Captain Rodriguez's hands won't stop shaking.

5:17 AM. Twenty-seven years on the job, and his last shift nearly ended with both of them dead.

The retirement speech sits half-written on the locker room bench. Business Communication Today—borrowed from his daughter, a college instructor—lies beside him. "Balancing Criticism with Encouragement" in Chapter 10 stuck in his head. She'd laughed when he asked for it. "Dad, you've been leading people for decades."

But he's never had to do this. Correct a mistake that almost killed someone while not destroying the kid who made it.

Rookie Jake Parsons, twenty-three years old, six months on the job. Smart kid. Eager. Reminded Rodriguez of himself at that age.

Last night, third floor, structure fire. Rodriguez gave the order to ventilate. Standard procedure. But Jake misread the smoke, cut the wrong wall, and the backdraft nearly incinerated them both. Only Rodriguez's instinct—twenty-seven years of instinct—got them out.

Jake's been texting all night. Apologizing. Saying he'll resign. Saying he's not cut out for this.

Rodriguez knows better. The best firefighters he's ever worked with all had a moment like this. The ones who quit never learned. The ones who stayed became legends.

But how do you tell someone they almost killed you and it's okay? That mistakes are part of learning but this job has no margin for error? That you see their potential but they need to earn the right to that potential through discipline and humility?

His speech needs to address the whole crew. Say goodbye. Pass the torch. And somehow tell Jake: You messed up. You'll mess up again. But don't you dare quit.

Through the window, Jake's truck pulls into the parking lot. Early. Of course he's early.

Rodriguez picks up his pen.

His last lesson might be the most important one he ever teaches.

“Communication Is Power”

Business Communication Today, 16th Edition

3:47 AM. The office should be empty.
Sarah Chen has been at Goldman & Frasier Accounting for eleven years. Senior auditor. Trusted. Invisible. Which is exactly why she saw what no one else was meant to see: $340 million in fabricated assets, reaching into pension funds, college savings, retirement dreams.

The email cursor blinks on her screen.

To: Securities and Exchange Commission; Financial Times; Department of Justice

She's rewritten it seventeen times. Get the tone wrong—too emotional—and she's dismissed as disgruntled. Get the facts wrong, and she's sued into oblivion. Get it right, and she might survive what comes next.

Business Communication Today, 16th Edition lies beside her keyboard. She's practically memorized: "Clarity in high-stakes communication." "Protecting yourself legally." She's used it to structure evidence, choose words that can't be twisted, build a message that's bulletproof.

Her phone shows her daughter's kindergarten photo. She thinks about the mortgage. The whistleblower horror stories. But she has also thought about Mrs. Patterson from church, who lost her pension. About her daughter inheriting a world where corruption wins because good people stay silent.

Through the frosted glass, a flashlight beam sweeps past. Security. She freezes. The light passes.

Subject: Formal Disclosure of Fraudulent Financial Reporting at Goldman & Frasier LLP

The right words can topple empires. The wrong ones can destroy you.
In the textbook's margins, her 2 AM note: "You can't unknow what you know."

Sarah closes her eyes. Thinks of her daughter. Clicks. Message sent.

Tomorrow, she'll be anything but invisible. When everything is at stake, every word matters.

Business Communication Today, 16th Edition
"When Words Matter Most."

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According to LinkedIn’s 2025 Skills on the Rise report, 70% of job skills will change by 2030 because of AI. Stephanie Conway, LinkedIn’s Senior Director of Talent Development, put it bluntly: organizations must cultivate AI literacy and human-centric skills—like communication and adaptability—if they want to thrive.

This isn’t just an HR issue. It’s an education issue.

The danger is that many courses teach one without the other. Students might experiment with AI tools, but they aren’t being taught how to use them ethically, strategically, and persuasively.

Or they’re practicing traditional communication skills, but without the AI fluency employers now expect as a baseline.

The winners in this new era will be the students—and the instructors—who master both.

That’s why John Thill and I created Business Communication Today, 16th Edition, with AI integrated into every chapter. We show students how to use AI in context:

🔹 Writing messages that balance efficiency with authenticity
🔹 Presenting ideas enhanced—not replaced—by AI tools
🔹 Job hunting with AI ethically and effectively
🔹 Collaborating in teams where human judgment guides AI
       output

The message from LinkedIn is clear: the future belongs to those who merge AI with communication. Business Communication Today is the only text designed to make that future a reality for your students.

👉 Don’t just keep up. Lead.

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Instructors everywhere are asking the same question: “If I teach AI, will my students lose the timeless skills that matter most?”

It’s a valid fear. We’ve all seen what happens when students lean too heavily on AI tools—generic résumés, formulaic emails, presentations that lack a human touch. The worry is real: Will AI replace communication rather than enhance it?

Here’s the truth: AI doesn’t replace what makes us human. It magnifies it—if we teach it correctly.

Communication is the anchor. It’s what determines whether AI output is ethical, strategic, and credible. Students need to know how to use AI for brainstorming, drafting, and editing—but also how to question, refine, and humanize the results. That balance is what turns a tool into a career advantage.

Unfortunately, most business education treats AI as a technical add-on, not a communication issue. That’s the blind spot John Thill and I set out to close. In Business Communication Today, 16th Edition, we integrated AI into every chapter, showing students how to use it responsibly across writing, presenting, collaboration, social media, and job hunting.

We don’t just give them tools. We give them a framework:

When to use AI—and when not to

How to evaluate its output critically

How to disclose its use ethically

How to ensure communication stays clear, authentic, and persuasive

This is the real work of teaching AI: not replacing traditional skills, but protecting them—and preparing students for a workplace that demands both.

👉 That’s not a dilemma. That’s an opportunity.

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Bovee and Thill are the recognized leaders in the field of digital communication, social media, and technology--including mobile communication and artificial intelligence, and were the first authors to cover these topics. They continue to be far ahead of all other texts with heir cutting-edge coverage.

Video: The New Fundamentals in Business Communication

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Are your students truly ready for the AI-driven workplace? Traditional communication skills—writing, presenting, persuading—are still essential. But in today’s world, where 100% of Fortune 500 companies already use AI, timeless skills alone aren’t enough.

This short video highlights the widening AI skills gap and shows how Business Communication Today, 16th Edition closes it by fully integrating AI throughout every chapter. Students learn to:

✔️ Write persuasively while using AI ethically

✔️ Apply AI to real-world communication tasks

✔️ Understand how leading companies like Microsoft and Coca-
       Cola blend AI with human judgment

For instructors, this means engaged students, immediate workplace relevance, and graduates who are truly career-ready.

📘 Business Communication Today, 16th Edition – Where timeless communication skills meet AI fluency.

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