What Every Engineer Should Know About Business Communication (What Every Engineer Should Know)

208 Pages·2008·1.34 MB·English

by  John X. Wang

WHAT EVERY ENGINEER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
WHAT EVERY ENGINEER SHOULD KNOW
A Series
Series Editor*
Phillip A. Laplante
Pennsylvania State University
1. What Every Engineer Should Know About Patents,
William G. Konold, Bruce Tittel, Donald F. Frei,
and David S. Stallard
2. What Every Engineer Should Know About Product
Liability, James F. Thorpe and William H. Middendorf
3. What Every Engineer Should Know About
Microcomputers: Hardware/Software Design,
A Step-by-Step Example, William S. Bennett
and Carl F. Evert, Jr.
4. What Every Engineer Should Know About Economic
Decision Analysis, Dean S. Shupe
5. What Every Engineer Should Know About Human
Resources Management, Desmond D. Martin
and Richard L. Shell
6. What Every Engineer Should Know About Manufacturing
Cost Estimating, Eric M. Malstrom
7. What Every Engineer Should Know About Inventing,
William H. Middendorf
8. What Every Engineer Should Know About Technology
Transfer and Innovation, Louis N. Mogavero
and Robert S. Shane
9. What Every Engineer Should Know About Project
Management,Arnold M. Ruskin and W. Eugene Estes
*Founding Series Editor: William H. Middendorf
10. What Every Engineer Should Know About Computer-
Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing:
The CAD/CAM Revolution, John K. Krouse
11. What Every Engineer Should Know About Robots,
Maurice I. Zeldman
12. What Every Engineer Should Know About
Microcomputer Systems Design and Debugging,
Bill Wray and Bill Crawford
13. What Every Engineer Should Know About Engineering
Information Resources, Margaret T. Schenk
and James K. Webster
14. What Every Engineer Should Know About
Microcomputer Program Design, Keith R. Wehmeyer
15. What Every Engineer Should Know About Computer
Modeling and Simulation, Don M. Ingels
16. What Every Engineer Should Know About Engineering
Workstations, Justin E. Harlow III
17. What Every Engineer Should Know About Practical
CAD/CAM Applications, John Stark
18. What Every Engineer Should Know About Threaded
Fasteners: Materials and Design, Alexander Blake
19. What Every Engineer Should Know About Data
Communications,Carl Stephen Clifton
20. What Every Engineer Should Know About Material
and Component Failure, Failure Analysis, and Litigation,
Lawrence E. Murr
21. What Every Engineer Should Know About Corrosion,
Philip Schweitzer
22. What Every Engineer Should Know About Lasers,
D. C. Winburn
23. What Every Engineer Should Know About Finite Element
Analysis,John R. Brauer
24. What Every Engineer Should Know About Patents:
Second Edition, William G. Konold, Bruce Tittel,
Donald F. Frei, and David S. Stallard
25. What Every Engineer Should Know About Electronic
Communications Systems,L. R. McKay
26. What Every Engineer Should Know About Quality
Control,Thomas Pyzdek
27. What Every Engineer Should Know About
Microcomputers: Hardware/Software Design,
A Step-by-Step Example. Second Edition, Revised
and Expanded, William S. Bennett, Carl F. Evert,
and Leslie C. Lander
28. What Every Engineer Should Know About Ceramics,
Solomon Musikant
29. What Every Engineer Should Know About Developing
Plastics Products, Bruce C. Wendle
30. What Every Engineer Should Know About Reliability
and Risk Analysis, M. Modarres
31. What Every Engineer Should Know About Finite Element
Analysis: Second Edition, Revised and Expanded,
John R. Brauer
32. What Every Engineer Should Know About Accounting
and Finance, Jae K. Shim and Norman Henteleff
33. What Every Engineer Should Know About Project
Management: Second Edition, Revised and Expanded,
Arnold M. Ruskin and W. Eugene Estes
34. What Every Engineer Should Know About Concurrent
Engineering,Thomas A. Salomone
35. What Every Engineer Should Know About Ethics,
Kenneth K. Humphreys
36. What Every Engineer Should Know About Risk
Engineering and Management, John X. Wang
and Marvin L. Roush
37. What Every Engineer Should Know About Decision
Making Under Uncertainty, John X. Wang
38. What Every Engineer Should Know About Computational
Techniques of Finite Element Analysis, Louis Komzsik
39. What Every Engineer Should Know About Excel,
Jack P. Holman
40. What Every Engineer Should Know About Software
Engineering,Phillip A. Laplante
41. What Every Engineer Should Know About Developing
Real-Time Embedded Products, Kim R. Fowler
42. What Every Engineer Should Know About Business
Communication,John X. Wang
WHAT EVERY ENGINEER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
John X. Wang
Boca Raton London New York
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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data
Wang, John X., 1962‑
What every engineer should know about business communication / John X.
Wang.
p. cm. ‑‑ (What every engineer should know)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN‑13: 978‑0‑8493‑8396‑0 (alk. paper)
ISBN‑10: 0‑8493‑8396‑X (alk. paper)
1. Communication in engineering. 2. Business communication. 3. English
language‑‑Business English. I. Title.
TA158.5.W35 2008
658.4’5‑‑dc22 2007049508
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
and the CRC Press Web site at
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To the Mississippi

I crossed the river hundreds of times when
writing this new book.

Good business communication
flows just like the great river.

Contents
Preface..........................................................................................................xv
About.the.Author.....................................................................................xvii
1 Analyze Communication Purpose and Audience...........................1
1.1. How.Engineers.Learn............................................................................1
1.1.1. Recognize.That.Every.Engineer.Is.Unique.............................2
1.1.2. Gain.Trust....................................................................................2
1.1.3. Solve.Engineering.Problems.....................................................2
1.1.4. Respect.Experience.and.Ability...............................................3
1.1.5. Control.the.Learning.Experience.............................................4
1.1.6. Allow.Time.to.Alter.Perceptions..............................................4
1.1.7. Hold.the.Engineer’s.Interest.....................................................4
1.1.8. Present.Meaningful.Contents...................................................5
1.2. How.Engineers.Are.Persuaded............................................................5
1.3. Speak.or.Write:.Select.the.Right.Communication.Channel.............9
1.4. Consider.Your.Communication.Purpose.and.Audience..................9
Bibliography..................................................................................................11
Section 1: Speak Your Way to Engineering Success
2 Projecting the Image of the Engineering Profession...................15
2.1. Overcome.Anxiety...............................................................................15
2.1.1. Why.Are.We.Afraid.of.Making.Presentations?...................16
2.1.2. Steps.You.Can.Take.to.Reduce.the.Fear................................16
2.1.2.1. Prepare,.Prepare,.and.Prepare..................................16
2.1.2.2. Have.a.Backup.............................................................17
2.1.2.3. Reduce.Your.Fear.of.the.Audience...........................17
2.1.2.4. Practice,.Practice,.and.Practice..................................17
2.2. Primary.Impact:.Nonverbal.Body.Language...................................18
2.2.1. Eye.Contact................................................................................18
2.2.2. Posture.......................................................................................20
2.2.3. Hand.Gestures..........................................................................20
2.2.4. Facial.Expression......................................................................21
2.2.5. Plan.and.Rehearse.Your.Movements.....................................22
2.3. Secondary.Impact:.Control.Your.Vocal.Quality,.Volume,.
and.Pace.................................................................................................22
2.3.1. Volume.......................................................................................23
2.3.2. Pace.............................................................................................24
2.3.3. Vocal.Expression.......................................................................24
2.3.4. Fillers..........................................................................................24
ix