Category: Academic Advice

By Communication Consultants Duy Nguyen (Accounting and BIS, ’22) and Carolyn Reagan (Accounting, ’23)

Congratulations to the Class of 2021! You are boldly approaching the end of your four-year journey in the face of demanding academic challenges, coupled with an ongoing global pandemic. While the current situation has seen some encouraging improvements and there are prospects of the Commencement ceremonies being held in person in May, this school year has nevertheless been unprecedented and, oftentimes, unfamiliar and uncomfortable. It especially resonates with our graduating Lehigh Class of ‘21 who may be anxious about dealing with the uncertainties of the future. We must reflect on and be reminded of the numerous skills and knowledge gained during college, even (or especially) because of the pandemic. Knowing how to make sense of and talk about what we have learned will set us apart from others on the job market.

As tiring and repetitive as they might have been, our Zoom calls and conferences have undoubtedly provided us with a silver lining of enhanced communication and collaboration skills. In order to prevent our messages from getting lost in the unending stream of information, we have learnt to centralize our lines of communication, keeping them concise and straightforward. Such skills will definitely be of value in a professional work environment, where efficient correspondence is greatly emphasized. In another sense, throughout the past year, we have redefined the way that we connect with others. Before COVID, we were more dependent on friendships and relationships built upon in person interactions, whether by meeting a friend for coffee or seeing a classmate on the way to the dining hall. The current environment has forced us to redefine our relationships, shifting to Zoom calls, texts, and social distanced outings. We have learned that online friendships and relationships transcend social media.

More importantly, remote working and deadlines have helped us develop and practice working on our own initiative. Not only will the virtue of autonomy shape individuals to be more desirable employees, but it will also contribute to personal self-improvement in daily lives. With time to reflect, many of us have changed the way that we approach our daily lives and self improvement. We have rediscovered old hobbies, learned to be incredibly flexible, and matured in our understanding of the greater global community.

Students who understand how their skills can transfer to new situations are well positioned for a job market in which more companies reportedly are considering a shift to permanent remote work. By 2025, an estimated 70 percent of the workforce will work remotely at least five days a month, making these skills especially valuable. On an even more positive note, hiring of college graduates is projected to be on the rise. Thanks to the increase in businesses reopening and vaccine distribution, employers have seemingly become more optimistic as they project hiring 7.2% more new college graduates from the Class of 2021 than they hired from the Class of 2020, according to a report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

The past year of online courses is a stepping stone towards a future that values remote working and the virtual environment, but also emphasizes the importance of personal relationships, health, and more. Our College years have undoubtedly been filled with challenges, triumphs, memories, and friendships. It is important to consider how they have shaped us and how they will lay a foundation for the next chapter in our lives. Seniors, as you reflect upon the last four, formative years of your life, also take a chance to relax and take a deep breath–you have earned it! Though the future may be uncertain, be confident in all you have achieved, knowing that you have left an indelible mark on your fellow classmates, your community, and Lehigh University! Congratulations to the Class of 2021!

By Communication Consultant Xinyi Cui (Accounting and BIS, ’22)

Professor Muzhe Yang: Professor Yang is an Economics professor for Statistical Methods (ECO045) and Econometrics (ECO357) at Lehigh University’s College of Business. He is currently conducting several ongoing research projects aiming to provide empirical evidence on causal relations that have significant policy implications.

At its core, communication is an information exchange, but more importantly it goes two ways. For the audience, it is about listening and understanding, but for presenters and writers, communication is more complex. Instead of showing off their intelligence, they aim to make their ideas known to listeners. Sharing ideas is the most important goal of academic communication.

I spoke with Professor Muzhe Yang about the importance of communication in academia. In addition to communicating about his research through writing, Professor Yang gives oral presentations to share his ideas at conferences, similar to what we do in our classes as students at university. He shared some valuable advice for giving presentations.

According to Professor Yang, “The beginning part, or more specifically the first five minutes, is critically important.” Paying more attention to the first slide and the introduction brings the audience on board before the speaker loses their attention. Yang suggests using the first slide to talk about the motivation of the presentation. The audience will tend to resonate with your message if they understand it from the start by making a clear statement and narrowing your topic for a clear focus.

After the first five minutes, one way to keep the audience’s attention is to have a Q&A session in the middle. The questions should touch on important topics, and the answers should be relevant. If possible, surprise the audience with answers that broaden their understanding.

Professor Yang provided a final crucial tip for presenters: finishing slides is not the last stage; instead, it is a beginning. Take time to refine the storyline of the presentation. Your job as a presenter is to be a storyteller, so you need to organize your speech notes and break down “complex communication into multiple and logical steps” that build a narrative.

Get information and resources about our center at The Philip Rauch Center for Business Communication.

By Communication Consultant Duy Nguyen (Accounting and BIS, ’22)

We have all become more accustomed to the new norms of remote working and meetings, but challenges remain in the realm of virtual communication. Information overload is one such challenge faced by both professionals and students, particularly when it comes to email. Considering the significant amount of emails we receive, we can benefit from a method to filter and organize incoming email messages.

First, consider using separate accounts for personal and work emails. Consolidating work-related messages in one place makes it easier to find and eliminate distraction from personal correspondence.

Next, be sure to adjust the settings on the spam or junk mail filters so that most unwanted messages will not appear in the inbox folder. In the event that nonessential or spam emails manage to get through, remove them immediately to maintain a consistent and “clean” inbox.

Sorting and categorizing allows us to prioritize. For important emails that we might need to retrieve for later use, the “star” or flagging function makes fetching such messages prompt and hassle free. Also, consider creating folders or using labels to organize emails related to specific projects or classes so that they can easily be found.

Another helpful practice is to avoid leaving emails unread even if you aren’t ready to act on them right away. Leaving emails unread puts us at risk of missing out on crucial or time-sensitive issues. Additionally, your inbox would become rather cluttered, making important emails more difficult to find. Instead, consider opening all emails and setting up reminders to get back to some tasks later.

Now that our emails have been sorted, there are a few additional ways to prevent email information overload. First, schedule your email time rather than sitting with your email account open. One strategy is to read and act on emails once in the morning, once before lunch, and once in the late afternoon. After gathering the to-do tasks from emails, arrange those tasks based on their priority in order to approach them in an efficient manner. Finally, consider a time “curfew” for sending and receiving emails; placing a time limit on daily information intake goes a long way toward reducing the possibility of overload.

Get information and resources about our center at The Philip Rauch Center for Business Communication.