Transforming Networking Through Positive Communication: A Pathway to Professional Growth

Abstract

This article reframes professional networking through the lens of positive communication, arguing that authentic, value-driven relationship building enhances both personal well-being and professional growth. Drawing on positive psychology, emotional intelligence, and moral development, it highlights how empathy, gratitude, and identity alignment transform networking from a transactional act into a relational, self-actualizing practice. The article offers a pedagogical framework for instructors, including a multisession unit to help students internalize and practice positive communication principles. Ultimately, this approach fosters deeper, more fulfilling connections that empower students to become confident, ethical professionals capable of sustaining meaningful, high-quality relationships throughout their careers.

Keywords

positive communication professional networking authenticity emotional intelligence

Effective networking has become a cornerstone for career success, and students in business schools learn quickly that strong networks lead to promising professional ventures and career opportunities. Such networks, which consist of “collection[s] of people linked by some common interest or attribute” (Anklam, 2007, p. 32), can lead to mutual advantages for all network participants (Clark, 2009). Baber and Waymon (2002) argue that trust is the key to successful networking, and empirical research confirms that professional networks are maintained increasingly—if not largely—through social media platforms (Sacks & Graves, 2012; Sharma, 2022). Thus, professionals skilled at cultivating strong relationships are more likely to capitalize on opportunities that emerge from these supportive networks.

Despite these professional benefits, business school students often find it challenging to embrace networking. Such students may not sense alignment between their desire for authenticity and their perceptions of networking as a transactional activity. Scholars have underscored that overly aggressive or self-serving approaches to networking have their limitations (Granovetter, 1973; Sacks & Graves, 2012); these self-serving motives (e.g., self-promotion, goal-oriented connections) can even be seen as symptomatic of our times, since authentic relationship building gets lost amid the frenetic pace of our lives (Leder, 2021). That said, networking understood within a positive communication framework can help classroom instructors highlight the developmental aspects of relationship building to students in ways that foreground the growth and learning inextricably linked to an activity that students might otherwise resist. Positive communication points to speech and behavior acts that enrich human relationships and promote higher degrees of confidence and excellence among participants (Mirivel & Fuller, 2024). Such communication emphasizes genuine, empathetic, and supportive interactions, which not only enhances well-being but also fosters deeper, more meaningful relationships (Cameron, 2021; Mirivel & Fuller, 2024; Seligman, 2019). In turn, when networking is reframed positively, meaningful relationships themselves—not outcomes obtained from (or as a result of) those relationships—are the overarching benefit of successful professional networking.

This article follows the call of Mirivel and Fuller (2024) to cultivate communication praxis: by showing how instructors may use positive communication principles to help business students reframe their understanding of networking and adopt networking strategies that equally improve their career prospects and mobility, promoting their feelings of positive well-being in the process. By building professional networks that are grounded in gratitude, authenticity, and support, our students will be able to experience the joy derived from relations of mutual impact. To that end, we use this article to explore how a positive communication framework can help students eschew transactional views of professional networking, so they may develop systems of mutual professional support most likely to promote positive emotions (e.g., joy, gratitude) and create the conditions for fulfilling work and engagement. We also examine the more practical applications of positive communication in networking for college students preparing to enter the workforce. Specifically, our argument transitions into a detailed organizational flow for a multiweek instructional unit on positive communication and networking within the career and professional development section of an undergraduate service course in business and professional communication. In showcasing this set of classroom possibilities, we provide a practical guide for classroom instructors who seek to help students make important links between positive communication and professional networking.

Networking and Its Perceptions

Although networking is considered essential in today’s professional landscape, the activity itself can be laden with feelings of disdain and cynicism, even for those who seemingly reap the benefits of networking. Indeed, many professionals have reported their desire to avoid networking, even when understanding its benefits (Misner et al., 2011). Recent studies have even suggested that some professionals can feel amoral when networking (Casciaro et al., 2014). Kuwabara et al. (2020) have argued that this negative perception of networking stems from individuals’ inability to see networking as a skill that is learned, rather than innate, for certain professionals. More generally, networking events can often be conceived as competitions in which some professionals excel and others, naturally, do not. This fixed perception of networking reinforces the idea that spontaneity and personal growth (among other developmental attributes) are not valued among “competitors” in such events.

