Business Communication Instruction

As Another Disruptive Technology Transforms Business Communication Instruction

The history of business communication instruction over the past couple of decades has been one of almost constant change. The first major wave was the digital revolution, replacing much of the print communication of the past with email, instant messaging, web content, and other new forms. Then came social media, which fundamentally redefined the relationship between businesses and their stakeholders. And now comes the third wave, and it’s proving to be every bit as disruptive—and full of exciting possibilities—as the first two.

Mobile communication, and mobile connectivity in the larger sense, is changing the way business communicators plan, create, and distribute messages. Mobile devices are overtaking PCs as the primary digital communication tool for millions of consumers, employees, and executives, and businesses that don’t get mobile-friendly in a hurry will fall behind.

For business communicators, the shift to mobile involves much more than the constraints of small screens and new input technologies. The ability to reach people anywhere at any time can be a huge advantage, but the mobile communication experience can also be a major challenge for senders and receivers alike. It requires new ways of thinking about information, message structures, and writing styles. With the notion of radical connectivity, for example, many communication experiences are no longer about “batch processing” large, self-contained documents. Instead, communication is taking on the feel of an endless conversation, with recipients picking up smaller bits of information as needed, in real time, from multiple sources.

The fundamental skills of writing, listening, presenting, and so on will always be essential, of course, but those skills must be executed in a contemporary business context. That’s why Bovée and Thill texts carefully blend technology awareness and skills with basic communication skills and practices. The new coverage of mobile communication is deeply integrated throughout their textbooks, with major new sections in many chapters and important updates in other places, along with a variety of new questions, activities, and cases. Welcome to the wild new world of mobile business communication!

Why Business Communication Instructors Continue to Choose Bovée and Thill

The reasons instructors throughout the world choose texts by Bovée and Thill can be summarized as follows:

Market-leading innovation. The unique new coverage of mobile communication in this edition is just one example of how for more than three decades, Bovée and Thill texts have pioneered coverage of emerging trends and their implications for business communication. They were the first authors in the field to give in-depth coverage to digital media, then social media, and now mobile communication.
Up-to-date coverage that reflects today’s business communication practices and employer expectations. Technology, globalization, and other forces have dramatically changed the practice of business communication in recent years, even to the point of altering how people read and how messages should be constructed. To prepare students for today’s workplace, the business communication course needs to address contemporary skills, issues, and concepts.
Practical advice informed by deep experience. Beyond the research and presentation of new ideas and tools, Bovée and Thill are among the most active and widely followed users of social media in the entire field of business communication. They don’t just write about new concepts; they have years of hands-on experience with social media, blogging, content curation, search technologies, and other important tools. They are active participants in more than 45 social media sites.
Engaging coverage of real companies and contemporary issues in business communication. Bovée and Thill texts emphasize companies and issues students already know about or are likely to find intriguing. For example, cases in recent editions have addressed location-based social networking (the business communication implications of the FourSquare game app), employer restrictions on social media, and the use of Twitter in the job search process.
Integrated learning. In sharp contrast to texts that tack on coverage of social media and other new topics, Bovée and Thill continually revise their coverage to fully integrate the skills and issues that are important in today’s workplace. This integration is carried through chapter-opening vignettes, chapter content, model documents, end-of-chapter questions, communication cases, and test banks to make sure students practice the skills they’ll need, not just read about them in some anecdotal fashion.

Added value with unique, free resources for instructors and students. From the groundbreaking Real-Time Updates to Business Communication Headline News to videos specially prepared for instructors, Bovée and Thill adopters can take advantage of an unmatched array of free resources to enhance the classroom experience and keep course content fresh

There has been a revolution in business communication instruction in the past few years. As demonstrated here, the only authors who have fully responded to this revolution are Bovée and Thill. For a wealth of material you'll find useful for teaching a course in business communication, we suggest you review these websites: Google+, Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Also see Business Communication Instruction with a Mobile Component.

Thank you for watching this video about business communication instruction.

November 30, 2017

Business Communication Instruction: Textbooks Have Wide Gap in Coverage

An analysis of digital, social, and mobile media in business communication textbooks reveals Bovée and Thill’s superb coverage far exceeds the coverage found in competing texts, which in comparison is shockingly incomplete and out of date. If you are responsible for business communication instruction, be sure to read the full article from ABC 6 News.

