Cultivating communication
Corporate workshop to teach better interaction, networking

By Julie Ann Matonis
Staff Reporter

A two-day workshop will be held in the Dee J. Kelly Alumni and Visitors Center to help professionals and students strengthen their abilities to interact in the business environment.

The Center for Professional Communication at the M. J. Neeley School of Business is presenting its fourth annual Corporate Communication Workshop today and Friday.

Terri Freeman, assistant director of the Center for Professional Communication, said registrations for this year’s event are nearly sold out. She said 30 percent of the registered attendants are students and 70 percent are corporate professionals and professionals from other universities.

Freeman said the workshop has an entirely different purpose than Career Night, which took place Wednesday.

“While Career Night offers opportunities for students who are seeking employment, (the workshop) offers networking opportunities and training opportunities in a variety of business communication skills,” Freeman said.

Major sponsors of the event include AmeriCredit Corporation, IGUS and Lockheed Martin.

Michael Barrington, vice chairman, president and CEO of AmeriCredit, will give the keynote address at Friday’s luncheon. The address, titled “Corporate Anatomy 101: Targeting the Right Body Parts,” will focus on business communication strategies that target individual employees.

Freeman said about 80 people will be attending the keynote luncheon.

There are 16 different seminars offered at the workshop, including the keynote address. Topics range from encouraging creativity to the fundamentals of feng shui, the art of furniture placement’s relationship to energy.

Kelli Horst, director of communications, will be co-presenting a workshop entitled “The Media Calls... Now What?” Horst said the workshop will try to show participants that they don’t need to be afraid of talking with the media.

“I believe media interviews are an opportunity, but most people are frightened by the power of the media,” Horst said. “There are ways to make the process work.”

Costs for the two-day workshop are $100 for professionals, $70 for Neeley School alumni and $40 for students. Students who just want to attend the keynote luncheon can do so for $10 if space allows.

Freeman said students were offered scholarships to attend the workshop if they agreed to help at the event.

“Four students, including both graduates and undergraduates, are taking advantage of the scholarship opportunity,” Freeman said.

The Center for Professional Communication, founded in 1988, allows business students to improve their business communication skills.

Julie Ann Matonis
j.a.matonis@student.tcu.edu