These stigmas aside, research shows that networking helps increase individuals’ personal exposure to organizational practices and promote skills development (Lankau & Scandura, 2007) as well as enhance individuals’ career success (Wolff & Moser, 2009). Social media has only enhanced these benefits, making networking even more important as a professional practice (Casciaro et al., 2014), and college students quickly learn that professional networking is necessary if they wish to fulfill short-term employment goals (e.g., LinkedIn hiring practices) and enhance their professional influence across their careers.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, skillful networkers understand that the sheer size of one’s network does not speak to one’s strengths with respect to networking. Sacks and Graves (2012) find that skillful networkers know how to attend to both network size and quality to optimize the time that they commit to building and maintaining relationships. More broadly, studies indicate that many professionals seek to expand their network for other reasons. Certain professionals with large networks (super connectors) enjoy the positive feeling of helping others over the wealth and prestige they get from networking (Snow, 2013). Meanwhile, technical communication entrepreneurs argue that networking provides a professional space to learn and share knowledge (Lauren & Pigg, 2016). Indeed, one’s motivation behind generating a successful networking approach should not solely rely on professional development. Porter et al. (2023) developed a theoretical basis for Professional Networking Motives (PNMs) that examines prior explanations for why people network. Their study noted that participants derived positive feelings from connecting and helping others as part of their networking activity (Porter et al., 2023). Moreover, the results showed that people found more success when aligning their strategic motives with objective standards rather than objective career success, arguing that building genuine connections and helping others is more effective than being overtly strategic (Porter et al., 2023).

Clearly, networking then appears to have a twofold motivation: that of securing professional benefits (e.g., employment, leads) and that of strengthening one’s sense of identity and well-being. The likelihood that individuals will engage in professional networking activities relies on the degree to which they view such actions as identity-congruent (Raj, Fast, & Fisher, 2017). Successful networkers perceive genuine activities that take place within the context of personal networking as morally justifiable since they provide positive signals to one’s sense of self (Williams, 1976). If positive communication scholarship aims to understand how people communicate at their best (Mirivel & Fuller, 2024), then research on networking viewed through a positive communication lens shows that feelings of positive self-worth help explain its benefits.

Ideally, we want our students to appreciate that networking can serve a two-fold purpose: to help them make meaningful workplace connections and to help them feel the positive emotions that accompany mutual engagement. We want students to know that we are wired to connect with other humans neurologically (Goleman, 1995) and appreciate that there is a correlation between generosity and social status (Flynn, 2003) as well as between generous leaders and effecting influence (Grant, 2014). In other words, authentic engagement, as one would find in any helping relationship, is central to networking that simultaneously promotes personal and relational happiness (Mirivel & Fuller, 2024). With this perspective in mind, we now turn to a set of arguments we contend help define a valuable, positive understanding of professional networking.

Networking With Positive Communication and Morality in Mind

Networking, as understood from a positive communication perspective, offers professionals a chance to bring their values into focus because positive emotions are associated with relationships and experiences that align with individuals’ core values (Drumgoole, 2019). Accordingly, students introduced to this perspective start to appreciate that it is possible to pursue business objectives and interpersonal objectives simultaneously (Mirivel & Fuller, 2024). In turn, students may start to focus less on the transactional aspects of networking and instead observe more closely the positive emotions they experience when they are motivated to honor their values (e.g., optimism, honesty) when communicating with others (Hauwiller, 2021). Students who make these connections, for example, might start to network in ways that feel more authentic, practicing deep listening skills that affirm others’ values—and even learning to adjust their own communicative behaviors (e.g., regulate speech rate) when negative emotions appear to diminish their authentic engagement (Newberg & Waldman, 2012). Thus, a positive communication approach to networking promises to make gratitude—an orientation of life toward the positive (Wood et al., 2010)—a key motivator. Networking, then, becomes less about professional outcomes (i.e., getting that next lead on LinkedIn) and more about authentic engagement with others.

By helping students make the link between authentic engagement and positive emotional responses, we invite them to identify their better selves and respect the moral responsibility required to act consistently with their values, so that they will hopefully embrace future opportunities to network. Classroom instructors who teach networking principles from a positive communication framework necessarily foreground a whole student approach, because strong, reliable communication skills benefit students both emotionally and physically (Bolton, 1979). Positive communication invites students to experience positive emotional states and positive personal images and generally helps them to “feel good” through the act of communication (Pitts & Socha, 2013). Importantly, such positive feelings are qualitatively different from the mere instant gratification students might receive from adding, say, 10 new contacts to their LinkedIn profile as a result of attending a campus career event and passing a test of sorts.

Part of helping students “feel good” as they network means helping them recognize themselves as effective, moral agents in the world. As argued by Socha and Beck (2015), moral commitments are shaped by important conversations, and moral messaging intends to generate lasting good between all conversation participants. If we are to take the arguments relating to identity and networking seriously, then relationally based moral messaging might contribute to lasting, positive impressions on those who network. If we consider that our networking behaviors impact how we view ourselves, then we want our students to network with intent: to engage with others consistent with their values, and that promote feelings of well-being resulting from an affirmation of values.

Positive Communication as a Driver for Self-actualization

Students who network authentically not only learn to engage consistently with their core values but also work toward fulfilling their potential as future leaders as they practice the types of interpersonal communication that will prove critical to their future success. Following Raj et al.’s (2017, p. 773) claims that those who network find the act “identity-congruent,” networking reframed through positive communication can reinforce behaviors that promote self-actualization and ultimately lead to peak levels of performance (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Privette, 1983). As argued by Socha and Pitts (2012), positive communication messaging is intended to be prosocial, ethical, and driven by strong character, promoting one’s emotional well-being and positive self-actualization. For example, many who network try to actualize their desire to be successful leaders, projecting an image of competency, caring, and character (Cardon & Stevens, 2014). Professionals might associate these leadership characteristics with who they are and hence attach them to their identities, although these characteristics are not established simply through wish fulfillment. Rather, they are forged in communicative moments and interpersonal relations that form the basis of networking.

The positive communication model by Mirivel and Fuller (2024) identifies actionable communication behaviors (greeting, asking, complementing, disclosing, encouraging, listening, and inspiring) that can guide leaders. These behaviors are also frequently observed by participants in networking relationships. For example, greetings have been proven to stimulate more healthy, positive environments, improving morale (Waldvogel, 2007), and seeking input from colleagues has been shown to create more encouraging work relationships (Wodak, 2011). Also, attentive listening and offering open-ended questions promote self-determination and improve job performance (Van Quaquebeke & Felps, 2018), and casual compliments and positive reinforcement generate both stronger teams and better work relationships (Holmes & Marra, 2004). In sum, these positive communicative behaviors help signal effective leadership in professional spaces (Biganeh, 2025). That said, students who learn to network by demonstrating these behaviors model the skills that employers seek—and promote positive emotions and feelings of self-worth.

Positive communication principles can thus help instructors underscore learning aspects of networking more clearly to students: networking then becomes not a distasteful rite of passage for aspiring workplace professionals, but rather a chance to practice the very behaviors associated with strong leadership to promote positive feelings and positive self-worth. Students benefit when they recognize discursive moments like networking as chances to actualize their professional future selves into being. Networking at its best then may serve as a classroom of sorts, allowing students to “practice themselves into becoming” the professionals that they seek to be.

Positive Communication and Emotional Intelligence

Students who also recognize the strong association between positive emotions and positive experience are more likely to adopt learning orientation in networking. Consequently, students will likely be more apt to show generosity and empathy for others, diminishing transactional perceptions of networking (Hauwiller, 2021). For example, students can more intently attend to their conversation participants’ fundamental self-needs and practice; for example, critical listening skills (i.e., recall and paraphrasing strategies) that demonstrate deeper levels of engagement and attentiveness. Further, students who feel anxious when striking up conversations with relative strangers may—given the ability to identify negative emotions that surface during networking—learn to self-regulate interpersonal behaviors (i.e., slow their speech rate) that might project discomfort. This type of compassionate communication helps students learn to monitor their emotions and transform behaviors (Newberg & Waldman, 2012).

These types of behaviors associated with positive communication speak to earlier research borne from positive psychology, which suggests that people “increase flourishing by increasing positive emotion, engagement, meaning, positive relationships, and accomplishment” (Seligman, 2019, p. 13). These arguments within positive psychology have inspired positive communication theories, and we can see these connections developing within communication theory, particularly around emotional contagion. Emotional contagion, for example, is defined as a tendency for emotions to mirror the emotional response to another, leading to the synchronization of an emotional experience (Folger et al., 2013). These types of emotional exchanges happen regularly in the workplace, and professionals in the workplace benefit when positive emotions shape and inform relations among employees (Mye, 2015).