November 30, 2017

Bovee and Thill: Leading Textbook Authors in Business Communication Instruction

Bovee and Thill have led the business communication instruction field for more than 30 years with innovative, high-quality textbooks that have consistently been on the leading edge. They were the first to

Textbook Support

cover digital media
cover social media
cover mobile business communication
cover essential communication technologies as they went mainstream in the business world, such as email, blogs, microblogs (Twitter), data visualization, e-portfolios, infographics, text messaging, and virtual meetings
cover business etiquette
cover communication in a diverse world and recognize the importance of diversity in photographs and exhibits
cover developing presentations in a social media environment
cover enhancing presentations with slides
discuss and show pictures of real companies and to include a Company Index
write chapter-opening vignettes to help students see how real professionals use chapter concepts and skills
write about real companies in exercises and cases
include cases that involve the full range of contemporary business media, from blog posts to text messaging
cover digital video as a major business communication medium
create the name and concept for "Letters for Analysis"
create the name and concept for "Document Makeovers"
create the name and concept for “On the Job” business communication simulations
receive an Award for Excellence from the Textbook Authors Association for a business communication textbook

Instructor Support and Interaction

become active and widely known users of emerging digital media, developing hands-on experience that is reflected in their textbook content
have a business communication blog
offer a business communication news service, Business Communication Headline News, for adopters and their students
provide Real-Time Updates, a web-based service featuring the latest articles, videos, PowerPoints, infographics, websites, and podcasts to adopters and their students, categorized by the chapters in Bovee & Thill's textbooks
offer online magazines, 10 in all, each one dedicated to an important business communication topic along with a weekly newsletter of the most popular articles
offer a Business Communication Pictorial Gallery on Pinterest
have a business communication channel on YouTube
have a Teaching Business Communication group on LinkedIn and on Facebook (with a combined membership of over 4,300 instructors)
be on Twitter as business communication authors
offer dozens of business communication slide programs that they've created (available on SlideShare)
to email a video newsletter several times each semester
have a website that focuses on instruction, “Teaching Business Communication”
have been recognized for their contributions to the field by the Governor of Massachusetts and the Boston Red Sox.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Bovee and Thill should be proud, because they’re the most imitated authors in the field. Their texts set the standard by which other textbooks in the field are judged. For outstanding business communication instruction, there simply are no other texts to be considered.

Bovee and Thill have the most extensive collection of free resources for instructors and students in the history of business communication publishing. You can see the full list at http://blog.businesscommunicationnetwork.com/resources.

November 30, 2017

27 Ways the Business Communication Course Can Help Your Students

In your class you’ll probably be emphasizing the long-term value of the business communication course to your students. Here’s our list of 27 ways communication skills can help students in their personal and professional lives.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: blog.businesscommunicationnetwork.com

November 30, 2017

Test Your Proofreading Skills

Get your proofreading game on! Three challenges await you. A hint about the number of errors, followed by the solutions, appears at the end of the tests. Test 1: The Note of Thanks Dear Krista; Thank you very much for…

November 29, 2017

How to Write When You Can’t Change Things

I led a class for a group of writers who respond to citizen complaints about airplane noise. The writers cannot make the planes quieter, and they can’t make them go away. What can they do? They can respond in ways…

November 14, 2017

Things Changed–Is Your Style Guide Up to Date?

While you have been busy working, some of the rules of writing evolved, and the University of Chicago Press released a new Chicago Manual of Style. Take a look at the changes below to determine which ones you need to adopt. Then update your company style guide to be sure everyone is writing consistent, up-to-date pieces.

For this post, I consulted The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), published in September, The Associated Press Stylebook 2017 (AP), Garner’s Modern English Usage (Garner’s), which was published in 2016, and Microsoft Manual of Style (Microsoft), published in 2012.

1. Words with web are no longer capitalized and are sometimes closed up: website, webmaster, webcam, and webcast, but web address and web browser. AP, Garner’s, and Microsoft recommend webpage, but Chicago still prefers the open web page. AP (effective 2016), Microsoft, and Chicago use the lower case web as a short form of World Wide Web, but Garner’s uses Web for that purpose.

2. You can stop capitalizing internet if you follow Chicago—or AP, which changed its approach in 2016. However, Garner’s and Microsoftstill capitalize it.

3. The ever-present word email should be lower case and closed up. That’s according to Chicago, AP (effective 2011), and Microsoft. Garner's lists three versions—E-mail, e-mail, and email—noting that “The unhyphenated email is unsightly, but it might prevail in the end.” (Might? It certainly will!) Other e words are generally not capitalized unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence or in a heading, and they are hyphenated: e-book, e-reader, e-commerce, e-form, e-learning.

4. The word voicemail is closed up according to AP (since 2016) and Garner's. However, Microsoft and Chicago render it open: voice mail. Chicago doesn’t single out voice mail for discussion, but its rules on compound words call for the word to be rendered open.

