Core textbook for Introduction to Communication courses that covers major subfields of communication, provides a thorough section on public speaking, and focuses on communication skills for a variety of professional contexts Combination of accessible writing and activities with a focus on long-term career outcomes makes this ideal for introductory courses that seek to convince both majors and non-majors to take additional communication courses Noted for its extensive activities, accessible and practical bridging of theory and specific situations, and focus on the application of communication studies to a variety of careers --Each chapter is packed with features-from applied scenarios, key terms, and chapter summaries to skill-building activities, learning objectives, and discussion questions --eResources for instructors to include PowerPoint slides and an Instructor's Manual providing advice on how to use the book's activities in both in-person and online classes

This practical book gives students the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to communicate more effectively and interact more productively in the small group setting. With the help of this book, any group member can learn the skills necessary to participate in and lead a task group in an effective, productive, and healthy manner. The fourth edition features new content on communicating within virtual groups and conducting online meetings.

Soft Skills for the Professional Services Industry Auditors, accountants, lawyers, consultants, and other highly educated and trained professionals frequently hold impressive credentials and offer clients specialized expertise in complex areas. At the same time, these professionals understandably focus on the analytical and technical components of their jobs, sometimes to the point of excluding or ignoring important soft skills critical to the success of their careers and practices. In Soft Skills for the Professional Services Industry: Principles, Tasks, and Tools for Success, veteran auditor and entrepreneur Andreas Creutzmann delivers an essential discussion of often overlooked professional competencies that can mean the difference between career, engagement, and business success or failure. In the book, you'll find accessible guidance on critical soft skills that can make a difference between fulfilment and success and failure on a professional and personal level. You'll learn to handle the blending of home and the home office, how to effectively manage staff, how to market yourself and your firm, practical strategies for client and colleague communication, and how to find happiness in your day-to-day work. Each chapter stands alone and can be read in any order. They provide professionals with invaluable skills for navigating the modern--and digital--reality of work, showing you how to combine your professional education with the latest research and common sense on everything from client management to firm marketing. Soft Skills for the Professional Services Industry uses the field of auditing as a template and guide, but it is highly relevant to all skilled professionals - including lawyers, consultants, medical professionals, and others. The book is a must-read for any knowledge worker trying to add to their toolbox of practical skills. Critical guidance for practicing professionals on how to build often overlooked soft skills Most highly educated and trained professionals aren't lacking in analytical or technical skills. Lawyers know the law, accountants understand double entry bookkeeping, and doctors know anatomy. However, many of us are less familiar with often overlooked--and equally essential--soft skills: client management, communication, staff and employee management, and others. In Soft Skills for the Professional Services Industry, accomplished auditor, entrepreneur, and consultant Andreas Creutzmann walks you through how to build critical competencies, from self-marketing to balancing work and life when your office is in your house. The book is made up of numerous, self-contained chapters that can be read in any order, and it demonstrates how to navigate increasingly digital and insistent professional demands on your time, effectively manage client and colleague relationships, and sell new clients on the services your firm offers. An essential roadmap to achieving personal and career success, Soft Skills for the Professional Services Industry is an indispensable resource for lawyers, doctors, accountants, auditors, and any other extensively skilled professional. It offers practical tools in functional areas that are frequently neglected in formal professional training.

At a time when corporations are facing increasing pressures to devise and implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs and deal with societal issues, The Trust Factor: Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility explores theoretical frameworks and practical applications for creating trust between organizations and key stakeholders. By examining the effects of corporate social responsibility on social media engagement and purchase intention, Kristie Byrum navigates "who" should carry the CSR message and offers guidance on appropriate channels for communication. Byrum provides a robust communication model that considers the delicate value of trust in the context of corporate social responsibility communication and delivers insights regarding how organizations can plan and execute corporate communications approaches that consider the appropriate source and channel. Scholars of communication, public relations, and leadership will find this book of particular interest.

Irrespective of the interdisciplinary, epistemological, pedagogical or etymological differences in the interpretation of leadership, technological situational happenstances (TSH) is cognitively and effectively used as a trajectory toward transformation of various leadership styles. Commonalities and differences existed in Bass' (1985, 1996, 1997) and Burns' (1978, 2002, 2003, 2006) leadership theories. Some scholars harbor crotchetiness to Bass' and Burns' theories (Keeley, 1995; Mckendall, 1993; Snyder, 1987; White & Wooten, 1986). Other scholars constructively remained neutral to Bass' and Burns' theories (Dmitry, 2007; Yukl, 2006). Without leaders deploying TSH in organizations, information could be distorted and degraded from reaching strategic and tactical planners. Technologies embedded in TSH are used to analyze, synthesize, and triangulate the United States real estate historical trends from 1880s to present. The financial mortgage institutions' unquenchable greed and unethical behaviors of granting mortgage loans to unqualified applicants resulted in toxic documents that cascaded the United States' economy into recession. Bank of America, Merrill Lynch Company, General Motors, and other company's 2nd quarter earnings in 2010 revealed the signs of a painful economic recovery in the United States (Aluya, 2008 & 2010; Austums, 2008; Cho, 2007). Smart analytic sensors reporting and managing technologies that are nonlinear and disruptive in nature now used to reset the industrial standards. Organizations in the 20th century used TSH to reset customers' expectations and creates competitive advantages. Experts concurred that TSH were used to shift the market forces in favor of the disruptors (Babcock, 2009; Dzubeck, 2008; Kelly, 2010; Ritorto, 2010; Yitts, 2006). AOL Time Warner, Hewlett-Packard, UPS, Nokia, and Yahoo were used as case studies. TSH removed the dearth from the anchored business model. Cloud computing and planetary computing introduced to learners in this book.

Have you ever felt stuck with methods, tools and skills that do not match the increasing complexity you are part of? Would you like to work in new ways that strengthen thinking, communication and collaboration? Visual Collaboration introduces a new and innovative way of working and collaborating that will help you successfully manage complexity for yourself, your team, and your entire organization. The method of this book unlocks any team s ability to collaborate in complex projects and processes. By using a systematic and proven approach to drawing and visualizing. Visual Collaboration is a unique visual business book that will enable you to develop visual languages to fit any scenario, create engaging and powerful questions to assist your visual process design and turn a white canvas into a visual template that can improve any meeting, project, or process. The core of the book - a practical and easy-to-follow method - THE FIVE BUILDING BLOCKS will most likely become your preferred way of working. The method is supported by plentiful examples, 4-color drawing, chapter summaries, and clearly defined learning objectives. Enjoyable and powerful, this book will help you: Use visualization as a tool to explore opportunities and challenges Translate complex concepts into easy-to-understand actions Engage employees and team members with effective strategic processes Incorporate drawing into your strategic organizational toolbox to strengthen communication and collaboration Develop and apply powerful visual literacy skills The authors, internationally-recognized experts in strategy communication and visual facilitation, have helped incorporate visual collaboration into more than 500 organizations such as LEGO, IKEA, the Red Cross, the United Nations, and many others. This book is the must-have resource for you to follow their example.

As organisations of all sizes become increasingly digitalised, a core management challenge remains unresolved. The ability to successfully and sustainably connect the stated vision of an organisation with its strategic plans and, in turn, with the reported reality of day-to-day operations, is largely an elusive ambition, despite the many stated advantages provided by contemporary technologies. In this book, the case is made for visual management as a method of communications, planning, learning and reporting that connects the organisation in a single, meaningful and seamless way. Throughout this book, visual management is theorised around the position that all forms of management documentation are an artefact of human construction and of the organisation itself that reflect learned patterns of activity. The book places visual management as a more intuitive and seamless method of coordinating, learning and communicating across an organisation than more traditional formats of presenting management documents. Consciously assembling the artefacts of an organisation in order to manage it introduces a layer of criticality that encourages reflection and consistency that is often absent from current management practice. The benefits that a visual approach brings to organisational management are an increasing necessity, as machine learning, robotics and process automation remove traditional roles from organisations and necessitate new views on how individuals now fit into a data-informed business. The book contributes to the academic debate regarding resource-based and knowledge-based views of the organisation by advocating a different, more holistic viewpoint and will thus appeal to academics and researchers in this area. It would also benefit students across business disciplines, whilst the practical models and tools offered will benefit directors and managers looking to implement their own visual organisational language.

Better communication skills will have a direct impact on your career development. Improve Your Communication Skills is your practical guide to effective communication in business. This fully updated 6th edition now features a handy self-assessment tool to help you profile your own preferred communication style, even more practical exercises, useful checklists and top tips, as well as content on influencing others and managing difficult conversations. This book provides vital guidance on improving your conversations, building rapport, giving effective presentations, writing excellent reports and networking successfully. With the help of Improve Your Communication Skills, you will be able to get your message across - every time. The Creating Success series of books... Unlock vital skills, power up your performance and get ahead with the bestselling Creating Success series. Written by experts for new and aspiring managers and leaders, this million-selling collection of accessible and empowering guides will get you up to speed in no time. Packed with clever thinking, smart advice and the kind of winning techniques that really get results, you'll make fast progress, quickly reach your goals and create lasting success in your career.

Strategic development is one of the most daunting challenges that faces any professional, no matter the field. After all, stakes are high. Developing effective strategies can put you on the path to becoming a trusted advisor and a valued employee. The Communication Strategy Framework introduced in this handbook has been designed to help professionals make targeted choices toward strategic communication. Taking an iterative approach and continually reflecting on whether your choices remain congruent enables you to continually adapt to changing circumstances while staying in command. Linear planning models are ineffective. Quick strategy development can revolutionize the communication function and strengthen the relationship amongst members of a professional team. Linking communication and business strategy is the number one challenge for today's communication practitioners. The Communication Strategy Framework facilitates the communication professional to forcefully and efficiently make the right choices. It compels individuals to think about how communication can contribute to achieving the organization's or client's goals. As a result, it provides a clear picture of your communication strategy in one page by putting superfluous details aside and concentrating on the essentials. The Communication Strategy Framework has proven to be an instant eye-opener. A best-seller amongst professionals in the Netherlands, it is available for the first time in English. This step-by-step guide to creating a winning communication strategy will help communicators of all types, from professionals and clients to students and teachers!

