This article will review the importance of effective communication in fully online courses, to the extent that positive culture and climate are established, and healthy faculty-student relationships are cultivated. Online courses require instructors to utilize diverse pedagogical techniques in order to reach the student audience through diversified instructional stimuli, and to connect with students based on their learning preferences and needs. Effective communication is enhanced by regular exchanges of relevant information, such as assignment instructions, recommendations of supplementary resources for learning modules, and supportive feedback and commentary. The results of effective communication and interaction inevitably include improved rapport among course participants, higher course retention, better outcomes in achievement and mastery of learning objectives, and overall academic performance and course satisfaction. This article will propose a brief self-assessment guide for conscientious online instructors, who aim to deliver curricular objectives while implementing optimal communication practices and instructional methods. Utilizing best practices in online courses may impact both faculty and student perceptions of the overall online course experience.