Professionalism

Over the last few weeks we have written a variety of different types of business correspondence. With each one, we were asked to communicate with either a client or someone within the business we are 'working for'. Even though I got perfect marks on most of the assignments, there is still room for improvement. Communication is something that will be important no matter where I am in life. All my classes, whether is be Programming of Computer Systems Hardware, emphasize the importance of communicating with people. One of the best ways to continue improving business writing is to write something every day. Harvard Business Review (par. 8) believes that it is important to practice the writing skill as often as possible. It doesn't matter whether or not you are writing a business correspondence. Writing even simple sentences everyday can help improve grammar, editing, and help recognize your 'voice'. Once you know how you sound when you write, mainly by rereading what you've written, you can recognize your tone. Recognizing your tone can help you spot mistakes you are making when writing to someone. If your tone is different than when you are relaxed, you may need to check what you've written again. You never want to come across too excited or pushy when speaking with others. Many people believe that while working in a technical environment there is no need to focus on communication skills. The 'stereotypical' programmer is an anti-social nerd who sits alone in a room and only comes out when they are forced to by their boss. In reality, a programmer who cannot communicate with people is less valuable than one who can, even if they are more experienced. Besides, with how important technology has become in our lives, knowing how to write, even for personal reasons, is more important now than ever.

Citations

O'Hara, C. (2015, August 12). How to Improve Your Business Writing. Retrieved November 29,
         2018, from https://hbr.org/2014/11/how-to-improve-your-business-writing