2021 Annual International Conference

86th Annual International Conference
 Virtual
October 18 to October 23, 2021

Partnering with Global Advances in Business Communication (GABC)

 


Proceedings

Conference Proceedings are available at ABC Publications.  For questions about Proceedings, contact Leigh Ann Whittle, Proceedings Editor.  Submitter can click here to learn of review results and how to edit or upload longer material.

Venue

Virtual Platform

By October 14, registered attendees will receive an email from: event-noreply@whova.io  Speakers will also get an email from that address.  Act on those two emails upon receipt. Add event-noreply@whova.io to your contacts to help keep it from landing in junk mail.  Ask your provider to safelist this address.

Plan to pre-record and upload your presentation, along with the transcript to help in event of technical problem.  Even if you share a pre-recording, we hope you will present in person. (If your video is larger than 200mb, you may want to compress the video or share a non-password-protected link.) Click here for tips. 

Get Whova Now


Whova Guidelines
For more detailed Guidelines click here for a downloadable PDF to learn about our virtual platform, Whova, with guidelines for attendees, speakers, and moderators (Zoom alternative hosts.) 

Upload for How Do You Teach Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?
If participating in How Do You Teach Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, click here for steps and tips.  These steps are different than for the general conference.

Upload for My Favorite Assignment?
If participating in My Favorite Assignment, click here for steps.  These steps are different than for the general conference.

Virtual ABC Connect - Learn more here

Schedule

Click here for schedule (downloadable pdf) as of Oct 19.  If you submitted a  “regular” presentation, it is grouped in a time slot with two other presentations. You will have 15 minutes to present and about 5 minutes for questions and answers.  All presenters should arrive to their session 15-20 minutes prior scheduled time to meet with the moderator and other presenters for that time slot.  Even if planning to pre-record and upload your presentation, we hope you will present live.

Speakers

Click here to see the speakers.  Learn about speakers, along with what and when they are presenting. 

Moderator Planning

Moderators have received assignments and expect speakers to enter the Zoom 20 minutes prior scheduled time.  Moderators are noted in conference schedule. 

Troubleshooting Tips 

On conference day, if you experience trouble connecting to the virtual platform, click here for tips.

Monday, October 18
Sessions begin - Global Advances in Business Communication (GABC)
Tuesday, October 19
Regional meetings
Committee meetings
ABC sessions begin
Workshops begin
Wednesday, October 20
Committee meetings                
Sessions continue
Workshops continue
Thursday and Friday, October 21-22
Plenary - ABC President and ABC Second Vice President Oct 21, 1315-1500
New Attendee Welcome Oct 21, 1215-1300
Sessions continue
Saturday, October 23
Workshops

Registration

Want to upgrade your membership from Guest to Paid Member for full member benefits?  Click for steps.

Click here to register.  Read on about possible discount codes needed BEFORE you register.  Want your university to pay?  Complete your registration and follow prompts to pay.  Once invoice is generated, click to email the invoice to your finance office.  Register early to allow processing by deadline. For registration assistance, contact: abcoffice@businesscommunication.org

Virtual registration includes access to two workshops, all sessions, and plenaries (live and recorded). Recordings on the virtual platform are available until April 2022.

 

Early Bird Registration

(until Sep 15)

Advanced Registration

(Sep 15 – Oct 1)

Regular Registration

(after Oct 1)

ABC Member

Virtual: $125

Virtual: $150

Virtual: $200

Student

Virtual: $50*

Virtual Member: $50

Virtual Non-member: $125

Virtual Member: $75

Virtual Non-member: $125

Retired Member

Virtual: $50

Virtual: $50

Virtual: $75

Part-Time or Adjunct Member

 

Virtual: $100**

Virtual: $150**

Virtual: $200 

Non-Member

Virtual: $350***

Virtual: $450***

Virtual: $450***


*Graduate student registration fee is waived if the ABC student member is presenting at the conference and registered by September 15. Before attempting to register, request discount code by first logging in to ABC, then click here.

**Before attempting to register, request discount code by first logging in to ABC, then click here.

***Click here to join ABC prior to registration to pay the member rate! If you have a guest account, click here for  steps to upgrade to a paid membership prior to registration to pay the member rate!

Workshops are $40 each – view all workshops here.  Paid members: For membership access to two free workshops, find the discount code for workshops during the registration process at the end of the personal questions. Be sure to carefully follow the instructions you will see in order to get the workshop fee waiver.

 

Adding Options (Workshops, Donations) after Registering

Want to add an option after you have already registered or pay separately for an option?  Find steps here.

First Time Attendee Tips

  • Attend the First Time Attendee gathering October 21, 12:15 PM Eastern Time and hear from the ABC President and ABC Executive Director.
  • Participate in a workshop to make even more connections.
  • Take care of yourself.  Consider gentle stretching and meditation.  Make good choices; allow time to process your thoughts and take time for a bit of quiet each day.  Enjoy fresh air and exercise. Get enough sleep. 
  • If you need a friend or mentor, visit ABC Connect; you will discover seasoned ABC members who are happy to "show you the ropes." 
  • Practice your presentation, then record it and produce a transcript well in advance of the conference.  Be prepared to upload your presentation when directed to do so.  You may present live.

