to
your audience.
Another important concept I found in the readings is knowing what your goal is from an
interaction or conversation with someone. In the book “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking
When Stakes are High”, Kerry Patterson explains that humans desire to win or be right ends up
overpowering the original goal of the communication. An example from the book is a boss gets
stood up to by an employee for being hypocritical. The boss is asking her employees to cut costs,
while having her office redone. The book goes through two scenarios. One scenario where the
boss responds negatively and attacks her employee for calling her out. The second scenario is
where the boss takes responsibility for being hypocritical, asks about her employees concerns,
and opens the floor for honest communication. In the first situation, the boss is embarrassed and
feels attacked. She decides to fight back with the employee and ultimately does not get what she
wants out of the meeting. In the second situation, the boss refocused her brain to what she
wanted out of the meeting. By fighting the desire to be right, the boss and the employee could
have successful communication. This section showed me that it is important to go into a
conversation knowing what you want to get out of it. By doing this, it is easier to fight the urge
to be right and refocus on what you want out of the communication.
In “A pocket guide to public speaking”, I learned that the best preparation for a speech is
an extemporaneous speech. This is a type of speech where the speaker has memorized an outline
of the main points of a speech, but not the whole speech. You don’t want to memorize a speech
because it is oratory. Impromptu speaking can be more natural but it has its faults. For example,

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you can seem unprepared or unprofessional. The best way to prepare, is to outline the main
topics for your speech and go over those. Then practice giving the speech with your desired body
language, facial expressions and tone. If you do all of these things than you will be more
successful in communicating to your audience.

Classroom Concepts

An important concept I learned in class is using your space when speaking to an

audience. Part of using your space is the power stance for public speaking. The power stance is
the motion of standing up straight with feet about shoulder length apart and hands clasped. This
stance is calm and professional as well as being a comfortable pose for public speaking. It is also
important because 55% of what the audience’s impression of you is based on body language.
Therefore, your body language needs to poised, professional, and confident while speaking. In
addition to the power stance, it is important to move around effectively while talking. Your
movements must have purpose and match what you say. For example, it is important to include
the audience. If you want to mention a certain part of the room or the entire audience, gesture to
them with an open palm facing up. This gesture is welcoming and friendly, while indicating that
your audience is important. You should never move around or gesture without purpose. This will
seem uncomfortable and distracting to your audience. The best way to ensure effective body
language is to practice beforehand and be well prepared for your speech.

Business Civility

To me, business civility is behaviors that cultivate a professional relationship or produce

feelings of respect and trust. As a last semester senior in the engineering school, I am required to
take a capstone seminar. In this seminar, we split into groups and manage a project from the
beginning design stage to a final presentation to professionals. A major project like this requires
good communication and a certain amount of professionalism among teammates. Specifically,
when we meet as a group I try to have everyone speak. This way all teammates are being heard
and feel like their ideas matter to the group. Communication is not just about being heard, its
about being listened too. If there is a breakdown in that delivery than the communication than its
like it didn’t happen. To avoid this breakdown in my group, I try to ask a lot of questions to
ensure that everyone is on the same page. Group projects can be difficult, because not everyone
has the same work ethics or time commitments. This can cause a lot of stress and conflict
amongst group members, when things are not getting done. Part of business civility is treating
teammates with respect and that can be hard when there is frustration and stress. I have been
trying to not let that stress effect the communications I have with my group members. When I
treat them with respect and ask things politely, the work is more likely to get done.

Networking

There are two ways that I increased my networking abilities in the past few weeks. One
thing I did was introduce myself to the people around me in classes. It’s a simple gesture but
smiling and exchanging names is a simple and easy way to meet new people and grow your
professional circle. Especially in engineering courses, it is important to get to know my peers as
they will soon be my colleagues. Another networking technique I utilized was setting up a

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linkedin profile. In this technological era, networking sites, like linkedin, are vitally important.
Linkedin is used by professionals to job search and cultivate personal relationships. I added past
work experiences, relevant projects, and special skills. Another thing linkedin suggests is adding
a profile picture. When networking is done online it is hard to feel like you are getting to know
the person. Adding a professional picture helped me appear more personable to future
employers, while remaining professional.

Conclusion

This class is essential in learning effective communication amongst peers and colleagues.
Project management, is one of the most important fields to have solid communication, because it
dictates the quality and timeline of a project. I have already learned many important lessons from
the readings. I have learned about Aristotle’s theories of rhetoric and how important they are in a
persuasive speech. I learned how difficult the crucial conversation can be, but it is important to
have those communications and go in knowing what you want to get out of it. The last thing I
learned from the readings, is the way to prepare for a speech and the most effective ways to
practice. In class, I learned about using my space and the power pose for public speaking,
because body language is used to convey confidence and professionalism. I have practiced
business civility by communicating in a group project and ensuring that we are all treating each
other with respect and compassion. I improved my networking abilities by introducing myself to
my peers and creating a linkedin profile. As Civil Engineers and project managers, we won’t just
be managing massive construction projects. We will also be managing a team. This class is
teaching me to be a more effective communicator and how to be more professional as to be able
to further my career as a Civil Engineer.

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References

 Gallo, C. (n.d.). Five Stars, the Communication Secrets to Get From Good to Grea. New
York, NY: Saint Martins Press.

 Patterson, K., Switzler, A., McMillan, R., & Greeny, J. (2016). Crucial conversations:
Tools for talking when stakes are high by kerry patterson, joseph grenny, ron mcmillan,
and al switzer | key takeaways &. Place of publication not identified: Idreambooks.

 OHair, D., Rubenstein, H., & Stewart, R. A. (2019). A pocket guide to public speaking.
Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins.