PAIBOC - This unique learning framework (purpose, audience, information, benefits, objections, context) encourages critical thinking and reinforces skill development.

Conference Board of Canada's Employability Skills - These prove to students that what they are learning in class is directly related to what they need to know to enter/stay in the workforce. For the third edition, the skills are now listed in their entirety in the first chapter, followed by references to the OLC for specific lists of skills for each subsequent chapter.

CBC Case Studies - Available on the OLC, video segments bring business communication concepts to life and engage students, particularly those who are visual learners in a different medium. Students watch episodes, such as "Schmoozing to Create Goodwill" and "The Trouble with Teams", and answer questions that require them to think about the segment, the skill being discussed, and the text content.

Interactivity - This new edition is much more interactive. Module review questions plus a plethora of exercises challenge students to think critically about their reading.

Clean design - The layout of the text is now cleaner and sleeker, which makes accessing information easy.

Modular Layout - Instructors can easily focus on specific skills and have flexibility for shorter courses.

Reorganization of modules - E-Mail Messages now comes earlier in the text to be paired with the Formats for Letters and Memos module. Revising Sentences and Paragraphs has also been moved earlier to lead with the Choosing the Right Word module into the more specific Editing for Grammar and Punctuation module.