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Business communication class advice

post #1 of 5
9/4/09 at 11:43am
Thread Starter 
Hi all,

I am teaching a business communication class this semester to graduate students in a global MBA program. Most of the students are Chinese, with others coming from Uzbekistan, the Philippines, and a couple of native-English speaking teachers at the university. This is the second time I've taught it, and most of the class is going to focus on writing and presentation skills.

However, for those of you who have taken such a class or are in business, what do you think is the most important thing that should be taught?
Was there any one invaluable skill or lesson in the class you took?
Is there something that was not covered in your class that, after entering the workforce, you wish had been?
If case studies were used, did you find them valuable in real life?
For those of you in management, what skills do you find lacking in new hires?

Thanks in advance for any input.
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post #2 of 5
9/4/09 at 11:43am
Teach them to pronounce "L."
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post #3 of 5
9/4/09 at 11:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by unjung View Post
Teach them to pronounce "L."

lmao..

Quote:
However, for those of you who have taken such a class or are in business, what do you think is the most important thing that should be taught?

But seriously.. The ability to identify your audience and tailor your communication to that audience is key. If I'm sitting in a meeting listening to an IT guy tell me how his network device is going to work, I may fall asleep. Tell me what it's going to do for me, how it's going to cut costs and improve service. Identify the risks and give me a high-level overview of where we are now, and how things would change with this new device. I could care less what the thing looks like, and what cables plus into it, etc..
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post #4 of 5
9/4/09 at 11:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ClaretandBlue View Post
lmao..



But seriously.. The ability to identify your audience and tailor your communication to that audience is key. If I'm sitting in a meeting listening to an IT guy tell me how his network device is going to work, I may fall asleep. Tell me what it's going to do for me, how it's going to cut costs and improve service. Identify the risks and give me a high-level overview of where we are now, and how things would change with this new device. I could care less what the thing looks like, and what cables plus into it, etc..

Actually, my Chinese students do pretty well with L and R pronounciation (at least better than my Koreans students). For the Chinese it is the V that seems to give them the most headaches, which is similar to some Scandinavians I have known. So instead of "very" they say "wary." The first time I talked with a Chinese student and heard her pronounciation, I thought she had had a Scandinavian English teacher.

And, though I stress tailoring the message to the audience, I will give it extra emphasis this semester.

Thanks, guys. Anyone else?
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post #5 of 5
9/5/09 at 3:26am
When I took this class back in community college I thought it was really interesting. The main thing learned from that class is to keep things short and straight to the point which is essential business. Who needs to read excess fluff, right?...
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