--- title: Business Communication description: This topic covers written and verbal communication within professional environments. Learners will understand how to draft clear emails, deliver concise presentations, collaborate in team meetings, and adapt their communication style for different audiences. category: personal-development subcategory: communication difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/business-communication --- # Business Communication This topic covers written and verbal communication within professional environments. Learners will understand how to draft clear emails, deliver concise presentations, collaborate in team meetings, and adapt their communication style for different audiences. ## Where to start Start with Business Communication on Coursera, a free beginner course from the University of Colorado Boulder in which you draft and edit emails, memos and reports through graded writing assignments. If you only use one resource, make it Mary Ellen Guffey's Business Communication: Process and Product, a textbook covering emails, reports, proposals and presentations. For sharper writing, continue with Bryan A. Garner's HBR Guide to Better Business Writing. ## Available Resources 1 Videos • 4 Books • 3 Courses • 3 Websites ## Websites ### 1. Harvard Business Review - Communication Harvard Business Review's running collection of articles and guides on workplace communication: feedback, difficult conversations, presentations, and remote collaboration. Pieces are written by researchers and practitioners; most carry a paywall after a few free reads each month. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://hbr.org/topic/communication **Tags:** business-communication, workplace-communication, feedback, presentations, management ### 2. hbr.org Harvard Business Review (hbr.org) offers research-based articles, case studies, and practical guidance on leadership, strategy, and organizational performance for managers and executives. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://hbr.org **Tags:** websites, business-entrepreneurship, business-fundamentals ### 3. mindtools.com Mind Tools offers practical business and management resources—articles, templates, checklists, and self-assessments—covering business communication, leadership, teamwork, meetings, and professional writing. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://mindtools.com **Tags:** websites, business-entrepreneurship, business-fundamentals ## Videos ### 1. The Power of Vulnerability **Author:** Brené Brown Researcher Brene Brown reports on six years of qualitative work on shame and connection, arguing that people who feel worthy of belonging are those willing to be vulnerable. Viewers get a research account, not a set of techniques. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o **Tags:** vulnerability, shame-resilience, empathy, ted-talk, connection ## Books ### 1. HBR Guide to Better Business Writing **Author:** Bryan A. Garner Bryan Garner, editor of Black's Law Dictionary, sets out a four-step drafting method plus rules on structure, tone, and word choice. Readers finish with checklists for emails, memos, and reports, and fixes for common grammar traps. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/142218403X?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, personal-development, communication ### 2. Business Communication: Process and Product **Author:** Mary Ellen Guffey Guffey's business writing textbook uses a three-step process (prewriting, drafting, revising) applied to emails, memos, reports, proposals, and presentations. Chapters also cover employment documents and intercultural workplace communication, with model documents annotated for structure and tone. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0324578679?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, business-entrepreneurship, business-fundamentals ### 3. Simply Said **Author:** Jay Sullivan A communications consultant's guide to writing, speaking, and presenting with clarity. Readers learn to structure a message around the audience's needs, cut filler, run meetings, and give feedback that people can actually act on. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119285283?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, personal-development, communication ### 4. Crucial Conversations **Author:** Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler A framework for handling high-stakes disagreements where opinions differ and emotions run strong. Covers making it safe to speak, separating facts from stories, and moving from dialogue to a decision people will honor. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071401946?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, business-entrepreneurship, business-fundamentals ## Courses ### 1. Business Communication University of Colorado Boulder's four-module course taught by Quentin McAndrew, covering document structure, sentence construction, active voice, and revision. Learners draft and edit emails, memos, and longer reports through twenty-eight graded writing assignments. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/writing-for-business **Tags:** courses, personal-development, communication ### 2. Interpersonal Communication Wharton professor Maurice Schweitzer's four-week course on cooperation, trust, deception, and persuasion in professional settings. Learners finish able to build trusting relationships, detect deception, construct apologies, and choose media that fit a given message. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/wharton-communication-skills **Tags:** courses, humanities-social-sciences, communication-studies ### 3. Advanced Business Communication Learn how to communicate effectively in a business setting: understand diverse audiences and build sound arguments. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.edx.org/learn/business-communications/university-of-british-columbia-business-communications **Tags:** courses, business-entrepreneurship, business-fundamentals --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/business-communication