This week’s discussion centered on negotiations by specifically looking at the art of communicating via email. Our discussion in class had every one brimming at the surface with information to add because in our day and age and especially our changed circumstances abroad, each of us are dealing with this global form of communications. I thought what better way to really evaluate this topic in comparison to my every day life here in London than to look at the emails I sent out this week. I wanted to evaluate my emails by comparing their effectiveness and context in regards to tonal cues, length and purpose. As I look at my list of emails from the week, it is astounding to see the difference in the context of emails I was receiving back at USC versus now here in London. Back at SC, my emails consisted of daily mass informational emails from my sorority, countless emails from professors commenting on the slightest details regarding class assignments, various messages from USC Annenberg on internship opportunities and the rest mainly consisted of little interests I partook in such as fandango fan mail and fashion sights updating me on their latest apparel. What a change now as I glance as my weeks email intake. I now have countless flight, transportation and hotel booking confirmations either from the companies or my friends forwarding me their travel documents, talk mobile updates reminding me to top up my phone and the rest consist of daily reflections of my life here in London to loved ones back at home. No swarms of emails from professors or nonsense updates. Prior to coming to London, I never really sat down and wrote a daily email reflecting on my day. Even though I was far from some family members at USC, I would never have used email to communicate with them. The various call every now and then would have sufficed. However now as I experience new and exciting things each day here in London, I find myself glued to the keys of my computer and forming detailed emails on a daily basis. I decided to pick a few emails I sent and pick them apart in regards to the aspects we discussed in class to decide whether or not my emailing skills abided by what my professor described as most effective. This week I traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark so I decided to send my dad an email regarding the weeks finances. I titled the email: Hi Dad! It was short and concise. I got to the point and wrote everything that was necessary for my dad to understand. It was an important topic we were discussing so instead of the caption I used, I should have been more specific so he knew what he was getting into prior to reading the email. We discussed in class how it is difficult to incorporate empathy into an email. However, I find that to be untrue. I have taken the time in each email to thank my dad for allowing me this wonderful experience. I have the ability to write out my words and express fully what I want to tell him. Nothing is there to distract him from my words and he knows the time I took to write it out means my sincerity. I applied to an internship this past week. I have applied to countless internships before so I found the structure to my email to abide by what was discussed in class. I titled the caption: Whitney Griffith Internship Submission. I was short, concise and to the point. I ended the email with every means of contact and an appreciate tone overall for the company to take time for reading my email. These emails were definitely low culture forms of communication: black and white and to the point. I found myself negotiating by the end of back and forth with my internship application due to the fact I am in Europe and their company is back in the States. I have to account for time change (They may think I am late in responding when in fact I am experiencing a large time difference) and how to negotiate a proper interview from so far away. All of these different aspects I have to account for when communicating globally.
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