Category Archives: Resources for Instructors

A Bumper Crop of Corporate Crises: Discussion Resources for Your Classroom

Between network security breaches and random corporate blunders, it's been a rough few months for GM, Target, Neiman Marcus, Adobe, Michaels, Lululemon, SeaWorld, US Airways, Yahoo, and about half the population of the Internet, thanks to the Heartbleed glitch. Their grief is our good fortune, however—at least in terms of providing discussion material for business […]

Hall of Fame: Creative Commons’s Effective Use of Plain Language (with PowerPoint Slide for Classroom Use)

The ability to explain complex topics in clear terms is one of the most important skills a business communicator can have. This example from the Creative Commons website, explaining three levels of content licensing, demonstrates the power of plain language. Bovee and Thill blog – Hall of Fame – Creative Commons website

Have Your Students Judge Their Promotional Skills Using Real-Life Test Results

As George Bernard Shaw famously put it, the single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. One of the great promises of online business communication is the relative ease with which companies can test to see how well their communication efforts are working. Online marketing expert Anne Holland’s website offers […]

When Free Speech Isn’t Quite So Free: Legal Hazards in Online Communication

Millions of bloggers, tweeters, and forum posters appreciate the free-wheeling nature of online communication, but a growing number are learning that free speech sometimes has a steep price. As Santa Clara University’s Eric Goldman emphasizes in this helpful overview article, “Most people have no idea of the liability they face when they publish something online.” […]