The performance appraisal has become a standard topic in the business or management curriculum, most frequently covered in personnel, management, human resources, or organizational behavior classes. Students learn such things as the types of employee appraisal systems, how to create appraisal instruments, and how performance appraisals fit into the larger employment cycle. What these students seldom have an opportunity to acquire or to practice, however, are the specific communication skills necessary to effectively implement the systems they study. However knowledgeable our graduates may be in the principles and theory of performance appraisal, their ability to effectively execute these systems, particularly under difficult circumstances, is often limited unless they have acquired accompanying competence in oral and written communication.