South Carolina State University News December 2, 2014 Father-Son Duo Speaks at SC State’s Executive Speakers Series Dr. Billyde Brown, research associate at George Tech Manufacturing Institute in Atlanta, Ga. and Dr. Delindus Brown, professor of communications at SC State University, spoke to a polarized audience of undergraduate business majors, faculty and administrators, as special guests of the Executive Speakers Series (ESS) in the School of Business on Nov. 5. This father-son duo spoke on the importance of communication skills and technology as mediums of communication in the world of business. “One must have a special intrapersonal drive to be successful in starting a business, especially after having learned the knowledge and necessary strategies needed to start, run and maintain a business successfully,” said Billyde. “Listening and the ability to decode messages accurately are just as important as speaking effectively in the world of business,” said Delindus. According to him, “Student self-assessment is critical to the undergraduate student of business. Students must examine themselves. They must know how to improve communication skills with practice and more practice, in order to sharpen their ability to speak and listen effectively.” “Billyde concluded with an in-depth, engaging and thought-provoking focus on how innovation is essential to gaining and maintaining the competitive edge in business. Further, the presentation of various programs Georgia Tech is providing as incubators to facilitate business success was very enlightening. For those interested in business startups, especially minority communities targeted for growth in technology, you demonstrated, by examples, that innovation is essential to business success,” wrote Dr. Ann Winstead, director of ESS, in a post-assessment of the presentations. “Delindus’ presentation, “Communication Tools for Business,” was timely,” said Winstead. “The School of Business just completed the Executive-in-Residence Program with a challenge to students that they will find it difficult or nearly impossible to be successful in today’s business environment without effective communications skills. Your session closed the loop on this topic by using vignettes and audience participation to amplify this challenge in a more expansive way– very effective strategy,” Winstead continued. Trae K. Hill, agribusiness major; Jebryan X. Grant, accounting major; Wilhemena A. Summers, accounting major and Amirah Dupree, management major, voiced 30-second statements about the importance of communication skills as tools to their success today, and they forecasted how necessary these tools would be to them in the professional business world tomorrow. All students are enrolled in one of Delindus’ spring 2014 speech courses. ESS begins at noon on Wednesdays in the Fourth Floor Auditorium, Belcher Hall. For more information about ESS, contact Dr. Ann S. Winstead, director of the Executive Speaker Series, at awinstea@scsu.edu<mailto:awinstea@scsu.edu> or (803)516-4864. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.