In 2019, she began collaborating with Adam Mersereau, an operations professor, to create the cross-disciplinary course Thinking and Communicating with Data. Harms teaches in the Undergraduate Business Program, is the lead faculty member for the Professional Communication for Accountants course in the online format of the Master of Accounting Program and has taught Presentations Skills for the Full-Time MBA Program.

Now there are more than a dozen who teach in every academic program UNC Kenan-Flagler offers. When she was hired in 2003, Harms was one of four business communication faculty members. UNC Kenan-Flagler has long made business communication a priority as part of students’ education. “And they know what information to include in the message and how to organize it.” “The most successful business communicators know what channel to pick for the audience they’re trying to reach,” says Harms. It’s often about communicating clearly to decision-makers in disparate fields.

Effective business communicators must consider how people are going to read, interpret and process information.”Įffective business communication is strategic, guided by a writer’s goals and targeted to specific audiences.

“When I work with students about putting together effective messages, the conversation always starts with talking about the audience. And focusing on the audience informs my teaching. “During my career, I’ve focused on empowering people by helping them understand the information they need to make decisions – both in healthcare and in business. “Nurses specialize in plain-language explanations,” says Harms. These are skills Harms mastered as a labor and delivery nurse long before coming to the Business School. Whether emailing a customer about supply chain issues or pitching a business idea to a potential client, effective communication requires precision and thoughtfulness. During her 20 years at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, she has seen email go from novelty to ubiquity and print text take a backseat to electronic messages designed to be read on a device. Language and communication channels evolve, and as a management and corporate communication professor Patricia Harms keeps up with it all. Whether it’s a short text message or a long report, business communication is never just about what’s being said, but how it’s said.Įffective business communication is a skill that requires a strategic approach and precision.

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