Delivering Your Message

This free online messaging course examines the steps and elements involved in effective communication. We begin with language and message content as you learn about language barriers and forms, including slang, jargon, euphemism and more. We investigate examples of cliché and sexist and racist phrases to demonstrate how language can hamper communication. The course then moves on to ‘emphasis strategies’ that infuse emphasis into your communication to guide interest and keep audiences engaged. We cover signposts, tables, internal summaries and similar approaches before unpacking the steps required to improve your verbal communication ability. This course teaches you how to be precise with language, take control of tone and always put your audience in focus.

We then explore the psychology behind the connection between the speaker/writer and their audience to demonstrate how to understand your audience and why this is important. The course delves into self-understanding and the underlying ideas of self-esteem, self-image and the Pygmalion effect as you become familiar with attitude, beliefs and values as components of identity. We cover ‘fairness’ in communication and unpack the role of active listening and reading. Lastly, we take a deep dive into perception and highlight important aspects to consider when going through the selection and organization phase of communication, including the need to respect these differences.

Far too often during communication, ignorance creates a disconnect between the message sender and receiver. There are so many factors to consider when preparing a message for an audience and this course examines how the characteristics of language interact in ways that can either improve or diminish effective business communication. We scrutinize the role of language in molding perception and look at how culture, language, education, gender and race can influence this dynamic process. The course teaches you how to avoid miscommunication and focuses on constructive ways to get your message delivered, which is a skill that can vastly improve your life at work or at home.