Say This, NOT That to Your Professor: 36 Talking Tips for College Success

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Overview

What will YOU say to your professor today?

Late work. Absences. Boring classes.

The C grade you were sure would be an A...

These situations, and oh so many others, happen in college.

In Say This, NOT That to Your Professor, an award-winning, tenured communication professor takes you "inside the faculty mind," and provides the words your professors wish you'd say to manage ...

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Overview

What will YOU say to your professor today?

Late work. Absences. Boring classes.

The C grade you were sure would be an A...

These situations, and oh so many others, happen in college.

In Say This, NOT That to Your Professor, an award-winning, tenured communication professor takes you "inside the faculty mind," and provides the words your professors wish you'd say to manage your classroom experience with confidence. This book gives students the inside tips on how to interact so professors will respond in a positive manner. They will learn to create opportunities and properly stand up for themselves, rather than fumble over excuses. Students will have improved relationships with professors, better grades, and an amazing college experience!

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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Congratulations! You've gotten into college. Now put down the syllabus and pick up this book! Ellen Bremen's book is a must-read if you want to know how to make your college career a complete success." -- Chris Westfall, 2011 Elevator Pitch champion, MBA instructor Southern Methodist University, and author of The New Elevator Pitch

"Crossing wits with your superiors is never a good way to get ahead. "Say This, Not That to Your Professor: 36 Talking Tips for College Success" is an advisory guide for college students to form a better relationship with their professors, when to be friendly and when to own up to one's mistakes." -- Midwest Book Review

"Ellen is the Dear Abby of college professors, so respectful, and with amazing wisdom about the inner workings of college." --Vicki Davis, author of the award winning Cool Cat Teacher blog, Lifetime Television for Women, "The Balancing Act" blogger, and co-author of the upcoming Flattening Classrooms, Expanding Minds.

"Professors made a huge impact in my life and Ellen shows students how to make the most of these relationships to fuel their educational goals. This book is a must-read for every college student." --Isa Adney, author of Community College Success: How to Finish with Friends, Scholarships, Internships, and the Career of Your Dreams.

"I wish every one of my students would read this book! As a communication studies professor the best thing that I can say about this book is that it takes solid communication theory and puts it into an accessible format that will motivate students. The second best thing I can say about it is that this stuff works! I have been in many (probably most) of the situations that Ellen Bremen describes in her book and without a doubt she nails how I wish each student had handled the situation. She is clear and practical. I don't think talking to your professor should be a mystery, and now, thanks to "Say This, NOT That to Your Professor" it isn't! Highly recommend this book." --S. Proctor

"A must read for college students, professors, and parents of college students. Wow! Say This, NOT That to Your Professor could have a subtitle: How To Succeed in College With Hard Work and Better Communication. I wish a book like this had been available 30 years ago, because I said several of the "NOT that" types of things to teachers. This book gives real-world, practical examples of problems and offers solutions for them, along with background stories to give the reader insights into the other person's point of view. Every high school student who plans to go to college should read this book, and it should be required reading in new college student transition programs. Further, parents of high school and college students should read it so if our kids call when they are concerned, we can offer constructive suggestions to handle difficult situations. I have a copy of this for myself but will buy one for each of my high school kids to read now and take with them to college. Must buy. Must read. Must give to others to read." --Mary Biever

"Critical info for students entering college and graduates entering the work force. Professor Bremen's book is filled with information I wish I'd had when I first started college. Even as a non-traditional student, I find I still use her ideas and concepts about working successfully with a professor. This book, however, is valuable for more than just students entering college. As a former department head in business, I wish some of my employees would have used Professor Bremen's ideas about leaving excuses behind, acting like a grownup, taking personal responsibility for your actions, and communicating respectfully. This book, frankly, is not just about college success, it's about life success. It's about getting along with people, earning the respect of others, learning from your mistakes, and being a decent human being. Kudos, Professor Bremen!" --Don

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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781935254683
  • Publisher: NorlightsPress.com
  • Publication date: 4/25/2012
  • Pages: 270
  • Sales rank: 303,516
  • Product dimensions: 5.90 (w) x 8.90 (h) x 0.70 (d)

Meet the Author

A 14-year classroom veteran, Ellen Bremen is tenured faculty in the Communication Studies department at Highline Community College. Ellen is a professor who stops at nothing to help students strengthen their communication skills: Peanut butter and jelly to illustrate problematic messages, pipe cleaners to teach communication models, and Post-it notes to reduce speaking anxiety. Not surprisingly, Ellen has received national recognition for teaching innovation by the Sloan-Consortium (2011), the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development and the National Council of Instructional Administrators (2003). Ellen blogs weekly as The Chatty Professor (http://ellenbremen.com), she speaks to college audiences through Samara Lectures, and is an insanely active tweeter (@chattyprof). Ellen lives in Seattle with her husband, daughter, and son.

