Each Air Force recruiter is formally trained in public speaking and the art of salesmanship or persuasion. These recruiters communicate to thousands of high school students each year through presentations in classrooms, auditoriums and other venues as part of their assigned duties. Persuasive presentations are public speaking events specifically…

This article describes and analyzes a cross-border, "simultaneous exhibition" collaborative project in six post-conflict western Balkan countries. Through a process of collaboration, active learning, and audience development, professional and personal trust developed among eleven museums. Previously identified barriers were overcome and…

This article outlines the changes, developments, activities, and challenges faced by Hungarian museums over the last few decades. It shows that there was life behind the "Iron Curtain," with museums enjoying relative financial stability. While the political and economic changes associated with the transition from a communist to a…

The authors espouse the need for negotiation in designing and delivering English for Specific Purposes (ESP) programs. Such negotiations take into account learners' needs as well as structural limitations of the context and candid assessment of ESP providers. The article explores lessons from the field and the importance of needs analysis.

Given the differences in social, emotional, and physiological development among elementary, middle, and high school students, it should come as no surprise that collaborative spaces should be designed differently for each age group. The needs of younger students do not necessarily mirror those of their older peers. Architect and educator Peter…

Part art and part science, a good video can be an incredibly powerful tool to connect with audiences. Video presents a tantalizing way for institutions to share compelling stories and connect with their constituents. Paired with the power of other tools, it can help reach new audiences and also more fully engage those people who already know an…

Training can often be the right answer--or part of the right answer--to help people learn how to do something that is new for them. Although some may be tempted to ignore instructional design when faced with a tight time line, that is exactly when following a systematic process can provide a recipe for success. Given six important questions, the…

For the author, the key analytic question about a popular song is not "What does it mean?" or "What hidden or coded meaning does it express?" but "What does its popularity tell us about the cultural moment when it resonated with its public?" How did the song "create its audience," so to speak? Obviously, a 1973 hit song, if it could time-travel,…

The emergence of the Internet, social media, and digital technologies in the twenty-first century accelerated an evolution in journalism and communication that fit under the broad term of convergence. That evolution changed the relationship between news producers and consumers. It broke down the geographical boundaries in defining our communities,…

In communication courses, instructors frequently define the term "anecdote," explore the various types of anecdotes, and then encourage students to use anecdotes in their speeches. However, instructors do not often spend time teaching students "how" to construct memorable anecdotes. As a result, many students present weak anecdotes or choose not…

When training outside one's culture, it's obvious that certain assumptions no longer apply. That lesson is less obvious when working with a home-grown audience. But even within a society, the cultural touchpoints depend upon the audience's age and geography. If one wants to be thought of as a leading-edge trainer, one has to stay current. That…

"Higher Education Research & Development" ("HERD") was established to address a perceived gap in higher education publishing: research of interest to practitioners that was engagingly written. After 30 years of contributing to the field, "HERD" has constructed a unique position for itself among higher education…

In professional writing, usability testing investigates how well users can find, understand, and use a document (Lannon). Usability testing involves gathering feedback from users, analyzing how successfully they used the document, and drawing on the test results to change or refine the design. From the authors' experiences as writers and teachers,…

Fight songs such as "The Victors" and "Notre Dame Victory March" have become part of the American music lexicon. Along with their sister songs, alma maters, they stir memories of carefree college days, elicit feelings of pride, and sometimes--especially fight songs--poke fun at athletic foes. They are the embodiment of…

This article, the first of a two-part series, presents teaching 10 innovations from the 2015 Association for Business Communication's 80th annual conference. The creative new assignments offered here include building listening skills by journaling, oral interpretation, positive message framing, storytelling, delivering bad news, persuasive…