Employers demand that business students have excellent communication skills. In the George W. Spiro ’71 Business Communication Program, our faculty teaches essential communication skills to help all Isenberg students excel in the interview process as well as on the job. We know what employers are looking for. Our classes are designed to meet the University’s academic requirements and employer satisfaction. We also want our students to develop as professionals through our learn-by-doing teaching style. Simply put, our students leave our classes with practical experience, an expanded knowledge base, and more polished skills. Here’s how we do it.
Our classes are small, so students get individualized attention and lots of feedback on their written work and oral presentations.
We host the Channing Bete Communication Center. Staffed by Business Communication Program faculty, we work with all Isenberg students – outside of class time in a one-on-one setting – to help them develop written assignments, job applications, slide decks, graduate school essays, and oral presentations. We also give Ph.D. students feedback on their dissertation chapters and defenses.
In our classes, we give meaningful assignments – assignments that have immediate applicability. We teach students how to write effective emails and cover letters, how to do relevant research for short reports, and how to develop slides that enhance (rather than overwhelm) a presentation.
We practice show don’t tell. We help students craft stories and develop narratives that enable them establish rapport with their audience and get work done.
We teach argument and the basic principles of Aristotelian rhetoric – pushing our students to think carefully about the audience, purpose, and context of each communication they deliver.
We understand that critical thinking is an obligatory part of the writing process. Students examine problems and present recommendations through our assignments.
In our classes, students have no choice but to stand and deliver. Impromptu as well as rehearsed presentations are requirements.
We teach our students how to be more polished professionals. Oh, yeah, we also teach courses that satisfy the University’s Junior Year Writing requirement.
