Author Archives: Robert Basil

Stanford: Resources for Writers

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Robert Basil

Stanford University’s Program for Writing and Rhetoric is renowned both for its truly interdisciplinary approach to writing as well as for its adherence to, and study of, formal rhetoric in numerous sectors: forensics, advocacy, public affairs, the arts, technology, and … Continue reading →

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Digital Media Governance

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Robert Basil

As an educator at a Vancouver-area university, I helped fashion the digital-media and online-privacy procedures for its School of Business. My goal was to show how teachers and students could avail themselves of the many dozens of digital-media platforms – … Continue reading →

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Feedback

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Robert Basil

When interviewing candidates for teaching positions at my university, I often ask them how they provide and receive feedback in the workplace, to get a quick, vivid picture of their character and initiative. When you give clear and useful feedback … Continue reading →

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Good Information

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Robert Basil

During a classroom discussion about program evaluation and research last night,  I recommended to my entrepreneurial leadership students that they bookmark The Free Management Library. It’s a wonderful community-composed resource. “The Library provides free, easy-to-access, online articles to develop yourself, … Continue reading →

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Keep Your Promises, Keep Your Confidences, and Keep Your Appointments

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Robert Basil

The prefix para means “beside” or “beyond.” Paralinguistic or paraverbal communication usually refers to *how* one’s words are conveyed: through tone, body language, speaking speed, or even through one’s wardrobe. In both workplace and social environments, though, beside and beyond … Continue reading →

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The Plain Style

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Robert Basil

One of our resources over on the right-hand side of the page is “The Plain Language Style Guide,” published by the BC Securities Commission to help securities professionals in the composition of correspondence and public documents. Drafted with the assistance … Continue reading →

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“We Agree”

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Robert Basil

“We agree much more than you think.” This was Niels Bohr‘s kind way of indicating profound disagreement with a colleague’s point of view.  The genial physicist knew that the literal truth of that statement – after all, all scientists would … Continue reading →

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The Golden Rule

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Robert Basil

In most of my classes, when I am teaching email etiquette and protocol, I tell them the stories of Larissa #1 and Larissa #2.  Larissa #1 was a student of mine in the early 1990s, when I was teaching in … Continue reading →

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The Purpose of Professional Communication

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Robert Basil

I tell my students that the primary purpose of workplace communication is to foster and maintain relationships. I usually tack on an inverse way of saying it – “The *other* primary purpose is to not screw up” – because that’s … Continue reading →

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Posted on November 17, 2012 by Robert Basil
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