LET'S COMMUNICATE
Agriculture Communication Newsletter
November 2002, No. 83

CONTENTS

NDSU ON THE AIR
WRITE THE RIGHT WORD
NEW IN THE STAFF RESOURCE LIBRARY

NDSU ON THE AIR

Faculty and staff have the opportunity to share the latest from NDSU on WDAY-AM radio. On Lyn Nichols' Thursday Lifestyles show called The Think Tank, someone from NDSU joins Lyn at the radio station to discuss a topic of his or her choice. The live interview is 12:35 to 1:00. Lyn is a conversational interviewer, and people who have done the program say it's a great experience.

Would you like to share some of your work with the WDAY listeners? If so,  contact Trina Spaeth in Ag Communication at  tspaeth@ndsuext.nodak.edu or  231-8490.

Trina can schedule you and help you prepare for the radio interview.

WRITE THE RIGHT WORD

Many of you caught my error in the last Let's Communicate. Yes, "alumna" is singular for a female, so the newspaper's teaser should have been written, "MSUM alumna is busy with her tie business."

Here are a couple more I've found:

* Attention Kmart shoppers. (Yes, I really found this in a story, not an ad.)

What's missing? A comma. Always use a comma when directly addressing someone or a group of people and before attribution to a person.

More examples: Yes, according to Jason. "No way," said Jennifer. Thank you, friend. Hello, buddy.

* Dear Perspective Customer And in this morning's sports section, "perspective players"

Perspective is a noun describing a two-dimensional way of representing an object or a particular way of regarding something. I think both writers meant prospective: an adjective meaning in the future, intended or expected. I'm guessing these writers are hoping for future customers or players.

NEW IN THE STAFF RESOURCE LIBRARY

Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World Margaret J. Wheatley 1999 6-Hour Audiocassette Learn how new discoveries in quantum physics, chaos theory and biology can revitalize organizational thinking. Wheatley's work offers creative solutions to real problems in business and life.

Another Country: Navigating the Emotional Terrain of our Elders Mary Pipher, Ph.D. 1999 328-page Book As our grandparents grow older and we find ourselves taking care of those who took care of us, we struggle to cope with the passing of time. Pipher explains how we as a nation should go about reteaching ourselves how we live and how to support one another.

The Leadership Challenge Planner: An Action Guide to Achieving Your Personal Best James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner 1999 91-page Book This workbook provides exercises for self-improvement and how to become a better leader. Once you�ve gone through the workbook, Kouzes' and Posner�s approach to becoming a leader seems more evident when applied to a life full of projects.

The Retention and Expansion of Existing Businesses: Theory and Practice in Business Visitation Programs George W. Morse 1990 191-page Book This book by Morse, a community economics professor at the University of Minnesota, is beneficial for those looking into educational and technical assistance programs. After reading his examples, you will save time, money and embarrassment when beginning retention and expansion educational work.

Many other audiocassettes, books and videos are in the Staff Resource Library listing on the Web at http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/staffres/library/contents.htm . You're also welcome to stop by the Distribution Center in Morrill 10 to browse the shelves. Contact the Distribution Center at dctr@ndsuext.nodak.edu or call 231-7882 to check out materials.