With respect to networking, students who likewise can leverage positive emotions into ways that translate into positive communication stand to benefit themselves and their conversation partners. Learning to network by demonstrating positive communication behaviors responds to calls for more developmental instruction in business communication classes (Hentz et al., 2022). Such instruction helps students develop higher levels of emotional intelligence needed to maintain strong relations, especially those that will prove pivotal to their professional success.

Networking Reframed as a Healthy, Learned Exercise

By helping students learn to think differently about networking, our students move closer to embracing an activity that will ultimately prove pivotal to their professional success. People are more likely to disengage from networking if they believe in the “fixed theory” of networking that posits that networking is an innate skill (Kuwabara et al., 2020). This type of mindset likely promotes negative attitudes toward the more moral (i.e., character and values formation) aspects of networking (Kuwabara et al., 2020). Conversely, students who more clearly understand the developmental aspects of networking appreciate that learning is a key feature that explains how successful people network (Porter et al., 2023).

Why people network is inevitably linked to how they network and their networking behaviors (Porter et al., 2023). Indeed, if students choose to network with only their professional goals in mind, this narrow focus will likely emerge through their words and behaviors. In Positive Communication in Health and Wellness, Pitts and Socha (2013) reframe positive communication as a way to create a healthy being. By connecting on a positive level within groups in one-on-one conversations, positive messaging can build one’s awareness and create positive states of emotion and well-being (Pitts & Socha, 2013). Even simple acts such as celebrating, sharing, giggling, and expressing gratitude can have tangible effects on our physical and mental health; interactions that establish positive thinking, positive messaging, or positive feedback that boost our self-esteem can also improve our overall well-being (Pitts & Socha, 2013). Granted, one might not be laughing and giggling their way through a networking event, but Pitts and Socha (2013) highlight the notion that small, positive acts of communication can be impactful to our vitality. Indeed, focusing on short-term behavioral moves can assist in building high-quality (i.e., beneficial) connections (J. Dutton et al., 2025). The opposite effect might emerge when low-quality connections take place. Low-quality connections induce distrust and disregard for employees’ self-worth and can reduce energy in the workplace (J. E. Dutton, 2003). These are the types of connections that shrug off incivility and thoughtlessness as benign, and diminish an employee’s ability to learn, show initiative, or take risks (J. E. Dutton, 2003). It is vital then for students to learn that positive connections and interactions with others professionally form the basis for well-being in the workplace. Instructors can practice positive reinforcers as a way of creating healthy experiences—from head nods and smiling to speech fluidity and illustrative gestures—that respond to speakers’ nonverbal cues and signal an interest in what others have to say (Remland, 2016). Instructors might also push students to understand the contributing pathways—cognitive, emotional, and behavioral—that help build high-quality, healthy connections (Stephens et al., 2011). Certain cognitions, like having “other awareness” and taking on the perspective of others, can help people better connect with colleagues, while understanding emotional mechanisms like positive emotions, emotional contagion, and empathy help coordinate one’s mind, body, and feelings to orient themselves toward others (Stephens et al., 2011). Lastly, behavioral mechanisms are small, observable elements of interpersonal communication (i.e., gestures, talk, and bodily posture) that can change the possibilities within a connection (Stephens et al., 2011). These mechanisms can help break down and strengthen students’ understanding of high-quality interactions that lead to healthy behavior in the workplace.

However, communication rife with empathy, motivation, and encouragement has its limits. Humor does not always work; positive communication can sometimes mask or deflect the need for a more serious tone within a conversation. Indeed, it is important to reinforce the idea that positive communication is not “the absence of negative verbal and nonverbal communication, but rather the presence of positive, enhancing, and facilitative talk and gestures” (Pitts & Socha, 2013, p. 1).

Reframing networking in this way aligns communication with wellness and health consciousness, a movement that our current college students are well aware of. Mental health continues to be one of the top retention challenges in higher education as student support systems struggle to develop ways to support students’ emotional well-being (Mowreader, 2023). Networking can be taught as a whole-body experience rather than just a professional event, positioning students as stewards of their own mental and physical health while networking. A positive communication framework helps refocus our attention in this way, and like positive psychology, also focuses on the sorts of communication that offer hope.

Teaching Networking With Positive Communication in Mind

If networking is a crucial exercise for business students, then instructors should be intentional with how they frame and teach it. We know that the reasons why people network are directly linked to network behaviors, and that these intentions can reach beyond professional goals. A pedagogical approach to networking should introduce students to these more in-depth networking intentions such as establishing moral commitments, self-actualization, and emotional intelligence.

