Business Communication Crash Course

You're leading a change initiative & you've got a plan in place. The next step is to engage the people who will be affected the most. Support the logistics of your initiative with a concrete communication plan.

Solid communications plans start with a communication strategy based on needs analyses. Begin by identifying your key stakeholders. Use this classification technique to clearly illustrate the groups that make up your audience & how they might respond to your message.

Now that you know “who,” it's time to think about “what.” Find out how to start with the general, most universal audience & then move to targeted & specific groups.

Change doesn't happen overnight. Think about when a message should be introduced & how frequently it should be repeated. Use these tips to design the best way to integrate a message into recurring communications.

We've covered who needs to “receive” messages but don't forget to think about who is the best person to “send” the messages. Assign specific people to this task & don't forget to add in a feedback loop.

You'll need to record information for all the different audiences you'll be reaching. Use this workplace scenario as an example and practice recording information in a similar matrix to the one we offer.

Here are few things to keep in mind as you begin to craft the content of your messages. Include objectives & context. Most importantly, answer the WIIFM question.

Communication doesn't have to be high-tech or expensive to be effective. Select a variety of channels that will get your message in front of people.

Every time you deliver your message you have an opportunity to gather feedback. Implement these ideas for gathering input & sharing progress.

Think about this final piece of advice on using the power of technology to help you spread your message as you work to close the communication loop.

When you're personable & approachable people will be more comfortable sharing information & feedback that will help you become a better leader. The good news is that you can learn to be more approachable.

Studies show that non-verbal communication accounts for most of the information that we convey. Use these simple steps to show people you welcome their input.

Communication is a two-way street. Try these techniques to share what you know & increase opportunities for dialogue.

You want to be a better listener & that may mean you need to adapt your communication style to different situations. These strategies will help.

You'll build relationships & strengthen workplace dynamics when you ask for input. Try out these strategies to leverage the brainpower & experience of others.

Think about this final piece of advice to help you improve & be more approachable in your workplace.

Do you suffer from glossophobia, the fear of public speaking? Put your mind at ease by learning how to deliver rich & engaging presentations.

You want your presentation to connect with your audience, but what do you want them to do with your information? Identifying the actions you want your audience to take will help you determine how to structure your presentation.

Presentations are boring, stories are engaging. Find out how to get your audience to connect with your presentation by finding the story you want to tell.

Looks matter when it comes to the visuals of your presentation. Learn how to command attention from the opening slide by applying some basics of visual design.

A picture's worth a thousand words, & that's especially true for presentations. Find out how to make all those words work for you with visual literacy skills.

You may not think of yourself as a designer, but you are! Discover how to create engaging designs in your everyday life with “100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People,” by Susan Weinschenk.

Diagrams & statistics can be an important part of calling your audience to action, but they can also mislead & confuse. Discover how to ensure your diagrams work to make your presentation better.

The key to a great presentation is practice. Learn some tips to polish your speaking skills & confidently prepare for your moment in the spotlight.

Don't be caught unprepared on your presentation day! Find out how you can make sure everything runs smoothly when it comes time to deliver your presentation.

Think about this final piece of advice on performing a simple self-evaluation after your presentation.

Worried about all of those pesky grammar rules? Put them in the context of the larger goal, clear communication & the task of writing changes from burden to opportunity.

Different tones are required for different situations. Articulate what you want your writing to accomplish & arrange your information to emphasize these goals & set the proper tone.

The English language has more than 1 million words so, how do you choose? Use the 3 S's of word choice to help you craft your content.

Your job is to make it easy for your reader to understand your message. Follow these guidelines to put your words & phrases in the best order to make your meaning clear.

Punctuation is another way to organize for understanding. Use these simple strategies to make sure punctuation helps clarify meaning.

Consider this final piece of advice on choosing the best register for your audience so that you can effectively write for business & be understood.

In today's world, social & business lines get blurred and it can be easy to miscommunicate. Learn how to communicate effectively & professionally in the digital world.

To write effectively & prevent miscommunication, you need to start with a plan. Explore these 3 steps to make a good impression.

There are several instances where it's best to avoid email conversations. Learn about a few situations where you might want to think twice before using your business email account for correspondence.

Punctuation, correct words & usage are all details we sometimes let slip. Fine-tune your writing skills here with examples of the small stuff to consider so your reader will focus on the big stuff.

Consider this final piece of advice about effective communication on social media, too.

If your audience isn't invested in what you're saying your information will be lost on them. In this course you'll learn how to imbed a sense of meaning into a goal by connecting with & engaging your audience.

People perform better with those they trust. Use these 4 elements while storytelling to build trust with & become more relatable to your team.

Before you begin to tell your story, you'll want to know two major factors: who & why. Examine why your audience plays an important part in your storytelling & why you need to know your outcomes before you begin.

What do you hope people will take away from your story? Here you'll find examples of determining your point.

You want to grab attention & draw people in. How? Which hook works best for you & your story? Here you'll learn several types of hooks you can use to keep your audience engaged.

You want to give your audience context to work from to prevent confusion & eliminate distractions. Explore the 5 W's & What's at stake to set up your story for success.

Capture the most important parts with sensory details to keep people engaged. Jump in to find out more about what makes a successful narrative.

Everyone wants to make their story worth re-telling & here you'll discover a few ways to do just that. Explore what elements you'll want to include & what you'll want to avoid.

Now that you've developed all of the parts of your story, here's where you'll add some punch. Learn about the many tone tools you can implement to give your story more feeling & detail.

Getting ready to share your story means getting feedback. Investigate ways you can get feedback & how to use that feedback to tighten your story.

Think about this final piece on how you can create one solid story & the adapt it to fit your needs as you work to tell your business story.

Feedback skills transform ambiguous messages into clear communications. Learn about the essential ingredients your feedback needs to be meaningful.

The best feedback is designed to support mutual respect & learning. Find out how to achieve this by planning out what kind of feedback you will give in advance.

Timely personal feedback increases the chances that it will be helpful & well received.

Getting feedback on your feedback helps to build trust & fosters clear communication. Discover how to remain open & listen for clues that will tell you how the other person is responding to your feedback.

The goal of feedback is to create forward momentum. Learn how to build an action plan that works for everybody involved.

Think about this final piece of advice on the importance of sharing feedback in private.