***WINNER BUSINESS SELF-DEVELOPMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR: BUSINESS BOOK AWARDS 2022 *** As a leader, you work hard at crafting effective messages. You aim to influence, persuade, present. You have a voice, you have a platform... but is anyone listening? The reality is that the people you're talking to are distracted. They're listening at a rate of 125-250 words per minute, but they're thinking at 1,000-3,000 words per minute. That gap means they're likely to miss 75% of what you say. And guess what? It's the same when it's your turn to listen. What are you missing? At the very least, if your people don't feel heard or understood by managers and leaders, trust is eroded, frustration increases and engagement is reduced. You need to listen and be heard...but most of us have never learned how. The Listening Shift will show you how to be a listening leader. Find out: why listening matters how to engage people across your organisation by listening how to have listening conversations - collaborative, connecting and inclusive how to help others listen to you. Janie van Hool is an expert leadership advisor in the art of communication. In the last 20 years, her practical, accessible solutions-focused approach to communicating has allowed hundreds of leaders to engage, inspire and influence their listeners.

Make the connections that will help you succeed-and advance faster. Networking doesn't stop once you've landed the job. Building a high-quality, diverse network is key to learning and growth, influencing others, and launching your ideas. But how do you move beyond small talk and cold emails to building a network that is strategic and effective, made up of authentic relationships? The HBR Guide to Smarter Networking will give you the tools you need to connect confidently, get your initiatives off the ground, and move up in your career. This guide will help you: Make great first impressions Connect better at conferences-in-person or virtual Reach out to find your next job Overcome obstacles to building your network Avoid networking burnout Keep your network healthy over the long haul Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, with the most trusted brand in business. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

Discover how your communication conveys your character -- or who you are as a person -- as you learn to make effective written and oral communication choices in your professional and personal life.

Master your own natural, conversational style to earn trust and respect, to differentiate yourself in your career, or to gather funding. This edition addresses today's most important business communication concepts as new self-reflection questions help you develop a deeper understanding of yourself to better communicate and reach personal and professional goals. A new communication model emphasizes character check, audience analysis, message and medium (CAM) within in-person, online or social media communication. Intriguing examples from real companies illustrate principles at work.

You also learn to communicate within a team, resolve conflict and maximize the latest communication and collaboration technology tools.

"Captivating a business audience doesn't come naturally to most business speakers. But they can learn to do it and have fun -- with minimum stress and plenty of charisma.

This handy little book shares the author's highly successful ""sizzle-steak"" method. It features 101 audience-tested anecdotes, experiences, quotes, and insights designed to help every speaker ""turn up the creative heat."" Readers will learn how they can:

- customize their message to the audience

- generate ideas fast

- organize material for maximum retention

- control nervousness

- add sizzle every six minutes

- look, feel, and act like a million dollars

- energize their voices

- create exciting visual aids

- ""bulletproof"" their presentations"

As an entrepreneur, you need every helpful tool you can get your hands on to build your business. And if you know the tricks of the trade, perhaps nothing can gain more attention for your small business and build your company's credibility than a good, old-fashioned public-relations campaign. Whether you're an established company or a cost-conscious start-up, The Little Book of Big PR tells you all you need to know to be able to use public relations effectively as a business-building tool.Drawing on the expertise gained during her long career in public relations, Jennefer Witter shares simple, smart, and budget-friendly methods for getting your business noticed, including what she calls the seven key elements of public relations:* Self-branding* Media relations* Social Media* Networking* Speaking engagements* Cause-related marketing* Selecting a PR agencyComplete with real-world case studies and sample content (such as media pitches) to use as-is or to modify to fit your own specific needs, this all-encompassing resource will provide for you the expert guidance all entrepreneurs need to grow their business to new, attention-getting heights.

How can the practice of improvisation become the lens through which we view the world? The Applied Improvisation Mindset takes readers deep into the maturing field of Applied Improvisation (AI), with stories of 18 practitioners from five countries who embrace an improvisation mindset to create a more collaborative, equitable, sustainable, and joyous world. Myriad organizations have discovered how the mindset and skills applied by great improvisers onstage can reveal emergent, generative ways of interacting with others offstage. With case studies on developing presentation skills, reducing anxiety in teens, or preparing climate risk managers across the globe for the challenges ahead, this second volume serves as a valuable resource for both experienced and new AI facilitators. It is a primer for higher education and K-12 faculty combatting traditional teaching limitations and a practical "how to" for theatre practitioners, artists, educators, or anyone seeking to transform their organizations and communities.