In the following section, we provide an organizational flow for a multisession unit on positive communication and networking within a career and professional development section of an undergraduate service course in business communication. This section presents a recommended sequence of information offered within the sessions, followed by a series of guided questions for each session itself. Our approach is inspired by Stephens et al.’s (2011) mechanisms of high-quality connections, explicitly getting students to consider emotional and behavioral mechanisms, while also highlighting the importance of morality (Drumgoole, 2019), self-actualization (Raj et al., 2017), and mental health (Pitts & Socha, 2013). By engaging with these questions, students will be guided to explore and internalize some of the concepts of positive communication in networking that we have discussed earlier in this article. This approach encourages critical thinking and self-reflection, helping students develop a personalized strategy for networking that aligns with their values and professional goals.

Introduction to Positive Communication and Networking

Our positive communication and networking multisession unit for a business communication course complements a larger instructional section on career and professional development (e.g., employment search, preparing application materials, interviewing). It honors past pedagogical activities enhancing networking techniques for students that have focused on an array of objectives, from the cultivation of networking techniques like active listening (Friar & Eddleston, 2007), to recognizing the value of social capital and its ability to expand networking relationships (Reardon & Walsh, 2017). Our multisession unit recognizes the value of centering networking techniques by first attempting to activate students’ prior knowledge related to networking, getting them to explore the ick factor they might associate with networking practices. Positive communication becomes a helpful lens to critique this ick factor, motivating students to explore how networking activities can help themselves and others (McCauley, 2022).

Instructors can use an initial session to generate a robust discussion about networking itself, especially how this activity may have led to strong professional opportunities. This helps students acknowledge previous experiences with networking and make explicit how their experiences align with more transactional models of networking. As part of this kickoff discussion, instructors can introduce a more relational approach to networking that positive communication affords. Instructors can also propose questions that help students consider the benefits of positive communication for their future networking, thus helping them begin to conceive of networking differently—and potentially diminish the ick factor with which many undergraduates can identify as they seek to make new connections with others in professional contexts. As the concept of positive communication will largely be new for students, this discussion will help students think anew about the act of networking itself. These representative questions can help generate a fruitful discussion:

What are the differences between traditional networking and networking that highlight positive communication?

How does a transactional approach to networking differ from a more relational approach?

Can you think of a time when your networking efforts felt more transactional? How might a positive communication approach have improved that experience?

What are some examples from your own experience of professionals who seemed to build genuine relationships when engaging with you for the first time? How would you describe their communication style or approach? In what ways do you think these professionals used positive communication principles to engage with you?

To conclude this initial session, instructors can share that students will be given a chance over the next week or so to practice networking guided by positive communication principles. To that end, and to the extent that doing so is possible, instructors are encouraged to schedule this multisession unit on positive communication and networking at a time that dovetails with a home institution’s career event (e.g., career fair, employer “meet and greet”).

The Role of Empathy and Authenticity in Networking

In the next session of the positive communication and networking unit, instructors can help students appreciate that positive communication is grounded in specific interpersonal skills that, when demonstrated proficiently, can make professional networking a more satisfying and enjoyable endeavor. In particular, instructors can introduce in this next session the importance of empathy and authenticity in networking by following positive communication principles. Concerning empathy, instructors can help students identify both the verbal and nonverbal behaviors associated with critical listening, such that students can develop a stronger sense of the ways in which they convey empathy in future one-on-one conversations. To guide discussion in this session, instructors can draw upon these representative questions to stimulate discussion:

How can empathy and authenticity contribute to building meaningful professional relationships?

How can we practice empathetic listening during a networking event?

How can being empathetic and authentic impact the way others see you during a networking setting?

What role does empathy play in making sure your network interactions are mutually beneficial?

Developing Emotional Intelligence for Networking

Ideally, students will be allowed to practice networking and demonstrate behaviors grounded in positive communication. As a final session before students get that opportunity to network with intent (e.g., an assignment to network with three to five professionals at a campus career event and to write about the experience), instructors can discuss with students the role that emotions play with respect to interpersonal communication. This session will help students understand the power of identifying and regulating any negative emotions that may arise when they network, so they may be better able to engage as authentically as possible in future networking events. To stimulate classroom discussion, instructors can draw upon these potential questions:

How have emotions come into play when you have previously networked?

Can you recall a situation where managing your emotions improved a networking interaction? What did you learn from that experience?

What strategies can you utilize to recognize and regulate your emotions when networking?

