Author Archives: Robert Basil

“Scholarly Writing and How to Get It Done”

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Robert Basil

That’s the subtitle of my favourite blog on academic writing, “Stupid Motivational Tricks,” authored (primarily) by Jonathan Mayhew, a Professor of Spanish at the University of Kansas, who is a friend of mine and has been since our days in … Continue reading →

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CMO.com: A very useful resource

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Robert Basil

Last week I gave a presentation to the Vancouver chapter of Construction Specifications Canada. It was called “Twitter? LinkedIn? How to Use Social Media Professionally.” The room was filled with architects, engineers, landscapers, contractors, and one or two marketers: an … Continue reading →

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Stopping the Page from Being Blank

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Robert Basil

In the mid-1990s, shortly after I moved to Vancouver, I got a job doing Investor Relations for a public company drafting news releases, presentations, brochures, and the like. I would put drafts of these items together and present them to … Continue reading →

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“Acquaintances would be lost. The question is whether that would matter.”

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Robert Basil

No form of online experience more quickly insinuated itself into my life than Facebook, which I joined at the insistence of a rambunctious, third-year technical writing class back in the summer of 2007. I loved how Facebook “extended” me not … Continue reading →

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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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