Course Description
In this advanced course in communications, students are challenged to enhance their ability to communicate as an individual contributor, as a member of a team and as a leader of projects or people. In addition, students focus on doing so in a global context and with diverse audiences. Whether working in a large bureaucratic institution, a start-up, a company with global reach, an organization with a technical focus or a creative bent, the ability to communicate in a compelling and persuasive manner to audiences is a differentiator. As individuals grow in their careers, their ability to build relationships, influence others, and motivate action requires increasingly sophisticated communication acumen. The class includes the combination of traditional (readings) and active learning pedagogies (cases, guest speakers, critical explorations as examples.) With an emphasis on understanding oneself as a communicator in today’s ever more complex and diverse world of work, this advanced course is designed to allow students to learn and engage in multiple contexts and situations.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be more comfortable communicating with confidence in a variety of business contexts and with diverse audiences. Students will learn to adapt and target their communication mindful of the needs and expectations of their audience which may vary along cultural and hierarchal dimensions as well as functional and technical ones. Students will practice engaging and communicating collaboratively as well as in a leadership context. The Leadership Communication Competencies will serve as the framework for skills development. Learning objectives include:
- Develop an understanding of themselves as communicators.
- Learn to use a communications strategy, analyze an audience, target communication style and approach, present data and complex material in a straightforward way, and practice techniques to deal with difficult questions and situations.
- Explore how communication is valued differently across different fields and cultures.
- Learn how to be compelling and persuasive with different audiences.
- Develop a sophisticated and deep appreciation of how verbal and non-verbal communication impacts successful interactions and relationship building across different audiences.