University of Maryland

Pearl Diving Assignment One

Emma Beernink
ENCE424: Communication for Project Managers
Dr. Shana Webster-Trotman
22 February 2019
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Reading Concepts
The reading concepts that I found particularly useful were found in Networking for
College Students and Graduates, Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are
High, and The Essentials of Business Etiquette.
The concept that I found particularly important in Networking for College Students and
Graduates was the idea that every human is separated by about six contacts (Faulkner and
Nierenberg 35). I found this concept to be particularly interesting because whenever I think
about looking for an internship or job, I think about how difficult it is to start from scratch and
start doing cold calls and emails to reach out to companies. However, this is simply not the case.
When I read this section on networking through the resources you already have, I put the book
down, logged into my Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, and looked through my contacts. There
were more family friends who worked in engineering than I previously thought. In Chapter 3,
Faulkner and Nierenberg talked about the types of people you should have in your networking
web and listed out the categories (59-60). I broke the list of contacts up into those sections and
began working through contacting them and asking if they minded taking my resume, starting
with my more familiar acquaintances where I felt most comfortable. This really helped boost my
networking skills and made me feel positively about the process because it felt ordered and
secure. Once I got practice reaching out to closer friends and sometimes family, I felt much more
confident reaching out to those who I did not necessarily have the strongest connection with.
Another concept that I found especially profound was in Crucial Conversations. On page
43, there are three questions listed there to help refocus your crucial conversations (Patterson,
Grenny, McMillan, and Switzler). When debating or in an important conversation with someone,
it can easily slip away and become a hot-headed argument that does nothing but further entrench
the opposite party in their beliefs, hurt someone’s feelings, or in extreme cases, ruin a
relationship. I myself have been in these sorts of situations before, but next time there is a
disagreement in one of my organizations, instead of hotly arguing why I am right and should get
my way, I will pause. I will ask myself the questions listed: “What do I really want for myself?
What do I really want for others? What do I really want for the relationship?... How would I
behave if I really wanted those results?” (Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, and Switzler 43). I think
these questions help reorganize and refocus on the thing that you specifically want and remind
you that the other party has just as much stake in the discussion as you do. Asking myself these
questions next time a hard situation comes up will allow me to view the other person as a true
person, not just an obstacle in the way of getting something that I want.
The last concept that I found important was presented in Chapter 21 of The Essentials of
Business Etiquette. The chapter focused in on gendered behavior in the workplace, such as
paying for a meal or opening the door, both of which are seen as the man’s role in popular media
and in society today (Pachter 47-48). I found this chapter and the information in it to be
particularly interesting because engineering is traditionally male-dominated, with a limited
number of women present. I see this day-to-day in my classes and when I visit firms to
interview. Pachter did a fantastic job of breaking it down; help people with doors, offer to help
carry heavy packages or items, let your guest order first when out to eat, all of these rules
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regardless of gender (47-48). However, let your coworkers and guests pull out their own chairs
(47-48). I will be practicing these in the next week through letting others know that I am a
capable person by helping others with tasks that are usually perceived as a man’s job.
Classroom Concept
One of the classroom concepts that I found to be very important was the concept of the
presenter as a visual (Webster-Trotman). I knew previously that how the presenter was perceived
by the audience was a large part of how the audience responded to the message, but I did not
realize how little the audience cared about the content of the speech. In class, Dr. Webster-
Trotman shared that only about 7% of the audience’s attention went to the content, while 55% of
the attention went to the body language of the speaker (Webster-Trotman). That, to me, is
absolutely mind blowing. That statistic really put things into perspective for me; there have been
times where I have given speeches or served on a panel that I did not feel the readiest or
qualified for. This information would have most likely put me at ease and had me spending more
of my preparation time on practicing the speech, working with friends and delivering it in the
mirror to make sure I look confident and comfortable with the delivery of the speech. I also think