Workshops

Workshops participants will walk away with a new approach to teaching, researching, or consulting in the realm of business communication.  Times reflected are in the Eastern Time Zone.

Enhancing Cultural Competence toward Inclusive Leadership
Tuesday, OCT 19 1300-1600

This interactive workshop will focus on cultural competence and unconscious bias; and provide participants with a Cultural Competence self-assessment designed to explore individual awareness, knowledge, and skills toward cultural competence. The workshop will challenge participants to become champions of diversity, equity, and inclusion by applying the following skills: recognizing cultural incompetence; combating unconscious bias; and assessing social responsibility.

  • Tiesha Douglas, University of North Carolina

Integrating Positive Communication Principles and Practices in Business Communication Courses: An Interactive, Action-Based Workshop 
Wednesday, OCT 20 1430-1630

This workshop will demonstrate how instructors can integrate positive communication principles and practices in business and professional communication courses. The authors offer a model of positive communication that was specifically developed to help learners communicate more positively -- a model which has been tested in their courses with meaningful and impactful activities, exercises, and assignments.

  • Julien Mirivel, University of Arkansas, Little Rock
  • Ryan Fuller, California State University, Sacramento
  • Amy Young, University of Michigan
  • Kristen Christman, University of North Carolina Greensboro

Teaching Cross-Cultural Business Communication: An Experiential Approach 
Thursday, OCT 21 1000-1200

Business students need to understand translation, localization, and their own blind spots as they enter the modern corporate world. In this workshop, we will explore experiential teaching techniques to help students understand how to avoid translation failures, how to be sensitive to cultural differences, and how to embrace diversity in the workplace.

  • Marianna Richardson, Brigham Young University
  • Diego Calderone, Brigham Young University
  • Jose Polanco, Brigham Young University

Artificial Intelligence for Business Communication
Saturday AM, OCT 23 0830-1130

This interactive workshop focuses on AI technologies that are impacting business communication. Join us as we demo some of these technologies and form working groups to continue working on research and teaching about AI-assisted communication.

  • Peter W. Cardon, University of Southern California
  • Jolanta Aritz, University of Southern California
  • Stephen Carradini, Arizona State University
  • Kristen M Getchell, Babson College
  • James Stapp, Oklahoma State University
  • Carolin Fleischmann, University of Applied Sciences Ansbach, co-author
  • Haibing Ma, DeepBlue Technology (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd, co-author

Developing Competencies for Communicating and Working Across Cultures in the Classroom: A Team-Based Learning Approach
Saturday AM, OCT 23 0830-1130

This workshop illustrates how students can learn on the topic of negotiations across cultures using a Team-Based Learning (TBL) approach. The workshop will be highly interactive with attendees participating in a full TBL sequence of activities using a cross-cultural negotiation simulation. The module will enable attendees to discover how TBL can help future global leaders successfully communicate in international settings. Participants will leave this workshop with a new approach to teaching both Business Communication and global leadership.

  • Judith Ainsworth, McGill University
  • Annelise Ly, Norwegian School of Economics

Earn Accreditation in SOCIAL STYLE® to Expand Students’ Interpersonal and Inclusive Communication Skills
Saturday, OCT 23 1030-1330

Demonstrating versatility and inclusive communication skills is critical in today’s global business environment. During this workshop you can earn accreditation in SOCIAL STYLE®, a communication skills program used by companies in over 100 countries, and integrate this profile into your business communication courses. Using SOCIAL STYLE®, students can learn interpersonal communication tools to effectively manage conflict and navigate cross-cultural communication.

  • Judy Tisdale, University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill
  • David Collins, TRACOM Group
  • Daisy Lovelace, Duke University
  • Jana Seijts, Western University

Submissions Guidelines & Reviewers

Submission Guidelines with samples.  (Submissions closed, except posters.)

Want to Participate in Sponsored Sessions?

  •  How Do You Teach Diversity and Inclusion? with Jacqui Lowman  Click here for more information.  (Closed)
  •  My Favorite Assignment with D. Joel Whalen - Click here for more information.   (Closed)
  •  Business Practices Committee panel with Sam DeKayClick here for more information. (Closed)
  •  Graduate Studies Panel with Stephen Carradini and Abby Koenig - Click here for more information. (Closed)

Tracks

Click here to see both ABC tracks and GABC tracks.

Volunteer Reviewer - Click here to learn more. 


Want to Visit the 2020 Virtual Conference?

  • If you registered for the 2020 Conference, log in here to continue to view sessions and chat on the virtual platform. If you want to register for the 2020 Conference, learn more here

Conference Contacts

The annual conference provides networking opportunities and supports ongoing professional development.  Our mission as conference planners is to help ABC members reach their goals and experience all that ABC has to offer, while we are shaping the future of business communication in an uncertain world.   

ABC Conference Co-chairs
Ryan Fuller and Susan Schanne

GABC Conference Co-chairs
Gail Cruise and Susan Schanne