Teaching a college business communication course can be both rewarding and challenging. As an instructor, you are tasked with preparing students for effective communication in the professional world. However, there are several obstacles that you may encounter along the way. In this article, we will discuss the top 10 challenges in teaching a college business […]
Category Archives: Professionalism
Media Skills: Online Etiquette
This is the first post in a new series in which we will explore a variety of essential skills for using digital, social, and visual media. We’ll present the information in ways that you can share directly with your students, and we hope this information will enhance your lectures and class discussions. Digital media seem […]
Nine Tips to Help Your Students Build Effective LinkedIn Profiles
LinkedIn is the most important website for students to incorporate in their job search efforts. Employment recruiters search LinkedIn for candidates far more than any other social network, many employers now want to see LinkedIn profiles rather than conventional résumés, and companies doing background checks are almost certain to look for candidates’ LinkedIn profiles. Encourage […]
Encouraging Students to Apply Their Skills Now: Make QA a Routine Part of the Writing Process
When manufacturers produce something, an essential step in the process is quality assurance (QA), a methodical evaluation of the product’s quality relative to its design goals. This is the last chance before the product ships out to customers to make sure it is something the company can be proud of. Encourage students to make QA […]
Free Video for Classroom Use: Communication Ethics: How to Make Good Choices When Your Choices Aren’t Clear
Here is the sixth video in our new series that addresses a variety of specific communication challenges and offers practical advice that students can apply now in their coursework and take with them on the job. This video gives students a four-step decision model to guide them in making ethical communication choices. Instructor version (concludes […]
Free Video for Classroom Use: The Five Zones of Professional Etiquette
Here is the fifth video in our new series that addresses a variety of specific communication challenges and offers practical advice that students can apply now in their coursework and take with them on the job. This video helps students adapt their behavior to the five zones of professional etiquette: in the workplace, online, on the […]
Using the Business Communication Course to Teach Professionalism
One of the major benefits of the business communication course is that it helps students practice so many valuable skills, from research and analysis to organization and document design. The course also creates an opportunity to incorporate these communication-focused skills into the larger context of being a business professional. We define professionalism as the quality […]
Thanks, But We’ll Keep Saying “Thank You”
A recent opinion piece in the New York Times on new etiquette norms in the digital age caused a minor stir when the writer asserted that simple "thank you" messages are often rude because they waste the recipient's time. The writer's point was that there generally is no need to acknowledge receipt of information sent […]
Putting Organizational Culture on Display: Good, Bad, or Just Inevitable?
One of the more intriguing effects of social media is the way these tools have put organizational culture on public display. Companies that might have once been known mostly by products, headquarters architecture, and advertising campaigns are now also represented (officially and unofficially) by legions of bloggers, YouTube producers, and Twitter users. Professionals and managers […]
The Challenge of Nuanced Messages in Lean, Text-Only Media :(
You know that feeling when the words don't quite capture the spirit of your intended message, but words are all you have? Let's say your project team has just been reprimanded by the boss for missing an interim deadline. You're confident that the team will meet its final deadline, so you're ready to brush off […]
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