Hard skills are the technical expertise and knowledge needed for a job. Soft skills are interpersonal qualities, also known as people skills, and personal attributes that one possesses. Business executives consider soft skills a very important attribute in job applicants. Employers want new employees to have strong soft skills, as well as hard…

Although extensive research has been done on teaching emails and on the use of emails in organisations, little research exists about how to incorporate organizational practitioners' views as the voices of the community of social practice. To remedy this pedagogical gap, this article uses a genre approach to discuss organizational practitioners'…

The seven Favorite Assignments featured in this article were originally presented at the 2010 ABC Annual Convention, Chicago, Illinois. The reader can consider a variety of learning objectives from team building to persuasion, application of electronic media to face-to-face communication, and much more. Some Favorite Assignments take a full…

Studying abroad enhances the intercultural competencies of American students, but that enhancement strategy may be seen as an obstacle to those in business and technical fields who follow a tight curriculum and work to cover expenses. To meet their needs, U.S. professional communication faculty are designing short courses that can be delivered…

Reviews different types of advisory boards; explains what they can contribute; describes an alumni advisory board that has worked exceedingly well at one institution; and provides an example of how the business communication curricula and function benefited. Shows how to modify the model easily to work for any business communication program. (SG)

Finds that California State University at Northridge Business Faculty perceive their students to have problems with basic writing skills as well as with sophisticated writing concepts and techniques and seem to agree on the content that should be included in a business communication course. Recommends guidelines for revising the business…

In the accounting communication class, which includes both writing and making presentations, the article-based memo has always been the first assignment, in which students learn business formats and writing style, use of headings, audience analysis, and adapting material for different audiences. As part of a large project to revise the accounting…

Contends that professional communication studies could do a better job of teaching effective and responsible language usage to students in a way more coherent to an overall university education and to a healthy civic discourse. Provides lessons from history which suggest that a clear grasp of the theory and practice of genre can help unify…

Presents a strategic consultancy model for establishing a business communication center. Discusses its application in two stages at the University of South Carolina in proposing and establishing such a center. Discusses identifying principles; identifying stakeholders; defining goals; analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats;…

Student presentations have assumed such prominence at the Nanyang Business School (NBS), Singapore, that business communication academics have begun conducting workshops on presentations for other faculty members. In addition to guidance on assessing student presentations, the authors offer theoretical and practical perspectives on PowerPoint,…