Rapport is important in all business communication and also in the classroom. The introduction or bio a student gives should not stop at the discussion café but go through the entire course for each discussion each week. Building rapport during each discussion is important for two aspects. First, each student not only needs to answer the discussion questions, usually two for an undergraduate class, but needs to incorporate experience and characteristics of their character and knowledge. Secondly, students gather the foundational meaning of each discussion question and may answer more appropriately in simply two or three replies. The students, in essence, become teachers as well as learners. When incorporating these two aspects, the student is more able to define who he or she is in the discussion, initial posts and replies, and demonstrate that these aspects coincide with and are similar with other students' experiences. Once this happens, each student now has a strong foundation of thought put into their posts that are paired with the answers to the discussion questions, taken from the text or other sources. Before the week ends, the students gained new experiences and ways of writing and built a better rapport and earned more academic respect from their peers due to writing that encompassed more than simply answering a question. The student becomes engaged in learning and wants to now give more to the discussion.

The delivery strategy is simple. First a student must know the possibilities or framework of their ideas and how those are put into substantive and informative posts. By adding a second or third question to the discussion questions to expand on individual thought, students feel happily obliged to answer in a more thorough way. A question added to an initial discussion question would be: "Why is international marketing an essential part of our lives in America and how does it affect each individual student as they will some day become international marketing managers?" This question demands a response of a student's emotion and also puts every student on the same page.

Faculty Spotlight:

Samson grew up in Branson, Missouri, a small town with a large influx of tourists each year. Samson's father, Dimitrios, was born in Greece, and his mother who is Greek was born in America, raised Samson and his brother and sister in the restaurant business. Samson realized the value of hard work by helping his parents with the restaurant and learning about business and how it is run properly. With proud parents, Samson's mother and father drove him to pursue college and add knowledge to his life. Samson's college career was one thing he appreciated most and thanked his family and God for supporting him. Going to Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, receiving a B.S.B.A. in International Business, then to Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, earning an M.B.A. in Marketing, and spending one year abroad in Madrid, Spain, Samson developed a great sense for business and culture. Samson began to work for the corporate world then continued with opening his own successful businesses. Samson did not stop his education though and recently received an M.A. in History from American Public University. Samson's passion was always to teach and this is what he does now and loves it. Samson is now the proud husband of his beautiful wife Artemis and proud father of two beautiful sons: John and Constantine.