University of Maryland

Pearl Diving Assignment Two

Emma Beernink
ENCE424: Communication for Project Managers
Dr. Shana Webster-Trotman
9 March 2019
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Reading Concepts
The reading concepts that I found particularly helpful were found in Networking for
College Students and Graduates and The Essentials of Business Etiquette.
The first concept that I found the most interesting and helpful was found in Chapter Six
of Networking for College Students and Graduates. The chapter is entitled “When Networking
Doesn’t Come Easy; Networking for Introverts.” My first thought, upon seeing the title, was that
I should pay special attention to that chapter. I consider myself an introvert, and my Meyers-
Briggs personality type of INFP confirmed that suspicion. Faulkner and Nierenberg detail some
bad listening habits that are commonly found in introverts, including “[f]ocusing on the other
speaker rather than what he or she is actually saying…. Ignoring or shutting out what you don’t
understand or don’t like” (Faulkner and Nierenberg 82). This automatically struck a cord with
me because I realized that I am a huge offender of both. I thought this reading was especially
helpful because it acknowledged that those behaviors frequently exist, and then gave the reader
three great techniques to combat these issues. The three that Faulkner and Nierenberg
recommended were Playing Back, Summarizing, and Reflecting Emotion. Playing Back is the
listening action of processing what the speaker has said, and then distilling it into your own
words to ensure that you are on the same page as the speaker. Summarizing is almost the same as
Playing Back, but usually deals with more than one thought or idea that the speaker has given
you. Finally, Reflecting Emotion is the practice of noting the feelings the speaker seems to feel
about the topic. For example, if someone is talking about a parking ticket they received, you
could say “It seems like you’re really angry about receiving a parking ticket.” Saying things like
this can validate the speaker’s emotions and really make them feel heard (Faulkner and
Nierenberg, 84-85). I plan to practice my listening skills by incorporating these three techniques
into my day-to-day, rather than continuing my bad habits, such as ignoring the content because I
do not agree (Faulkner and Nierenberg 82).
The second and third reading topics that I found especially helpful were in The Essentials
of Business Etiquette, Chapters 40 and 43. Chapter 40, titled “Chipped Green Nail Polish and
Other Grooming Mistakes,” focused on the smaller details of workplace dress. I found this
chapter useful because it listed a set of guidelines for women that I think some people could view
as harsh or hard to hear, but things that I also have never really heard before. I did not know that
I should be “cautious with long hair” because “it can make you appear very young and sexy, or it
can be a distraction in some way” (Pachter 93). I am working my first internship this summer,
and it looks like I will be going in for a quick haircut before I step into the office! This chapter
was helpful to me as well because I am a detail person, but I never thought about how my nail
polish or hair length could make me appear.
The final reading concept that I found very useful was in Chapter 43, entitled “Place
Settings: The Secret Language of Dining.” The concept that I pulled from that reading
specifically was the “BMW” acronym. The acronym stands for bread, meal, and water (not the
popular luxury car!) and denotes where each item should be in location to you. For example,
your bread plate will be located to the left of you, meal in front, with your water glass off to your
right (Pachter 93). I loved the fact that Barbara Pachter spent an entire chapter talking about table
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settings, and how to navigate a professional lunch. The reason I enjoyed this chapter so much
was because I am absolutely terrified of interviews over a meal, because of all the extra social
guidelines that come with it. Having to navigate a professional interview is daunting enough, but
having to do it over a meal is even scarier! Pachter helped mitigate my fear of a professional
meal, and I feel much more confident going into those situations now!
Classroom Concept
The most important concept that I learned from class this week was found in our debate
activity. I was a member of the panel for the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research debate and
being an educated witness of a debate was interesting to me. Because I understood the
background research the presenters were bringing forth, I felt I was able to examine their
presenting styles and watch for confidence in their topic or lack thereof. This reminded me of
something that Dr. Webster-Trotman spoke with us about in a prior lecture that I wrote about in
