Professional Communications

Professional Communications: A Common Approach to Work-place Writing develops practical writing and speaking skills through five units and fourteen chapters. The Fanshawe compilation connects audience-centred planning, research, drafting, editing, workplace messages, employment communication, teamwork, and informative and persuasive presentations.

How to study this book

Build a workplace communication portfolio as you read. Begin every draft with purpose, audience, and channel, then revise content and organization before proofreading. Use the source examples to understand decisions about structure and tone, and apply the same checking process to spoken and visual material.

Chapter-wise explanations and study tasks

Chapter 1 — Professional Communications

Communication is presented as a professional capability that represents both the individual and the employer. The process model and discussion of miscommunication distinguish sender, channel, and receiver problems, while active listening supports better interpretation. Diagnose where a message failed before assuming the solution is simply to repeat it.

Study task: Analyze a fictional miscommunication through sender, channel, and receiver factors, then rewrite the exchange with a listening check.

Chapter 2 — The Writing Process I: Preparing

Preparation connects writing purpose with primary and secondary audiences, knowledge levels, relationships, and suitable channels. A message can reach people beyond its intended recipient, so consider what they need and how they might interpret it. Choose a medium that supports the task rather than the writer's convenience alone.

Study task: Prepare an audience-purpose-channel brief for a policy announcement, including secondary readers and likely questions.

Chapter 3 — The Writing Process II: Researching

Research involves selecting methods, evaluating sources, reading purposefully, and using information through quotation, paraphrase, and summary. Documentation in APA, MLA, or IEEE makes borrowed material traceable. Distinguish a source's relevance from its credibility, and keep research notes that prevent accidental loss of attribution.

Study task: Evaluate three sources, paraphrase one passage, summarize a second, and document both using one consistent citation system.

Chapter 4 — The Writing Process III: Drafting

Organizational patterns, outlines, sentences, paragraphs, business style, and document design turn planning into a usable draft. Compare direct and indirect approaches according to purpose and reader needs. Headings, visuals, whitespace, and accessible structure should clarify meaning rather than simply decorate a page.

Study task: Draft a one-page workplace explanation from an outline, then annotate its organizational choice, paragraph sequence, and accessibility decisions.

Chapter 5 — The Writing Process IV: Editing

Substantial revision examines content and organization before proofreading grammar, punctuation, spelling, and mechanics. Separating these passes makes it easier to identify a missing explanation before spending time polishing its surrounding sentences. Use the detailed reference material to address your own recurring errors.

Study task: Revise one draft in two passes and keep a change log distinguishing substantive improvements from sentence-level corrections.

Chapter 6 — Electronic Written Communication

Email components, recipient choice, timing, attachments, netiquette, and social media affect how electronic messages function. Small details such as an informative subject line or a clear requested action can determine whether the reader responds correctly. Review the complete communication situation before sending.

Study task: Draft an email with a clear subject, action, deadline, and attachment reference, then use a pre-send checklist to review it.

Chapter 7 — Traditional Written Communication

Traditional workplace formats carry expectations about layout, purpose, and reader navigation. Compare the source's document forms and identify when a formal record is useful. Apply audience and organization principles from the writing-process chapters rather than treating a template as a substitute for clear content.

Study task: Prepare the same workplace information in two traditional formats discussed in the chapter and explain which setting makes each appropriate.

Chapter 8 — Routine Messages

Information sharing, requests, replies, complaints, negative messages, persuasion, goodwill, and recommendations require different organizational decisions. The chapter includes direct and indirect approaches and the AIDA pattern. Select a structure that makes the purpose clear while respecting the reader and preserving accuracy.

Study task: Write a request, a complaint response, and a negative message for related fictional situations; explain the organizational choice for each.

Chapter 9 — Job Search, Résumés and Cover Letters

The job-search chapter links self-assessment and job research with targeted applications. A résumé and cover letter should make relevant qualifications easy to verify rather than rely on generic claims. Follow formatting and submission requirements while adapting the evidence to the actual position.

Study task: Create a qualification-evidence table for a job posting and use it to produce a targeted résumé section and cover-letter paragraph.

Chapter 10 — Interpersonal Workplace Communication

Conversation, telephone and voicemail, professional behaviour, ethical speech, interviews, follow-up, and intercultural communication connect everyday interaction with professional judgment. Respectful communication requires checking assumptions about meaning and cultural expectations. Use preparation and listening to support a clear exchange.

Study task: Role-play an interview or workplace conversation, then review evidence of listening, clear answers, respectful language, and appropriate follow-up.

Chapter 11 — Group Communication

Team roles, problem solving, leadership, feedback, conflict resolution, meetings, and web conferencing shape collective work. A useful meeting connects preparation with decisions and documented follow-up. Consider how supportive communication and clear roles can improve both participation and task completion.

Study task: Prepare an agenda, facilitation plan, and minutes template for a team decision; include a process for constructive disagreement.

Chapter 12 — Developing Presentations

Presentation development includes delivery methods, preparation, practice, and behaviour during a speech. Choose an approach suited to audience and purpose, and rehearse under conditions resembling the actual delivery. Practice should reveal timing and clarity problems rather than merely confirm that the speaker knows the topic.

Study task: Prepare and rehearse a three-minute presentation, record its duration, and revise one unclear explanation and one delivery habit.

Chapter 13 — Presentations to Inform

Informative presentations organize material so listeners can understand and learn. The chapter considers functions, types, adaptation for teaching, and speech preparation. Limit scope to what the audience can use, connect new information with existing understanding, and make the sequence audible as well as visible.

Study task: Design a five-minute explanation with a specific learning outcome, clear signposts, one useful visual, and a question that checks understanding.

Chapter 14 — Presentations to Persuade

Persuasive presentations connect a claim with reasons, evidence, audience concerns, and ethical argument. Distinguish legitimate persuasion from misleading evidence or fallacious reasoning. Address a plausible objection and make the requested action clear without overstating what your evidence establishes.

Study task: Develop a persuasive outline with claim, evidence, reasoning, counterargument, response, and a proportionate audience action.

Appendices A–B — Visual Communication and Work-Integrated Learning

The appendices extend the chapters through graphics, diagrams, photographs, tables, charts, headings, lists, emphasis, and workplace-learning resources. Choose visuals that communicate a specific relationship and label them so the reader can interpret them accurately. Use the practice resources to apply skills across formats.

Study task: Audit a portfolio document's visual hierarchy and one chart or table, then complete a relevant work-integrated activity and reflect on the transfer of skills.

Applied assignment

Submit a workplace portfolio containing a researched explanation, email, routine-message set, targeted application excerpt, meeting package, and presentation outline. Add an editing log showing how audience analysis affected your revisions.

Suggested reading plan

Use Unit 1 for foundations, Unit 2 for the writing process, Unit 3 for workplace formats and messages, Unit 4 for employment and interpersonal work, and Unit 5 for teams and presentations. Consult the appendices during design and applied practice.

Questions for reflection

• What does the reader need to do after this message?
• Which revision changes usefulness more than appearance?
• How can persuasion remain accurate and respectful?

Edition and source notes

Based on the five-unit, fourteen-chapter Fanshawe compilation with material by Jordan Smith, Melissa Ashman, eCampusOntario, Brian Dunphy, and Andrew Stracuzzi. Appendices are covered together as supporting practice, not numbered as an additional source chapter. Style-system examples and digital practices reflect the edition and may need current checking.

Consult the official source and full text.