1. Lesson 1: Introduction to Professional Communication SLH1013 Professional English

2. Communication? But my major is Business! I need to spend more time on my IT coursework and homework! I want to be focus in Accounting... My heart is in Finance... not in Communication!

3. Why, oh why? Communication is something we have been doing all of our lives… so why …?

4. Why, oh why? … why do we spend significant effort in a University-level course on communication?

5. ONE REASON WHY PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

6. Employers of business, IT, accounting, or finance graduates …

7. … when asked what they look for in new employees …

8. … nearly unanimously list communication skills as a top priority.

9. OTHER REASONS WHY PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

10. Graduates of computer science, business, finance, or accounting n nn need good communication skills because…

11. They n nn need to communicate well with customers …

12. … to understand and meet customer needs.

13. They n nn need to communicate with project sponsors …

14. … to fully understand project inputs and constraints.

15. They n nn need to clearly communicate their designs to the project sponsors.

16. They need to communicate well w ww with colleagues …

17. … and with t tt team members from other fields of expertise …

18. … to p pp productively complete team tasks …

19. … and to d dd derive maximum benefit from teamwork.

20. They need to communicate with colleagues … and with team members who are from other fields of expertise … to productively complete team tasks … and to derive the maximum benefit from teamwork.

21. SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH

22. If it seems that you are using t tt too much effort or time on your communication course...

23. … at the expense of your other courses, consider this:

24. Even the most innovative, valuable, and important technical work of the decade… if inadequately communicated… will never be implemented, or even recognized.

25. On the other hand… flawed technical work that is well- communicated… even if it is flawed … can be improved, can be evaluated… and can ultimately be implemented.

26. USE WHAT YOU KNOW EXERCISE: TAKE A FEW MINUTES

27. Try and recall some examples where poor communication resulted in…

28. 1.A problem was not solved

29. 2. A problem’s solution was delayed, or

30. 3. A poorer-quality solution than possible was implemented.

31. Poor communication resulted in 1.A problem was not solved, 2.A problem’s solution was delayed, or 3.A poorer-quality solution than possible was implemented.

32. Source Adapted by Jaime Alfredo Cabrera from McNeill, Bellamy & Burrows, Introduction to Engineering Design, 2000.