“How do Communication professors train Marines for ground combat?” That was the challenge posed to School of Communication professors by alumna Dr. Alana Nicastro.
The answer came in the form of a pilot workshop for the Marine Corps Tactics and Operations Group (MCTOG) titled “Unpacking the Black Box: Hidden Opportunities for Improving Relational and Organizational Communication.” The 2-1/2 day workshop focused on using communication theories and principles to address real-life challenges faced by the 9 Marine participants.
The workshop was a pilot effort to test how academic experts in organizational communication could work with front-line Marines to make positive workplace impacts within their units.
The 2-1/2 day workshop included 5 modules led by Dr. Heather Canary, Dr. Kurt Lindemann, and Dr. Tiffany Dykstra-DeVette. Drs. Brian Spitzberg and Kathleen Czech, also from the School of Communication, gave cameo presentations highlighting their expertise. A friend of the School, Dr. Mark Brouker, also joined as a guest speaker for part of the workshop. For the final module, each Marine presented how they would use principles from the workshop to implement an improvement at their base. Participants left the workshop committed to being “Communication Insurgents” inside their organization.