my last Pearl Diving assignment. The audience only focuses about 7% of their attention on the
content of the speech, while 55% of the audience’s attention goes to the body language of the
speaker (Webster-Trotman). I was hesitant to really believe that idea before, but after being a
panelist for the debate, I subscribe to that idea fully.
When the Observers came forward and talked about the group dynamics, I also learned
that most Group Leaders were volunteers and did not have much more experience or a better
background that anyone else in the group. This encouraged me to put myself out there more
frequently and step up for things that I may not entirely feel prepared for.
Practicing Business Civility Concept
The business civility concept that I will be working on improving this week will be my
written communications. Having a strong ability to write concisely and professionally in emails
is something that is highly valued in any sphere of life, not specifically within business. To work
on these skills, I am going to change my email signature to something more professional and to
include my contact information, work on my grammar in emails, and see if I can avoid using
contractions when possible. I am also challenging myself to text properly, too, so I can work on
making sure I eliminate inappropriate words and incorrect slang spellings from my vocabulary. I
really do not think there is anything more embarrassing than accidentally saying “gonna” or
some other slang term in a business setting. This week, I will do my best to get rid of these
idioms from my vocabulary.
Increasing Networking Abilities
After practicing my networking abilities through the Career Fairs and mock interviews
that I detailed in my last Pearl Diving Assignment, I wanted to test these more-familiar skills in
casual and professional settings. This week, I worked on my networking abilities by going to
speak with my advisor, signing up for a Women in Engineering Networking breakfast this
coming week, and attending as many events on campus as I can.
I have found that I have been interested in pursuing research in Civil Engineering after
beginning one of my technical lab courses this semester. I was looking at the Clark School of
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Engineering website for research opportunities for undergraduate students, but I was getting
quickly frustrated and intimidated by the thought of doing “cold calls” and reaching out to
faculty without any sort of connection other than seeing their name on the website. This course
has encouraged me to use my resources and to not be ashamed of networking, which is still a
tough thing for me to do, so I paid my Civil Engineering advisor a visit. I chose to use him as a
resource because he has been my advisor for about a year now, knows me well, and wants to see
me succeed (hence the advisor role!). I sat down with him, asked if he would be willing to reach
out to the department on my behalf, and he willingly agreed! It made me feel much better about
networking, and hopefully I will have an update for you about a lab position for the next Pearl
Diving assignment!
The next thing that I have done is RSVP’d to attend a Women in Engineering
Networking breakfast on campus. I chose this event to try and increase my networking skills
because it is a more casual setting to meet professional women, but one that still requires me to
use the good practices I have learned in this class (strong handshake, concise introduction about
myself, pleasant conversation starters). I think I will also feel more comfortable surrounded by
female engineers, as it can be intimidating to walk into a networking event and be one of the
only women there!
The last thing I have done this past week to increase my networking abilities is to attend
as many events as I can on campus. For example, my organization, Scholars in Action, was
recently invited to attend the Do Good Social Summit. We decided to send two representatives,
and I was one of the ones to volunteer to attend. I was very nervous, but it was helpful to be able
to introduce myself as Emma Beernink, the External Operations Head from Scholars in Action,
rather than Emma Beernink, a student looking for a job. I thought this was interesting and
helpful, and it made me revisit my “tell me about yourself” statement. I rewove it to talk more
about who I am and what I do, rather than just saying I am a Civil Engineering student.
Overall, this week was very productive for me in terms of making sure I improved my
networking skills daily.
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Works Cited
Faulkner L., Michael and Andrea Nierenberg. Networking for College Students and Graduates.
2017.

Pachter, Barbara. The Essentials of Business Etiquette. McGraw Hill Education, 2013.

Webster-Trotman, Shana. “ENCE424: Week 4 In Class Lecture PowerPoint.” Communication

for Project Mangers, 19 Feb. 2019, University of Maryland. PowerPoint presentation.