Home > Articles > The IT Career Builder's Toolkit, Chapter 7: Communication Skills

The IT Career Builder's Toolkit, Chapter 7: Communication Skills

  • Sample Chapter is provided courtesy of Cisco Press.
  • Date: Jan 18, 2008.

Actions & Ideas

  1. Are you afraid of giving presentations? Is your first thought, "I could never do that"? If so, put this skill at the top of your list of skills to develop.
  2. Consider attending a local Toastmasters meeting. Visit http://www.toastmasters.org to find a club near you. If that is not possible, consider taking a class on public speaking or presentation at a local community college or university.
  3. Work on using the five-paragraph structure discussed in this chapter when writing letters or work summaries. Even if it's not required, write a weekly summary of work in this format. Practice is the best method for improving your writing. Let a peer or supervisor assess your work.
  4. Make an effort to write e-mail with a logical beginning, middle, and end point. Use an indent or an extra space between paragraphs to break them up.
  5. Pick up The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. This book is indispensable for improving your writing.

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