ABSTRACT
Business communication pedagogy has become increasingly focused on practice rather than its rhetorical foundation. Practical approaches have value in preparing students to immediately step into professional roles. However, when praxis is given primacy over its theoretical foundation, we run the risk of inadequately preparing students for changes in technology, modes of communication, or workplace practices. This chapter gives an overview of one praxis-based approach, the Lucas-Rawlins core competency model, and proposes foregrounding the canon inventio in that approach. The goal is for the rhetorical principles and the competencies to connect, thereby guiding students to be skilled and nimble communicators.