Why is This Professor Willing to Talk?
It's simple: I started to see students, like yourself, unknowingly sabotage their education when a simple conversation could have helped their academic standing so much. Instead, students either dealt with class-related issues in a completely clueless way ("Can I turn in this paper late?" -- Me: "Sure, if I can let 27 other people turn it in late, too.") or, they just wouldn't say anything at all... which was even worse. Then, the problem never resolved, and grades suffered. Believe me, my colleagues all over the country report the same issues.

What's the bigger problem? When students fumble their words, most profs won't sit down later with the student and say, "Hey, this is how the communication should have gone down." I'll admit, even as a Communication prof, I was guilty of this, too! Why? Because a term has only so many weeks. Profs have to be swift problem solvers for students, and then we have to move on to the next issue. Also, many profs don't believe their job is to teach students communication.

I decided it was time to change all that and write the very first book in the college success genre to deal with this relationship that students will deal with every single day!

Students, college is the ideal place for you to practice excellent communication, and professors are among the first people in your life you'll interact with as an adult. And guess what? You don't text with them. You don't Facebook with them (even if you Facebook about them). You need to deal with most issues face-to-face and sometimes via e-mail.

My goal is to give you inside tips on how to interact so your professors will respond in a positive manner. I want you to learn what goes on behind the scenes of your classes so you can create opportunities, rather than fumble over excuses. I want you to confidently and properly stand up for yourself when you're concerned about your classes or grades. The result? Improved relationships with your profs, a stronger learning experience, and most of all, better grades.

USAToday feature: http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/campuslife/6-things-you-should-say-to-your-professor
Ellen's blog: http://ellenbremen.com
Follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/chattyprof

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Table of Contents

Section 1: Class Issues Your Professor Won't Discuss With You (But Wishes Someone Would)

Introduction

Parents

Chapter 1. Parents Handling Your Problems

Classroom Behavior/Your Peers

Chapter 2. Class Jokers

Chapter 3. What Other Students Think and Feel

Chapter 4. Distracting Classroom Behavior (Texting!)

Grades

Chapter 5. Comparing Grades With Others

Chapter 6. "Getting" Grades and Working "Hard" for Your Grades

Chapter 7. A Zero Grade

Chapter 8. Getting the Grade You Need

Chapter 9. Passing a Course After Absences

Chapter 10. A Do-Over

Chapter 11. Extra Credit

Chapter 12. Finding Out What's on the Test

Managing Your Assignments/Schedule

Chapter 13. Your Work Ethic

Chapter 14. Asking for Help or a Review (Early!)

Chapter 15. Procrastination

Chapter 16. Late Work

Chapter 17. Conflict with Work in Other Classes

Chapter 18. Leaving Early or Arriving Late

Chapter 19. Going Over What You Missed

Chapter 20. Figuring Out if You Missed Something "Important"

Chapter 21. Apologizing

Dealing With E-mail/Social Media/Technology

Chapter 22. Frequent E-mailing

Chapter 23. Your E-mail Address

Chapter 24. Sending Angry E-mails

Chapter 25. Sloppy, Casual, or Unrelated E-mails

Chapter 26. Responding to Your Professor's E-mails

Chapter 27. Using Facebook/Twitter

Chapter 28. Laptop Use in Class

Section 2: Class Issues Your Professor Won't Discuss With You (And May Not Want You to Know)

Chapter 29. Receiving Timely Feedback That Makes Sense

Chapter 30. Challenging a Professor

Chapter 31. Going Higher

Chapter 32. Professor Evaluations

Chapter 33. Teaching Style

Chapter 34. Accessing Your Professor In and Out of Class

Chapter 35. Learning About a Professor Ahead of Time

Chapter 36. Failure of the Entire Class

About the Author

Acknowledgments

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Customer Reviews

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Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews
  • Posted August 28, 2012

    This book is a tell-all of college students and professors. I t

    This book is a tell-all of college students and professors. I teach at
    a college, and I read this book to find out what other students say to
    their professors and how students should better communicate their needs
    and desires. When I put the book down, I felt as if Ellen Bremen had
    known and talked with every one of my students…and me as well! Each
    scenario Bremen presents is a common one. Any college student will be
    faced with some of these situations at some point in their collegiate
    career. Students need to read this so that they can learn to improve
    themselves as students and to make positive connections with their
    professors. And instructors should read this to get strategies on how
    to advise students to be better communicators and better students.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Posted July 25, 2012

    Must Read for College Students and Parents

    Ellen Bremen is the professor and adviser you hope your student will work with in college. Her insights into the world and mindset of college students are very informative. This book should be handed out at orientation and on the desk of every college adviser. It is a great conversation starter for parents as their student prepares to enter college. Hopefully it will help prevent some very expensive potholes (dropped or failed classes) that can pop up along the way due to lack of communication or miscommunication. For the college grad, the communications strategies laid out in this book are invaluable in the work place. It is hard enough to get a good job and this advice will help build strong working relationships needed to keep it. This book is very engaging. I had planned to skim it, but ended up reading it cover to cover. I plan to send it back to school with my college student.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
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