Author Archives: Robert Basil

Mentorship without Friendship

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Robert Basil

The relationship between a mentor and a mentee need not be a friendly one. During the discussion portion of Erin Dick’s IABC presentation on mentorship, I stood up and briefly described my own experience being mentored, as a writer and … Continue reading →

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5 Myths about Mentorship

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Robert Basil

In her IABC presentation Erin Dyck described four myths regarding mentorship: Mentorship is top-down. One’s placement in an organizational hierarchy does not, in fact, determine the kind of wisdom and experience one can give another colleague. Mentors should be from … Continue reading →

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Notes on Mentorship, I

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Robert Basil

Erin Dick gave a superb talk, and then led an illuminating discussion, on the topic of “mentorship” today, the last day of the IABC’s world conference. Inspired by the speaker and my discussion attendees, I will be posting on this topic … Continue reading →

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International Association of Business Communicators: World Conference 2013

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Robert Basil

The IABC’s 2013 world conference has been quite a success so far. The presentations have been amply tweeted at the hashtag #IABCWC13. (My tweets about this event and other things can be found at @thebasil.)

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The Art of Scolding, cont’d.

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Robert Basil

“We have somehow not successfully received your professional-development documentation,” a Dean’s Office colleague wrote me in an email early in my career at Kwantlen. The sentence both charmed and alarmed me, especially the phrase somehow not successfully received, which seemed … Continue reading →

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The Art of Scolding

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Robert Basil

In 1987 I promoted a story about “Secular Organizations for Sobriety” [SOS] that appeared in the Buffalo News. SOS was one of those secular humanist initiatives promulgated by Paul Kurtz’s publishing enterprises out of Buffalo, in this case “Free Inquiry,” … Continue reading →

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Academic Blogging

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Robert Basil

My new favourite blog is by a Ukrainian-born scholar of Hispanic Literature named “Clarissa” – she doesn’t reveal her surname or some other would-be identifying information, like her university’s name – whose work I first encountered on Jonathan Mayhew’s Stupid … Continue reading →

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It’s Usually Not Mother’s Day

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Robert Basil

Are there any people other than mothers who ever truly know that they have been the most important person in the life of someone else? I like this question, and ask some variant of it in most of my professional … Continue reading →

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Complex Communications Solutions vs. Perhaps a Simpler One

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Robert Basil

From Paul Constant in The Stranger today: Chris DeRose published an article at Business Insider addressing the fact that McDonald’s is failing at customer service, with a vice president of the company openly talking about the “rude or unprofessional employees” … Continue reading →

Posted in Robert's posts | Tagged courtesy, customer service | Leave a comment