Gino Perrotte, Department of Communication
Tags: business communication, financial data interpretation
Prof. Perrotte’s Description
This assignment teaches students how to distill complex financial data into a clear, professional business email by analyzing real 10-K reports. A key strength of the assignment is that it models effective AI prompting strategies—students are guided in how to interact with AI tools like ChatGPT to clarify data, summarize trends, and craft a concise email.
The focus is not just on using AI, but on developing critical thinking and communication skills. Students learn to assess what information is important, how to frame it for a workplace audience, and how to co-create with AI while ensuring the final product is accurate and reflects their own voice. They are responsible for editing, refining, and shaping the final message based on their understanding of the data and the audience’s needs. This assignment builds confidence in working with data, writing concisely, and prompting AI with purpose.
I decided to enhance this assignment with AI because summarizing complex data in concise emails mirrors real workplace tasks where professionals naturally use AI. Note that I have designed this assignment for my face-to-face sections. This course is also taught in an online-asynchronous format, and I am now brainstorming how I might be able to convert the in-class discussions I have prepared for the asynchronous format.
Also, in creating this AI-infused version of the assignment, I wanted to explore how, as a teacher, I can utilize AI as a tool to refine and organize assignment directions. So, this version of the assignment was created with input from various sources (including AI): the original non-AI assignment directions from our COM 2020 course directors, feedback from students in my spring 2025 COM 2020 courses, ChatGPT, and (of course) my own brain power.
Course Information
COM 2020
This course is an introduction to business communication. We do several assignments that help students to describe themselves in a professional context, analyze complex data sets and produce a concise summary, and create marketing materials.
When I thought about whether or not it could be helpful for students to utilize AI for any of our assignments, I immediately identified the analysis-based assignments as being a good fit. And that’s what I’m sharing here with you — the directions for the Email Synthesis assignment which utilizes AI to produce a concise and professional email from a large data set.
From the course syllabus:
Course Description:
This course focuses on communication skills expected of college graduates entering into business fields. Students who successfully complete this course will be able to produce clear, concise, evidence-based, argumentatively sound, and persuasive professional communication of various types. The course will emphasize the importance of being purpose-oriented and audience-aware. Examples of work to be done include writing e-mails, drafting business memos, creating executive summaries, producing strategic reports, and crafting other types of internal and external business communication. In addition, the course will teach students how to develop good listening skills and also how to develop proficiency in various interpersonal speech situations. The course will inculcate the habit of revising and editing the work one produces, while providing all students with copious opportunities for feedback from their instructor and their peers.
Download the Assignment
Using AI to Assist Us in Creating Effective Business Communication
Gino Perrotte, M.A. is a Lecturer for Communication Studies. As an award-winning expert in culture and communication, he draws upon more than two decades of corporate management/learning & development and academic research/teaching experiences to make business and professional communication education, coaching, mentoring, networking, and training accessible and actionable.
Gino’s success transcends cultures and industries and is anchored in his abilities to relate, empathize, and connect on a human to human level. He is a published author on the subjects of soft skills, public speaking + virtual presentations, nonverbal communication, online learning initiatives, and study abroad immersive learning. Gino earned a B.S. in Business Management from Grove City College and a M.A. in Interpersonal Communication from the University of Central Florida.