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“You have to meet them where they are at,’’ said Calderone, who is an Adjunct Professor of Communications. In their first week, she asks students to describe their past writing experiences, and has found that many respond with a great deal of anxiety. She addresses this issue in a “lecture” on how to distance yourself from the emotional aspects of the writing process.
“Students need to let go of their inner writer and get down to the business of writing,” Calderone said. “It used to pain me to cut my own words because I felt every one I ever wrote was so important. It took me awhile to realize words are just words – and it’s okay to slice and dice them.”
Calderone also draws on her own personal experience to teach students. She remembers a high school typing teacher who took one point off for each typo or punctuation error, and follows the same strategy. “They get a crash course on proofreading and submitting clean copy,’’ she said.
Another lesson stems from her first publication in a newspaper, a 1,000-word opinion essay. The newspaper editor asked her to trim it in half or he would. Likewise, “all of my assignments have to be written in 500 words or less,’’ she said. “Every word needs to be put to work – to persuade and make the point – otherwise it doesn’t belong there. This is especially true in business writing when you need to be respectful of the reader’s time.”
While technical skills are important in many jobs, effective communication is also a major component to business success. One of Calderone's recent lessons featured a video from a communications expert citing The Research Institute's finding that 87.5 percent of business and career success is attributed to interpersonal and communication skills, while 12.5 percent is due to technical competency.
Also, one of the most frequently undervalued communication skill is listening, so Calderone’s Final Project for the class involves conducting an informational interview. “Students need to be prepared with a list of questions to sharpen their listening skills and hear what’s happening in their chosen industry.”
One skill of communication that is frequently undervalued is listening. “It’s a very important skill,’’ Calderone said. “One of the things I have my students do is informational interviews. They have to ask questions and listen first to what is happening in the industry.”
Calderone, who is also UB’s Web Content Manager, teaches online classes in the Professional Studies Degree Program. The new program offers concentrations in Healthcare Administration, Human Resource Administration and Organizational Leadership and Change. She finds students need assistance in all phases of writing, beginning with crafting and formatting business-related email correspondence.
“So many are struggling with negative feelings surrounding the writing process,’’ Calderone said. “They have to let that go. I don’t even want to grade the first few assignments. IDEAL students are age 23 on up. At this point in their lives, they don’t need to be reprimanded; they need to learn.”
