Communication Skills Handbook

Dr Jane Summers is the Associate Dean Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Business at the University of Southern Queensland. She has spent many years both as a marketing practitioner and as an academic. Her teaching and research interests are in the areas of consumer behavior, e–marketing and sports marketing. Brett Smith has been a practitioner in business systems and technology for more than two and a half decades, during which time he has relied heavily on well developed communication skills to formulate and communicate business systems solutions. His career has spanned both the corporate and academic sectors and he holds three degrees in business and technology related areas. Brett currently provides business systems consulting services to the corporate sector through his company, BisVision Australia.

1 General Guidelines for Assessment
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Assignment preparation guidelines
1.3 Writing guidelines
1.4 Presentation guidelines
1.5 Thesis writing
1.6 Making the most of the library
1.7 Summary
2 Referencing
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Unethical behaviour
2.3 Referencing general information
2.4 Methods of referencing
2.5 The Harvard system
2.6 In–text references
2.7 LOR entries for paper–based sources specific rules and examples
2.8 Electronic referencing method
2.9 LOR entries for electronic sources specific rules and examples
2.10 Films, videos, television and online images
2.11 Summary
2.12 Example of the Harvard referencing system
2.13 List of references
3 Report writing
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Report structure
3.3 Summary
4 The case study
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Preparing a case analysis
4.3 The structure of the case analysis report
4.4 Strategic analysis tools
4.5 Summary
4.6 List of references
5 Essay writing
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Selecting the topic
5.3 Analysing the topic
5.4 Planning
5.5 Research
5.6 Writing the essay
5.7 Style
5.8 Sample essay
5.9 Summary
5.10 Some variations on the formal essay structure
6 Oral presentations
6.1 Overview
6.2 Oral presentations at university
6.3 Preparing the presentation
6.4 Delivering the presentation
6.5 Handling questions from the audience
6.6 Computer–based presentation software
6.7 Summary
6.8 Alternatives to oral presentations for distance education students
7 Examination techniques
7.1 Introduction
7.2 General hints
7.3 Pre–examination planning
7.4 Content and style of questions
7.5 Dos and don′ts when answering examination questions
7.6 Summary
8 Winning the ′right′ job
8.1 Introduction
8.2 The job search
8.3 Preparing ′my story′
8.4 How will I be ′assessed′ by my potential employer?
8.5 Social networking sites
8.6 What do I do after the interview?
8.7 Summary
8.8 List of references