This article reports on the introduction of a business communication course in the curriculum of postgraduate internal audit students at a higher education institution in South Africa. Internal auditors should have excellent verbal and written communication skills in performing value-adding assurance and consulting services to their engagement clients. A hands-on applied business communication course was developed in collaboration with a number of stakeholders to improve the communication skills of postgraduate internal audit students using the action research methodology. Data were gathered from these students to determine the benefits of an applied business communication course. The study found that a learning need had been addressed and that an applied business communication course has several benefits, such as promoting teamwork, building confidence, improving presentation skills and ultimately preparing postgraduate students for communicating effectively at work.