5. Using they as a singular pronoun has become acceptable in some cases. The Washington Post argued in late 2015: “Allowing they for a gender-nonconforming person is a no-brainer. And once we’ve done that, why not allow it for the most awkward of those he or shesituations that have troubled us for so many years?”

AP chimes in on the awkwardness issue. In its 2017 edition, APstates, “They/them/their is acceptable in limited cases as a singular and/or gender-neutral pronoun, when alternative wording is overly awkward or clumsy.” For example, to avoid revealing an individual’s gender, this their is acceptable: “The employee believed their safety could not be guaranteed.”

Chicago now states: “While this usage [they, them, their, andthemselves] is accepted in those spheres [speech and informal writing], it is only lately showing signs of gaining acceptance in formal writing, where Chicago recommends avoiding its use. When referring specifically to a person who does not identify with a gender-specific pronoun, however, they and its forms are often preferred.”

Garner’s recommends its careful use: “Where it can’t be avoided, resort to it cautiously because some people may doubt your literacy.” And Microsoft advises, “Although . . . they for a singular antecedent is gaining acceptance. . . . Whenever possible, write around the problem.”

Note: The singular they always takes a plural verb, just as you does.

6. Over = more than for quantities. In 2014, AP joined Chicago andGarner’s in accepting over as synonymous with more than. Example: “She has over 20 years of experience.” AP describes over as "acceptable in all uses to indicate greater numerical value.” However, Microsoft still recommends more than for quantities; it uses over “to refer to a position or location above something.”

7. One space—not two! This isn’t a recent change. As far back as 2004, virtually all style guides have dictated one space after end punctuation and colons. If you are still using two, it’s time to adapt. Remember what happened to the dinosaurs.

8. In the 21st century, there’s no reason to render a number both spelled out and in figures—not even in contracts. Consider these redundancies: “You may cancel the contract within three (3) days” and “A deposit of $250 (two hundred fifty dollars) is due upon signing.” In the very old days, numbers were repeated to prevent them from being altered, according to attorney Bryan Garner. And back in the days of fuzzy carbon copies, spelled out numbers were easier to read. Today there’s no need for them.

I shared the changes above with a friend who wrote back: "I prefer eLearning. It still seems an unsettled question." Not to me! With so many things unsettled in the world, I'm going to defer to the style manuals and get on with my life.

How about you and your editorial team? Do you follow the advice of a well-respected style guide? Or do you go it alone?

October 31, 2017

Timber! (or Timbre?)

I just finished reading another excellent mystery by Louise Penny: The Beautiful Mystery. Penny's series of Inspector Gamache mysteries, which take place in Québec, gets better and better with each volume. I'm always looking forward to the next one.

This time I read a library book. To my surprise, a previous reader wrote in the book, something I rarely see in books from the library. The individual wrote timbre over this bit of dialogue:

"Well, I have an unusual singing voice. A strange timber."

Would you have caught the error–and annotated it? I was glad the previous reader had. It helped me recognize the correct spelling of timbre.

Definition of timbre: the combination of qualities of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds of the same pitch and volume.

Definition of the more familiar timber: trees or wooded land considered as a source of wood. Wood used as a building material; lumber.

I was glad to relearn this correct spelling. And to find out at the end of the book who had killed the prior!

October 19, 2017

I’m Sorry You . . . Did It to Yourself

The other day I participated in an online chat about cats being allowed to roam free in our neighborhood. Opinions for and against piled up minute by minute, with some people expressing strong views. Reading the comments, I noticed this one:

I'm sorry you were offended by my tone.

The passive verb "were offended" leads to a non-apology apology. It's an "It's-your-fault" apology. Compare this wording, which takes responsibility for the tone:

I'm sorry my tone offended you.

A recent angry email reply from a blog reader referred to me as "impolite" and used several hostile phrases to characterize my response to her original message. This email shocked me because I had taken the time to answer the individual's question, and I always intend to communicate positively. Nevertheless, I had failed, and my conciseness had come across as brusque.

In my reply to the angry email, politeness was essential. That's why I quickly changed the wording of the opening sentence. I changed:

I am sorry you felt my response was discourteous.

To:

I am sorry that my response came across as discourteous.

Do you recognize the problem with the original statements? Both of them say "I am sorry you . . . " In print such statements can come across as blame shifting: "I'm sorry you are overly sensitive" or "I am sorry you are a jerk." Consider these examples:

I am sorry you took my comment the wrong way.

I am sorry you didn't let me know I needed to be on time.

I am sorry you didn't confirm our appointment.

