Effective Communication: Writing, Design, and Presentation

Offered By: University of Colorado Boulder via Coursera

Course Description

Overview

Over seventy companies and tens of thousands of students worldwide have used Effective Communication to deliver ideas powerfully in the workplace. By taking Business Writing, Graphic Design, and Successful Presentation, you’ll hone your written, visual, and verbal business presentation skills. You'll learn to write well-organized, clear business documents; to design elegant presentation slides, reports, and posters; and to present and speak with confidence and power. In the final Capstone Project, you'll develop a portfolio of work—including a memo, a slide deck, and a presentation—to showcase your communication skills and represent your personal brand. The Effective Communication Specialization takes you on a journey of self realization. You’ll learn that excellence in communication involves the ability to express who you are—your best self—in everything you do. What our students say: "A life-changing specialization." "Simple yet powerful rules." "Essential for everyone."

Syllabus

Course 1: Business Writing
- Offered by University of Colorado Boulder. Writing well is one of the most important skills you can develop to be successful in the business ... Enroll for free.

Course 2: Graphic Design
- Offered by University of Colorado Boulder. Welcome to Graphic Design, the second course in the Effective Communications Specialization. Over ... Enroll for free.

Course 3: Successful Presentation
- Offered by University of Colorado Boulder. Few kinds of communication can have the effect of a powerful presentation. Even a short speech ... Enroll for free.

Course 4: Effective Communication Capstone Project
- Offered by University of Colorado Boulder. In the Effective Communication Capstone learners apply the lessons of Business Writing, Graphic ... Enroll for free.

Courses

5 reviews
12 hours 48 minutes
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Writing well is one of the most important skills you can develop to be successful in the business world. Over seventy companies and thirty thousand students--from professional writers to new employees to non-native English speakers to seasoned executives--have used the techniques in Business Writing to power their ability to communicate and launch their ideas. This course will teach you how to apply the top ten principles of good business writing to your work, how to deploy simple tools to dramatically improve your writing, and how to execute organization, structure, and revision to communicate more masterfully than ever. From the very first lesson, you'll be able to apply your new learning immediately to your work and improve your writing today. Your ideas are powerful. Learn how to deliver them with the clarity and impact they deserve. "Thank you for giving me the knowledge I need in life. [Business Writing] was helpful, life changing, and has made a huge impact in my writing." -- Message from a Business Writing student The principles you'll learn in this course enable you to become a great business writer. They also provide the foundation for moving into Graphic Design and Successful Presentation, so that you can unleash your best professional self whenever--and however--you present your ideas in the workplace. This course can be taken for academic credit as part of CU Boulder’s Master of Science in Data Science (MS-DS) degree offered on the Coursera platform. The MS-DS is an interdisciplinary degree that brings together faculty from CU Boulder’s departments of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Science, and others. With performance-based admissions and no application process, the MS-DS is ideal for individuals with a broad range of undergraduate education and/or professional experience in computer science, information science, mathematics, and statistics. Learn more about the MS-DS program at https://www.coursera.org/degrees/master-of-science-data-science-boulder.
0 reviews
20 hours 53 minutes
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Few kinds of communication can have the effect of a powerful presentation. Even a short speech can motivate people to change long-held beliefs or to take action, and a wonderfully delivered speech can transform a normal person into a leader. In this course, Prof. William Kuskin provides a series of pragmatic videos and exercises for successful public speaking and presentations. The course develops through four themes—mastering fear, developing a creative formula, using verbal and body language, and anticipating the room—so that you can discover your personal power as a speaker and give excellent presentations. Successful presentations do not rely on perfect teeth, a deep voice, or an army of scriptwriters. They depend largely on the same skills as successful Business Writing and Graphic Design: clarity, structure, and revision. The goal of the course, therefore, is to enable you to discover your own internal power as a speaker and express it to the world. After this course, with some practice, you will be able to go into any situation and command the room for as long as you like. This course can be taken for academic credit as part of CU Boulder’s Master of Science in Data Science (MS-DS) degree offered on the Coursera platform. The MS-DS is an interdisciplinary degree that brings together faculty from CU Boulder’s departments of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Science, and others. With performance-based admissions and no application process, the MS-DS is ideal for individuals with a broad range of undergraduate education and/or professional experience in computer science, information science, mathematics, and statistics. Learn more about the MS-DS program at https://www.coursera.org/degrees/master-of-science-data-science-boulder.
4 reviews
1 day 5 hours 30 minutes
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Welcome to Graphic Design, the second course in the Effective Communications Specialization. Over 70 different companies have provided this specialization to their employees as a resource for internal professional development. Why? Because employers know that effective visual communication is the key to attracting an audience, building a relationship, and closing the sale. This practical course gives you the tools to create professional looking PowerPoints, reports, resumes, and presentations. Using a set of best practices refined through years of experience, you’ll: • make your work look fresh and inspired. • apply simple design “tricks” to begin any project with confidence and professionalism. • receive and respond to criticism and revise your project from good to great. "This course is fantastic. It teaches a great amount of starter graphic design information but it is broken down into easily understood videos and quizzes. The quality was top notch and the interaction was as good as you would get in a brick and mortar school. I did not feel like I was missing anything by taking it online." - a recent Graphic Design student All of the course assignments can be completed with basic presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Apple Keynote. You’ll also have opportunities to explore and apply more sophisticated tools, such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. This course can be taken for academic credit as part of CU Boulder’s Master of Science in Data Science (MS-DS) degree offered on the Coursera platform. The MS-DS is an interdisciplinary degree that brings together faculty from CU Boulder’s departments of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Science, and others. With performance-based admissions and no application process, the MS-DS is ideal for individuals with a broad range of undergraduate education and/or professional experience in computer science, information science, mathematics, and statistics. Learn more about the MS-DS program at https://www.coursera.org/degrees/master-of-science-data-science-boulder.
0 reviews
13 hours 30 minutes
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In the Effective Communication Capstone learners apply the lessons of Business Writing, Graphic Design, and Successful Presentation to create a portfolio of work that represents their mastery of writing, design, and speaking and that expresses their personal brand. The portfolio includes three individual elements—a written memo, a slide deck, and a presentation—integrated around a single topic. We provide the elements for a basic capstone, but we also invite our learners to create their own project if they so choose. This self-designed "Challenge Capstone" allows learners to engage meaningfully in their world by choosing a project relevant to their current job or by volunteering to write, design, and speak for a social organization of their choice. By successfully undertaking the Capstone, learners will accomplish three main goals: 1. They will hone their writing, design, and speaking skills and build a portfolio for a job search and/or professional application; 2. They will shape these skills into a unique brand identity; and, if they choose, 3. They will undertake a transformative effect in the world around them. Ultimately, the importance of Capstone portfolio is greater than the sum of its individual parts. Its true goal lies in each student’s personal transformation and expression of their best selves. We invite you to unleash your skills and we can't wait to see the results! This course can be taken for academic credit as part of CU Boulder’s Master of Science in Data Science (MS-DS) degree offered on the Coursera platform. The MS-DS is an interdisciplinary degree that brings together faculty from CU Boulder’s departments of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Science, and others. With performance-based admissions and no application process, the MS-DS is ideal for individuals with a broad range of undergraduate education and/or professional experience in computer science, information science, mathematics, and statistics. Learn more about the MS-DS program at https://www.coursera.org/degrees/master-of-science-data-science-boulder.

Taught by

David Underwood, Dr. Quentin McAndrew and Professor William Kuskin