Field Memo

The document summarizes an interview with Dr. Heather Zoller about professional communication in higher education. Some key points discussed included: 1) Dr. Zoller emphasized keeping language simple and concise in writing, as elaborate or wordy writing can lead to confusion. 2) Common mistakes in communication include being too informal, poor timing of messages, and forgetting basic grammar rules. Editing work is important to reduce mistakes. 3) Effective communication requires being clear, concise, and not using language above the audience's knowledge. Short, to-the-point messages are best, especially in business settings. 4) Dr. Zoller spends her time evenly between research (40

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Field Memo

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Field Memo 1

MEMORANDUM
To: Dr. Antoinette Larkin
From: Alyssa Smith and Kristin Shaffer
Date: October 2, 2014
Subject: Professional Communication in Higher Education
Our goals of wanting to work at the university level as a professor and hold an
administrative position led us to interview Dr. Heather Zoller. She is a professor and
director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Communication at the University of
Cincinnati. She is a senior editor at Heath Communication and she also writes for various
communication journals.
Dr. Zoller is balancing teaching, researching, and serving in her field of communication.
She is constantly communicating with colleagues, students, and Communication Journals.
Her interaction with written communication is constant and includes a wide range of
outlets. For a student to be effective in the workplace, specifically as a professor they
would need to grasp certain concepts about written communication. Those ideas this
report will discuss are keeping language simple and concise, mistakes made in
communication, communication tips, and the different forms of communication.
Simplicity of Language
Dr. Zollers experience with writing has directed her in focusing on the basics. Students,
colleagues and she too often try to be too elaborate with their writing. She believes that a
more concise writing style would be most effective in written communication. Emails
that have too much volume can lead to confusion and even her instructions to students
can be too elaborate which later leads to further instruction. If she, a student, or another
professional had simply been more precise and to the point then the confusion could have
been avoided.
We discussed similar ideas in class and the ideas in Chapter 4 concerning precise
language. We talked about the need for concrete words instead of abstract words because
concrete words have more absolute meaning. Also, the more specific the writer is the
easier it will be to understand the message. Active voice is also preferred in writing to
convey a clearer message, which Dr. Zoller agreed is more helpful.

Field Memo 2

Mistakes Made in Communication

In speaking with Dr. Zoller we discussed mistakes that are made during the
communication process. The two biggest mistakes made by students is being too
informal and using bad timing. Many emails are sent to Dr. Zoller in the middle of the
night; only hours before an assignment is due to ask questions.
A common mistake that she sees in communication and even admits to doing herself is
forgetting the basic grammar rules. It is important to go back to the basics and Keep It
Short and Simple (KISS) as we have discussed in our class period. Another mistake she
claimed to make was using a passive voice and being wordy in her first draft of writing.
It is easy to make simple mistakes when communicating with others when time moves
quickly but Dr. Zoller stressed multiple times that editing over your work can make a
difference in the amount of mistakes you make.
Communication Tips
The best part, and most useful part, of the interview was when we asked what she would
like to include that we didnt discuss. Using the basics in writing is always the first thing
that needs to be looked at when communicating with another person. One of the basics in
writing is being concise and using clarity. The purpose of communication is to
understand the material that is presented to you. In order to be clear a person must make
sure to not talk above someones knowledge base. Another tip she gave was to be short
and to the point, especially in a business setting.
Forms of Communication
Dr. Zoller says her time is divided into 40% research, 40% teaching, and 10% service.
While these categories are different the types of communication can overlap between
them. She described how most of her time with written communication is spent sending
emails. This form is used the most since it is beneficial to all three aspects of being a
professor. She writes emails to students regarding assignments, she emails proposals to
different journals, and emails regarding the service she will be doing. Her time is then
evenly spent writing proposals and making/explaining classroom aides. She includes
PowerPoints for her lectures, and creates documents for her students. She then spends a
majority of her time writing proposals for journals. She is constantly researching and
reading to be able to make the necessary adjustments to her proposals. The final piece of
written communication Dr. Zoller uses is Facebook. She utilizes Facebook for both
professional use and personal use. Facebook allows her view articles on Communication
as well as stay in touch with friends and family.

Field Memo 3

Time Allocated
5%
Email

Writing Proposals
25%

Classroom Aides
40%

Facebook

30%

Conclusion
We were surprised that the majority of the information that Dr. Zoller gave was
emphasizing the importance of referring back to the basics. It is very easy to forget the
basics when more complex writing styles, topics, and quick deadlines are being
incorporated. We were able to value the core building skills that we learned in our
childhood years and to realize that communication, and other skills, are a continuation of
building blocks and not separate compartments.
We appreciate the opportunity that we were given to interview a well respected, well
educated, and informative individual. After your reading of our full report we look
forward to your constructive response to our field report.

Field Memo 4