I am sorry you didn't understand that I was joking.

Here's how to accept blame rather than shifting it to the other person:

I am sorry my comment came across the wrong way.

I am sorry that I didn't realize I needed to be on time.

I am sorry I forgot about our appointment.

I am sorry that my joke bombed.

It doesn't help to try to share the blame. These statements won't build relationships:

I am sorry but you're to blame too.

I am sorry but you have to accept your part in this.

Yes, those statements may be true, but they are not true apologies. If the situation requires an apology, give one.

But what if you don't feel your behavior requires an apology? Let's say you have done nothing wrong.

Apologize anyway. The relationship requires an apology. Although you might feel good defending your actions or pointing out the other person's role in the situation, apologizing will help you move on. It will also earn you points as a mature professional who chooses his or her battles.

In my email exchange with the angry blog reader, I didn't think I had done anything wrong. I had simply been concise and direct. Yet my message did not come across that way–I can't argue about that. So I might as well admit that my message failed and apologize.

Do you have more examples of non-apology apologies? Please share them.

By the way, the non-apology in the cat-roaming chat did not end the exchange. The other person wrote back defending her feelings, and then the first person did the same. And so it goes.

Would you like to read more about how to write successful apologies, including the four parts they need? Get my book Business Writing With Heart: How to Build Great Work Relationships One Message at a Time. It includes the chapter "Write Apologies to Mend Fences and Support Relationships." Get the book from Syntax Training (with a laminated bookmark and a personal message from me), Amazon, or your favorite bookseller (ISBN 978-0-9778679-0-5).

October 16, 2017

Whistler’s Apostrophe Challenge

I visited beautiful Whistler, British Columbia, last week and loved everything about it–except perhaps for its free-spirited use and avoidance of apostrophes. Its businesses' signs kept my writing teacher's mind spinning.

Here's a challenge for you: See if you can determine which of the signs are punctuated according to current writing standards. When you find one that is not correct, decide how you would change it if its owner would let you.

10.

11.

12.

13. 20170928_134659

14.

15.

Can you tell why I went sign-crazy in Whistler? Which ones would you change? See my comments below.

1. Ingrid's–I love you! All your signs were consistent and correct. Ingrid is a singular noun, so its possessive form is Ingrid's.

2. St. Andrews House–what happened? Why did you choose to leave out the apostrophe? The traditional rendering is St. Andrew's.

3. Like St. Andrews, the cigar store needs an apostrophe: Castro's.

4. I savored quite a few Rogers' chocolates, and I loved their sign. Rogers' is correct. Although some style manuals would recommend Rogers's, that form would be too fussy on a sign.

5. Fat Tony's has great pizza and perfect punctuation.

6. Garfinkel's punctuated this sign correctly, but their vertical signs say Garfs (not shown). If they wanted to be consistent, they would choose Garf's.

7. and 8. These are signs for the same establishment. Buffalo Bill's wins for correctness.

9. I'd like to talk Earls into an apostrophe: Earl's.

10. I'm going to interpret Cow's cute cone as a correct apostrophe although other Cow's signs left it out.

11. and 12. These signs are trying hard to be correct. And they both might be depending on whether we want to think of one skier or more than one. But an easier way to handle Skiers Approach and Skiers Plaza is to think of them as forskiers rather than of skiers or belonging to skiers. That way, we can avoid the possessive forms and not worry about singular and plural.

13. Shoppers Drug Mart has–correctly, I think–chosen to avoid the possessive form. This approach is what I suggested for Skiers in 11 and 12.

14. Let's change this to Black's Restaurant, which would match their Black's Pub sign (not shown).

15. The creative rendering of DAVIDsTEA inspired me to watch for signs in Whistler. DAVID'S TEA would be correct but not catchy. The more I saw DAVIDsTEA rendered that way, the more it convinced me that its distinctiveness won out over conventionalism.

Do you prefer correct, conventional renderings or creative ones? And how did you do on the challenge?

I wasn't able to visit every establishment I photographed–a great reason to return to Whistler!

October 3, 2017

Business Communication Instruction

Business Communication Instruction

Business Communication Instruction: Textbooks Have Wide Gap in Coverage

Bovee and Thill: Leading Textbook Authors in Business Communication Instruction

27 Ways the Business Communication Course Can Help Your Students

Test Your Proofreading Skills

How to Write When You Can’t Change Things

Things Changed–Is Your Style Guide Up to Date?

Timber! (or Timbre?)

I’m Sorry You . . . Did It to Yourself

Whistler’s Apostrophe Challenge

Search This Site

Bovée & Thill Videos

Subscribe