I would have put more time into picking my wardrobe; I know that business-professional or
business casual are usually good for such occasions, but instead of just using the same outfit I
wear for every speech, I could tailor my “look” to match the event and my audience a bit better.
For example, dressing to speak for your COMM107 class at the University of Maryland requires
different dress than speaking to your organization at a meeting.
Another thing from class that I found helpful along the same vein was the “confidence
pose” Dr. Webster-Trotman spoke about; while giving speeches, I am a “hair-twirler” or a
“fidget-er,” but the confidence pose got rid of those issues for me. I had to speak at an event I
was recently invited to, and instead of hiding behind the podium, I stepped out front, assumed
the confidence pose, and felt much better about my speech delivery than I previously thought
possible!
Practicing Business Civility Concept
The business civility concept that I will be practicing this week is my listening skills. An
important leadership trait is not only being able to constructively lead conversations, but to sit
back and listen as well, absorbing the information your coworkers present you and making them
feel heard. I have a tendency to dominate conversations about things that I am passionate about,
such as planning events. To practice the concept of listening, I will try to listen and respond to
thoughts others have brought up, rather than dominating the conversation, in my University
Recreation and Wellness formal planning meeting next week.
Increasing Networking Abilities
Before I began this course, I knew that my networking skills left something to be desired;
I often felt awkward asking for someone’s business card and speaking in large groups of people
about my skills. My connection-making felt awkward, and truthfully, a bit clunky. However,
since the beginning of this class and our first in-class session in early February, I have taken the
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time to re-examine my skills and work on increasing my networking abilities. The three ways I
have taken initiative to do this have been through attending career fairs, practice interviews, and
pushing myself to get at least one person’s contact information at academic events I attend.
Since the beginning of this class, I have attended one career fair in Baltimore and plan to
attend the University of Maryland Career Fair on February 22nd. Baltimore was my first career
fair experience, and I felt somewhat intimidated by all the qualified candidates and fantastic
firms. However, after talking to my first few firms and using the skills I detailed above in the
“Reading Concepts” section, I felt very at ease. The hardest part was pitching myself in a short
amount of time with each firm, but I believe the speech assignment due Saturday will help hone
my “pitching” skills.
I have also asked friends and family to help with my interview skills by asking them to
hold a mock interview where I can get comfortable with the set-up and style of a professional
interview. These have been beneficial because I can become familiar with the interview process
with someone who I am already comfortable with and who can give me immediate constructive
feedback on my answers. One session, my roommate pointed out that I had completely skipped
over an impressive part of my resume in my short introduction and recommended that I start
incorporating it because it highlights my planning and organizational skills. As awkward as it
was to ask people to hold a mock interview for me, I think the benefits far outweighed the pain
of asking that initial question!
Finally, I have been pushing myself to ask for at least one person’s contact information at
events that I attend on campus. My organization, Scholars in Action, was invited to attend the
opening of the Do Good Accelerator in the Hotel on Route 1, and one of the speeches was
delivered by a man who worked in volunteer stormwater management, which is one of my career
goals. After about fifteen minutes of encouragement from my organization, I approached him to
tell him how much I appreciated his speech and asked if there was any way I could get involved
in his organization. He seemed happy and excited to talk more with me and invited me to visit
one of their work sites.
The main thing that I have learned from this class is just understanding that I should have
confidence in myself and my abilities. Others are genuinely interested and want to see me
succeed. People, especially those in the work force that you want to entire, are usually more than
happy to share their experiences with you and pass along advice.
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Works Cited
Faulkner L., Michael and Andrea Nierenberg. Networking for College Students and Graduates.
2017.

Patterson, Kerry, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzer. Crucial Conversations: Tools
for Talking When Stakes Are High. McGraw Hill, 2012.

Pachter, Barbara. The Essentials of Business Etiquette. McGraw Hill Education, 2013.

Webster-Trotman, Shana. “ENCE424: Week 4 In Class Lecture PowerPoint.” Communication

for Project Mangers, 19 Feb. 2019, University of Maryland. PowerPoint presentation.