Essential Communication Skills in BA3033W
Friday, October 11, 2024
BY JUSTIN ERICKSON, '24 BSB
The room erupts into applause as the final student of the class wraps up their storytelling speech. This speech, the first assignment of the course, sets the tone for the semester. In BA 3033W: Business Communication, students develop skills in business writing, public speaking, and presenting.
A required course, BA 3033W is typically taken after students complete I-Core. Students learn to consider the medium, message, tone, and audience as they practice developing emails, presentations, memos, and more.
“This class is oriented towards your future career,” said Nat Bennett, Senior Lecturer. “It prepares students to deal with a lot of different forms of communication at once and still have that dual purpose of serving their own interests but also living up to the expectations of the audience.”
Students learn to structure their communication materials to ensure that they are as effective as possible.
“Stories have momentum,” said Bennett. “They allow you, for instance when communicating with higher-ups, to identify a problem and provide sufficient background before presenting a solution.”
The semester begins with a personal speech, where students practice telling their own story and get to know their classmates.
“The intro speech was super uncomfortable for me because I didn’t know what I wanted to talk about,” said Vincent Phan, ‘24 BSB. “But it was nice to learn about my classmates' personalities and practice speaking while uncomfortable.”
The next large assignment is a research deck and persuasive speech that challenges students to dissect a problem affecting a business. Students will use both written and oral communication to describe the problem and provide a solution.
“You need to know why there is a problem,” said Sanjana Pattanaik, ‘24 BSB, a teaching assistant for the course. “How do you know this is a problem? What is your solution, and why does it work? How do you effectively communicate all of that to an audience?”
Students have several prompts they can choose from to kickstart their research deck and persuasive speech. After that, it is up to them to research and execute everything from their storytelling strategy to their visuals.
“It’s a huge task, but we have a lot of support,” said Tammy Ngo, ‘25 BSB. “With this assignment, everyone has their niche that they can capitalize on. Whether it's a job you’ve had, an organization you’re a part of, or a passion of yours, this assignment is a chance to really dive in.”
At the end of the course, students work in groups to develop a case deck and presentation to a problem provided by Accenture. The case challenges students to flesh out a solution to an actual challenge faced by a company.
The final case deck and presentation combine everything students learn throughout the semester, particularly business writing and public speaking. It exemplifies a task many students will be asked to complete once they enter the workforce.
“It’s something you can talk about in interviews,” said Ngo. “We worked on this project for over a month. It is a real case from Accenture and has direct applications with the type of work I’ll be doing day-to-day and in a corporate job.”
The structure of the class promotes learning from one another. As almost every assignment includes a presentation component, they get comfortable speaking in front of their class.
“When all of us leave the Carlson School, we will develop our own style for writing and presentations,” said Ngo. “By being exposed to different examples, I can see what I like from others and will adapt in future presentations, or what I don’t like and won’t adapt.”
Ultimately, BA 3033W provides students the confidence and ability to engage with others in a business context.
“Whenever I read an email now, I look at it completely differently than I did before this class,” said Phan. “I’ve changed my mindset and realized just how much better of a communicator I can be.”