How does understanding your own emotions help you better connect with others while networking?

Practicing Positive Communication Techniques

Students should now have a baseline understanding of how to employ particular behaviors—from critical listening strategies to emotional regulation techniques—to help them network in ways that feel more authentic and fulfilling. Instructors can help students practice these behaviors with a networking assignment; as we discussed earlier, campus career events present ideal opportunities for these assignments. Students should be encouraged to reflect upon this networking opportunity by answering a range of the questions listed here. For example, instructors can ask students the following questions to guide their reflection:

What are some communication behaviors that made your networking efforts more positive?

How did greeting someone kindly influence the tone of a networking interaction? What positive behaviors of yours contributed to this tone?

In what ways did you encourage and compliment others during this networking event?

How did listening attentively during a conversation positively impact the relationship between you and your conversation partner? What specific behaviors contributed to your listening strategies?

Instructors can also ask students to identify specific behaviors that they wish to improve in the future, as well as identify future networking venues or contexts that would give them that chance to do so.

Moral Commitment and Identity in Networking

For the final series of sessions, instructors discuss their most recent networking practice and integrate additional lenses through which they may understand their future networking encounters and appreciate the lifelong learning trajectory that a positive communication perspective foregrounds. Specifically, instructors can introduce ideas of morality and identity and help students appreciate their centrality to networking. In doing so, students can begin to understand the deeper value of networking that positive communication can reinforce. A set of guiding questions to facilitate the discussion for this session can include the following:

How do your core values and moral commitments shape the way you approach networking?

What does it mean to align your networking behavior with your personal identity?

How can networking be an opportunity to reinforce your moral constitution?

In what ways can your networking activities contribute to actions that you feel proud of and that align with your sense of self?

Reframing Networking as a Path to Self-Actualization

In the next follow-up session, students can be encouraged to view future networking engagements as a way to give shape to their future or aspirant selves. In short, instructors can instill that positive communication can help students conceive of networking as something more than a professional activity, but rather an opportunity to practice acting and becoming the professional and human being that they aspire to become. The tenor of this session is admittedly aspirational with its long-term focus. That said, the following types of questions can help instructors make meaningful connections with students:

How can networking contribute to your personal growth and self-actualization?

What leadership qualities do you hope to project during networking interactions?

How can positive communication help you demonstrate these qualities?

In what ways can you use networking to fulfill your potential as a leader and professional?

Integrating Wellness and Networking

A final session to conclude this unit on positive communication and networking can reinforce for students how strong networking not only leads to professional opportunities and growth but also leads to higher levels of individual wellness and well-being. Students will hopefully appreciate that networking can be conceived as a healthy practice that fosters growth and learning. In turn, this perspective eschews the very transactional model of networking that previously guided students’ thinking before this instructional unit. To promote students’ meaning making during this final session, instructors are encouraged to draw upon the following exploratory discussion questions:

How does positive communication in networking contribute to your overall wellness?

What strategies can you use to maintain mental and emotional well-being while networking?

How can mindfulness and stress management techniques help you in networking situations?

How can networking be incorporated into a broader plan for maintaining a healthy work-life balance?

Conclusion

Reframing networking through the lens of positive communication offers a transformative approach. By learning to challenge more transactional and self-serving motives linked to networking, students can begin to view networking as a relational, morally congruent, and fulfilling exercise that further develops their professional and personal lives. Positive communication, rooted in empathy, authenticity, and support, fosters stronger relationships and helps students develop key emotional intelligence skills and moral commitments. These foundational elements help students regard networking as more of a self-actualizing process, one that helps students grow into the types of leaders they aspire to be.

By cultivating these deeper connections and intentions, students can harness the power of networking to create more meaningful, lasting, and mutually beneficial relationships. Instructors play a crucial role in helping students conceive of networking differently, teaching them that networking is learned, not innate, and emphasizing that networking—as just one example of positive communication in practice—becomes a pathway to both personal fulfillment and professional success.

Footnotes

ORCID iDs

Brent Lucia

Brian Hentz

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author Biographies

Brent Lucia is an Associate Professor In-Residence at the University of Connecticut School of Business. He teaches business communication and researches AI, rhetoric, and professional writing. His recent work appeared in New Media & Society and Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, and he leads workshops on writing, messaging, and emerging technologies.

Brian Hentz is a senior lecturer and directs the Business Communication Center for the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management. His primary interests are in career communications, adult learning strategies, transitional learning, and reflective practice.

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