Thursday, October 22, 2009

Sajit Mathew Kunnumkal

I would like to thank you for an excellent class. I have learnt a lot from the Professional Writing class and rate it as one of the best classes I have taken at CMU. I have understood the importance of keeping written communication short and simple. Thank you once again.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Cynthia Chemsak

Dear Perspective Students of Professor Ed Barr:

I strongly recommend Professor Ed Barr as an instructor for you and highly suggest you select him for as many classes as possibly. It is worth your time to arrange your schedule around his course offerings while selecting classes.

My comments are based on real life experience earned by being in two classes with Professor Barr. “Ed” as he likes to be called, has a wonderful way of clearing through all the clutter, keeping it simple and on point. He is very well versed, knowledgeable, and experienced in the courses areas he is teaching. He often peppers his lectures with real life experience to help you understand the application of the key concepts he is presenting.

His teaching style is down to earth, comfortable, and relaxed. I have watched him access the needs of the class using our questions and comments as a guide then adjusting his presentations to suit our needs and learning styles. His instruction is almost like individualized teaching. It just does not get any better than that for a student. Ed actually cares that you get as much as you can while you are in his class.

I am a graduating senior, Dec 09, in the Masters of Public Management program at CMU who honestly strongly suggests Ed Barr as a professor and mentor for you. The value you will receive is far greater than that of just any professor.

Zafar Imran

One thing which distinguishes Professor Barr from others is his willingness to help his students... always. No wonder all his students become his friends in just one short semester... He is a teacher who cultivates souls in addition to just teaching..."

I mean this.... It is not just words. I am a living example of (his) beneficence which probably saved my life...

Matt Hamann

Thanks for the great Professional Writing class this mini. I’ve enjoyed your teaching, energy, anecdotes, and projects very much! Your class has been my favorite by far and the next mini won’t be quite the same without Writing class first thing each Tuesday and Thursday morning :)

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Mubariz Ahmed Shariff, MISM Dec ’09 Class

Communication is an important part of our everyday lives. More importantly, written form of communication is monitored very closely in the corporate world. What you write can really have an impact on what you can get done. I’m currently working in Deloitte Consulting in their Public Sector Practice and as part of my work I interact with many people each at a different level than the other – managers, clients (who are government employees), track leads and colleagues through written media and I feel ready to write almost anything from a simple memo, to a meeting agenda or a marketing plan. The things I learnt in Ed Barr’s class - Professional Writing have helped me in situations that I least expected. It is a wonderful feeling to be equipped with the tools he provides in his class - makes you more confident about your writing and more importantly gets you what you want.

Aneesh Vijayakar

The writing class which I took from Prof. Ed Barr was immensely helpful to me. Not only did I learn some unique writing skills in writing proposals and technical documents, but it also improved my writing skills in essays and short notes. Ed Barr is truly an exceptional professor. His teaching techniques have helped me excel in my work today. He has this rare combination of engaging every student in his teachings and explaining the minute details to students. I would encourage everyone to attend his class.

Yogesh Badwe

"Ed teaches "Professional Writing" or what I call "effective communication with simple writing" graduate course. He engages the students in a productive yet fun environment through his unique examples,challenging exercises and lively discussions. The exercises are a reflection of different professional scenarios and hence not only challenge your writing skills but also make you aware of many business communication problems and their solutions.

At the end of the class you come out with not only professional writing skills but also a first-hand exposure to different types and scenarios of communication that one can come accross in a corporate environment.Ed is a fantastic teacher and I wish him all the best in his future endeavors"

Victor Alvarez, Director of Development, Propel IT

I took Professional Writing with Ed Barr and I definitely enjoyed my time there and learnt a lot –of course. Now, if I had to define Ed’s class using three adjectives those would be: CLEAR, ENGAGING and USEFUL.

As a professor Ed undoubtedly knows what he’s talking about, but more importantly, he knows how to pass that information on to his students in a clear yet powerful way. He also makes extensive use of activities and discussions which make sessions fun and engaging. Furthermore, I found everything he teaches to be valuable and helpful in real life; he doesn’t waste your time with needless stuff.

All in all, taking Ed’s class was such a great experience that I consider him to be one of the best professors I’ve had and I would undoubtedly take another one if I had the chance.

Biju Savindran, Director, SA Metroplots Pvt. Ltd. Real Estate Solutions, www.metroplots.com

Ed Barr is my Professor, Mentor & Friend. I shoot him an email whenever I am excited or upset about something because he is always there for you. He gives sensible advice in a way not many people usually do. He gets the point across by not exactly saying it which amazes. He is an expert at Marketing, Brand Management, Communication,Strategy & Life. What more does an entrepreneur need?

