Interview with Theresa Conley
Rebekah Shultz Colby

Theresa Conley is a professor of marketing who has professional corporate experience as a marketing consultant for a variety of businesses. Her consulting practice focuses on product development, consumer segmentation analysis, branding, and positioning. In 2000, she was a Women in Cable and Telecommunications Woman of the Year-Walk of Fame recipient.

Rebekah Shultz Colby: How would you describe your own writing process?
Theresa Conley: Painful. Although I am a seasoned business communicator, I am not a gifted research writer or someone who writes easily, so I have to push myself. Bottom line: If you want your ideas heard, you need to care about writing, learn this skill, practice it, and eventually get confident with it.

How would you describe your research process?
Like many, I have a lot of interests so the on-going and nagging challenge is focusing and discipline. Reading journals and books obviously are a big part of generating many of those ideas. I then think through the process and consider my timing how will this project lead to the next, does one project use learning from another I have done, how can I be efficient and smart with data collection? Am I creating a body-of-work that ties together logically, rather than a bunch of disjointed projects? All of this goes into my thinking.

At the end of the day, I consider myself a pragmatist. It is vital to me to make sure my research has some usefulness. I believe this research philosophy stems from my 20 years in business prior to transitioning into higher education; I feel an obligation to produce something useful and relevant.

What writing projects are you currently working on?
Since I am finishing my PhD in Curriculum and Instruction, I am doing a lot of writing still for class and preparing for my dissertation process. My topic of interest is study abroad and international education. Specifically, I am currently doing primary research to explore the decision process and location selection for undergraduate students to study abroad. Generally, there is a wealth of data that shows that study abroad is a positive experience for students but limited data on the decision and site selection process. I think understanding this more clearly will lead to helpful tools and improvements for students to think more strategically on their choices thereby greatly enhancing the overall educational and cultural implications of the experience. At this point, I hope to follow this thread of research until I get my dissertation completed.

What role does writing play in undergraduate learning?
It should play a serious role for undergraduates. Regardless of age, experience, or ability -- being able to research, organize your ideas, and write clearly are mandatory skills regardless of your occupation.

How do you teach writing in your undergraduate business classes? (What kinds of assignments do you teach? Why? What specific approaches toward writing do you take, etc.?)
Since I teach marketing, I emphasize clear, succinct, and passionate writing. Most students understand the clear and succinct part but without adding the passion, business people are far less likely to read or care about what you write and what you want to do. Business is all about influencing people to get things done. Some people think business writing should be sterile, and this is unfortunate. For example, take two business plans, one well organized and well written but lacking passion. The other, well organized and well written, but it tells a story and you can feel the passion for the idea it sizzles with possibility for the people who need to fund this business idea, develop this business idea, and eventually market and launch this business idea. It all starts with good writing, doesnt it?

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