Deborah J. Barrett
Deborah J. Barrett is Professor of the Practice of Professional Communication at Rice University, where she teaches professional communication across the curriculum and conducts classes in leadership communication, effective business writing and presenting, global negotiations and influence, change management, and team dynamics in executive education programs. In addition, she is a visiting professor teaching MBAs at the Instituto de Empresa in Spain, and the International University Bremen in Germany.
Deborah has specialized in business, technical, and team communication for the last 20 years and has coached executives and conducted numerous workshops on writing, presentations, teams, and consulting for managers at all levels. She has taught at the University of Houston, Texas A&M University, Houston Baptist University, and Rice University.
In addition, she has worked as a consultant for leading consulting firms, focusing on strategic communication and change management. Deborah was a senior managing director of Hill and Knowlton, Houston before rejoining the faculty of Rice University, and prior to Hill and Knowlton, she was a communication consultant with McKinsey & Company for over five years. With McKinsey, she served as a leader in the change communication practice, developed and conducted firm training, and worked on communication and general management consulting projects for McKinsey clients throughout the world.
She has consulted for several international energy and utility companies, major computer companies, several high-tech new ventures, the City of Houston, and several nationally acclaimed performing arts groups. In addition, she has served on the board of directors for several start-ups and is the co-founder of University Connections, LLC.
Deborah's book, Leadership Communication, was published by McGraw-Hill in 2005, with a second edition forthcoming in 2007. She has published articles and presented papers on cross-cultural communication, emotional intelligence, communication ethics, change communication, employee communication, virtual teams, Power Point, effective MBA communication, and leadership communication. She serves on the editorial board of the Business Communication Quarterly, Education Review of Business Communication, and Corporate Communication: An International Journal.
Deborah earned her B. A. in English and speech and M. A. in English from the University of Houston and her Ph.D. in English from Rice University. She is qualified to administer and provide workshops in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator™.
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