Chaitra Kamath

"Have you ever heard that formal writing should be simple and short? It should be as if you talking to your own siblings? I am sure you must be surprised. So was I when this was the first lesson I learnt in Professor Barr's class.

I belong to engineering background and back in my home country, India, we are required to use jargons and make any simple article look too difficult and lengthy. And that is how I was used to writing, even though I did not like it. But, after joining Professor Barr's Professional Writing course at the Carnegie Mellon University,I realized the importance of having a precise, concise, simple and short writing and I really appreciate this.

The course has added value in a sense that now, I tend to write simple answers in all assignments of other courses too. And this has even increased my grades in some cases. :)

In the future, I am sure that this coursework will help me a lot in the fields of written communication.

I would really like to thank Professor Barr for his effective teaching.
His teachings were measurable, which is his unique feature. I have never found a class on speaking or writing wherein, they could give us measurable explanations and expectations.

I am sorry, I need to keep it short right? But, I believe this summarizes all of the many things I wanted to say.

Thanks Professor Barr for letting me thank you using this platform. "

Brian K. Isbell

It is my greatest pleasure to provide a testimonial for Professor Ed Barr. Ed taught two of my favorite courses: Nonprofit Marketing and Strategic Writing Skills. Ed’s passion for teaching was evident in every class he taught. He not only inspired me but he equipped me and my classmates with the tools needed to be effective communicators and marketers.

I have greatly enjoyed learning from Ed throughout my time at Carnegie Mellon. His amazing insight into effective communication/marketing has more often than not made complex issues simple and clear.

I am extremely grateful for Ed’s guidance during our Nonprofit Marketing class. Under Ed’s direction, our team successfully developed a marketing plan for a local nonprofit organization. The marketing plan was later approved by the organization’s board and members of our team were invited to join the organization’s Strategic Communications Committee. I know this may not have been possible were it not for Ed’s insight and direction. Ed, I may never be able to repay you for all you have done/taught me but please consider this testimonial a down payment toward that end.

Chuck Reynolds, Deloitte

"Ed Barr is a terrific teacher. He brings a passion for his student's success that many professors lack. Ed's intelligence, experience, creative thinking, enthusiasm make his classes a rare opportunity to engage and challenge conventional thinking.

"When asked by current students what classes to take, my advice is always to find a great teacher: anything with Ed Barr."

Chuck Reynolds, Deloitte

Yanhao (Matt) Chen, Technology Associate, NextJump Inc.

Ed's professional writing class was extremely rewarding to me. His years of experience as a marketing executive as well as working knowledge of IT consulting enriches the content of his class, which is outlined by well-organized training in writing skills, as well as frequent interactions between the students and the professor himself.
As a software associate in an Internet technology and advertising company, I have been able to use these skills in my project planning meetings, and daily communication with senior executives, which makes me stand out in my work as an international student coming fresh into Corporate America.

Tanaji Naik, Enterprise Analysis – Performance, QE, MicroStrategy, Inc.,

“Edit, edit, edit !!! Don’t stop. Edit again !!!”

This was exactly the very first learning I had at Carnegie Mellon. My first course - Professional Writing taught by Prof. Barr.

Back then it just made me wonder. Now I am 100 % confident it makes a lot of sense. My job is to focus on the performance of OLAP features of MicroStrategy's Business Intelligence platform. Sifting through tons of performance data and making sense is one part. But the tougher one is to communicate it to decision makers and making them understand. I can confidently say the two things I learnt at CMU that make my job easier is Data Mining and Professional Writing. Thanks Professor Barr !!! Without you I would have seen stars !!

Salahaldin Hussein, Management Consultant

"Professional Writing is by far the best class at MISM taught by the most competent & spontaneous teacher! I enjoyed learning a great deal about professional writing, corporate communications, workplace etiquette, interviewing, presentation skills, and more. Ed Barr is an extremely successful entrepreneur & professional, he brings real-life experience to the classroom, real stories, and real people –so much so that I, including all my friends, actually looked forward to class time.

"As a professional, I find that the number one rule that distinguishes those who move their career quickly from others is their communications & presentation skills. Thanks to this course, I am able to leverage my written & verbal communications to excel in my career quickly and spend more time worrying about content & problem solving & less on fixing grammar or struggling to convey my points. Trust me, as future technology managers & business leaders, the last thing you need is to have your writing or speaking come in the way. Take this class very seriously, it will pay immediate dividends.”