Business Communication For Everyone was created by Arley Cruthers. Several chapters were written from scratch, while others were adapted and remixed from other open textbooks, as indicated at the end of each chapter. Unless stated otherwise, Business Communication For Everyone (c) 2019 by Arley Cruthers and is licensed under a Creative Commons-Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.

In Business Communication For Everyone, examples have been changed to Canadian references, and information throughout the book, as applicable, has been revised to reflect Canadian content and language. The author has also changed names to reflect her classroom composition and has added examples that reflect her students’ diverse experiences. Gender neutral language (they/their) has been used intentionally. In addition, while general ideas and content may remain unchanged from the sources from which this adapted version is based, word choice, phrasing, and organization of content within each chapter may have changed to reflect this author’s stylistic preferences.

The author also collaborated with Brenda Fernie, who is the president of Seyem, the economic development branch of the Kwantlen Nation, to produce a series of narratives that connect to the topic explored in the book.

This book was composed on unceded Coast Salish territory.

The following additions or changes have been made to these chapters.

Chapter 1

• Wrote from scratch

Chapter 2

• Wrote from scratch

Chapter 3

• Added Brenda Fernie’s narrative.
• Added questions for reflection.
• Added activities for further reflection.
• Added Context of Production/ Context of Use model.
• Revised material to reflect the CMAPP communication model.
• Revised table of communications mediums to reflect changes in how businesses use faxes and emails. (Added reference to email management systems like MailChimp and services like Dropbox to send larger files).
• Combined two open sources (Ashman & McMurrey) into one document.
• Changed hockey example to cricket and changed some names.
• Added key takeaways.
• Added H5P content.

Chapter 4

• Added Brenda Fernie’s narrative.
• Added section on inclusive language.
• Added extra examples of active vs. passive voice.
• Rewrote and condensed sections.
• Added information of the 7 C’s.
• Added Canadian spellings to Stedman piece.
• Added references to business communication to Stedman piece.
• Removed paragraph about teachers gossiping about students.
• Added questions for reflection.
• Added activities for further reflection.
• Added key takeaways
• Added H5P content.
• Added intro to Stedman piece.

Chapter 5

• Added Brenda Fernie’s narrative.
• Added a sample email that shows the purpose of each paragraph.
• Added an example of a paragraph organized by topic sentence, then used this example throughout.
• Changed the names in examples.
• Added key takeaways.
• Added questions for reflection.
• Added activities for further reflection.
• Added Philip’s story
• Added H5P content.
• Added information about headings/ bullet points.
• Changed the example about paragraph transitions.

Chapter 6

• Added Brenda Fernie’s narrative.
• Added discussion of the shift in workplace communication thanks to instant messaging and social media.
• Added reference to First Nations Land Acknowledgements in email signatures and gave an example from Kwantlen.
• Added idea of one purpose per email.
• Changed the letter example.
• Added questions for reflection.
• Added activities for further reflection.
• Added reference to CMAPP.
• Added piece about using instant messaging.
• Added “meet the genres” section and created short infographics for each form, which I embedded in a slideshow and them used again in each section.
• Added section on communicating via instant messaging.
• Created H5P content.
• Added email frame.
• Added sample letter.
• Added key takeaways.

Chapter 7

• Added Brenda Fernie’s narrative.
• Added discussion of number of emails workers receive per day, and the importance of not wasting the reader’s time.
• Added more information on sending good and neutral messages.
• Added examples of neutral messages.
• Added questions for reflection.
• Added activities for further reflection.
• Added H5P content.
• Edited on a sentence level.
• Added key takeaways.

Chapter 8

• Added Brenda Fernie’s narrative.
• Added video examples.
• Added discussion of ethos as a way to build sources.
• Added a discussion of Jeannie Wills’ “Making Them an Offer They Can’t Refuse” and created diagrams.
• Added questions for reflection.
• Added activities for further reflection.
• Added intro
• Added Spectrum of Allies material.
• Added key takeaways.
• Added reference to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the Blackfoot model.
• Added “Wrapping it Up” section.
• Added H5P content.

Chapter 9

• Added Brenda Fernie’s narrative.
• Adapted material from “Choosing and Using Sources: A Guide To Academic Research by the Ohio State University Libraries,” to be more appropriate for the workplace.
• Added discussion of the CRAAP test.
• Added discussion of messiness of research process, including link to Reply All podcast.
• Changed American examples to Canadian ones.
• Added questions for reflection.
• Added activities for further reflection.
• Added H5P content.
• Added key takeaways
• Added Mina’s story.
• Condensed some of the discussion around finding sources.
• Rewrote some of the content to use less academic language.

Chapter 10

• Added Brenda Fernie’s narrative.
• Adapted material from “Choosing and Using Sources: A Guide To Academic Research by the Ohio State University Libraries,” to be more appropriate for the workplace.
• Added KPU’s definition of academic integrity and a link to the plagiarism policy.
• Added discussion of differences in citation practices in different cultures.
• Changed American examples to Canadian ones.
• Changed names in examples.
• Added example of argument in the workplace.
• Added questions for reflection.
• Added activities for further reflection.
• Added Karan’s story.
• Added discussion of Alicia Elliot source.
• Added XKCD comic.
• Added discussion of citation as generosity.
• Added graphic about when to cite.
• Added H5P content.
• Added key takeaways.
• Removed Woody Allen example and replaced with a more workplace appropriate example.
• Added example of synthesis in the workplace.

Chapter 11

• Added Brenda Fernie’s narrative.
• Added discussion of the persuasive strategy for each report type.
• Added example of a short report.
• Added questions for reflection.
• Added activities for further reflection.
• Added H5P functionality.
• Condensed some material and rewrote to be in plainer language.
• Added key takeaways.
• Added mention of Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Chapter 12

• Added Brenda Fernie’s narrative.
• Added questions for reflection.
• Added activities for further reflection.
• Moved information on headings/subheadings/bullet points/lists in the Organization chapter.
• Edited for concision and rewrote some intros/out-ros when combining different sources.
• Added H5P content
• Rewrote Gestalt Theory section to reflect a business communication framework.

Chapter 13

• Added Brenda Fernie’s narrative.
• Added questions for reflection.
• Added activities for further reflection.
• Changed examples to be Canadian
• Condensed some information.
• Added mention of neurodiverse and intercultural audiences struggling with idioms and metaphors.
• Changed spelling to be Canadian.
• Combined chapters.

Chapter 14

• Added Brenda Fernie’s narrative.
• Added discussion of remixing.
• Edited the section on higher-level concerns to reinforce messages discussed in previous chapters.
• Added discussion of recording yourself as part of the revision process.
• Added Questions For Reflection.
• Added Key Takeaways.

Chapter 15

• Wrote from scratch.

Chapter 16

• Added Brenda Fernie’s narrative.
• Added discussion of how peer workshopping can help students succeed in the workplace.
• Added questions for reflection.
• Added activities for further reflection

Chapter 17

• Wrote from scratch

Chapter 18

• Added questions for reflection.
• Added Brenda Fernie’s narrative.
• Added key takeaways.
• Added exercises.
• Did some light editing, removing references to other chapters.