This episode provides a guide to using the sample syllabus, lesson plans, assignments, and grading rubrics for our Business Communication: Rhetorical Situations book (all materials are at wecanwrite.ca).

Teaching Writing: Ideas and Strategies

Episode 57: Teaching Business Communication

How do you write a good proposal? This episode, based on Chapter 10 of Business Communication: Rhetorical Situations, describes how to prepare both solicited and unsolicited proposals.

Episode 63: How to write a good proposal

How can you write messages that will persuade your readers to adopt your point of view or proposed action? This episode, based on Chapter 9 of Business Communication: Rhetorical Situations (broadview.com), describes how to organize both direct request messages as well as problem-solving messages--the two main varieties of persuasive messages. 

Episode 62: Writing Persuasive Messages

How can you deliver bad news while maintaining the best chance of not alienating your reader? This episode, based on Chapter 8 of Business Communication: Rhetorical Situations (Broadview.com), explains how to organize bad news messages.

Episode 61: Say it ain't so: Writing Negative Messages

This episode focuses on how to write positive and informative messages.It is based on Chapter 7 of Business Communication: Rhetorical Situations (Broadview.com).

Episode 60: How to write a positive message

How do we adjust our communications for audiences from cultural backgrounds different from our own? This episode starts with advice on how to do this for audiences within North America and then considers how to communicate with cultural groups across the world. The episode summarizes Chapter 6 of Business   Communication: Rhetorical Situations (Broadview.com).

Episode 59: Communicating Across Cultures

This episode identifies two models for writing as part of a team: hierarchical and dialogic. Good team behaviors and behaviors to avoid are also discussed, as well as ways to resolve conflict.

Episode 58: Writing in Teams

This episode begins with an overview of how to write a good email message before moving on to give some tips on how to write for social media.

Episode 56: Writing Online at Work

This episode considers the kind of writing style you should employ in business and professional contexts, including a discussion of plain language principles.

Episode 55: Writing Style at Work

This episode provides an overview of Chapter 2 of Business Communication: Rhetorical Situations. It helps listeners understand how to create a persuasive argument in a business setting.

Episode 54: Arguing persuasively in business contexts

This episode discusses three key elements of any kind of business communication: who you communicate with, why you are communicating with them, and what kind of communication you use.

Episode 53: Audience, Purpose and Genre in Business Communications

People often fear giving presentations, but this episode offers strategies to ditch the fear and embrace the occasion.

Episode 52: Presenting Technical Communication

To communicate technical communication effectively, we need to use online modes: file-sharing, pdfs, screencasts, podcasts, and more.

Episode 51: Technical Communication Online

What are the basic elements of a laboratory report in the sciences? This episode describes the sections of the lab report and what to put in the different sections.

Episode 50: How to Write a Lab Report

This episode provides an overview of short and long reports from Chapter 7 of the Concise Guide to Technical Communication (Broadview Press).

Episode 49: Reports

This podcast talks about ways post-secondary instructors in all disciplines can help their students write better assignments.