Gain a practical grounding in communication to boost your personal effectiveness, save you time, and reduce your stress levels.
121,632 enrolled on this course
Duration
4 weeksWeekly study
3 hours100% online
How it works
Business Fundamentals: Effective Communication
Learn how to improve your communication skills in a professional context
Faced with a daily deluge of information, effective communication has never been more important.
This online course offers you a practical grounding in using different types of communication media to boost your personal effectiveness, save you time, and reduce your stress levels.
You will discover the principles of how to write emails, reports, and proposals. You will find new confidence in your ability to make convincing presentations and conduct productive meetings. And you will develop communication skills that are sensitive to cultural and personal differences.
Syllabus
Week 1
Effective communication in the workplace
What is business communication?
Business communication is defined as the written and spoken interaction that takes place between people who operate in business contexts. It may be classified as internal or external to the organisation.
Targeting your audience
Who are your audience? What are they like? What do they think?
Being aware of your context
Each organisation has its own culture; that is, its own beliefs and assumptions which are the basis for its goals, strategies and structure.
Communicating through rich media: meetings
We all attend meetings of some description. Meetings have a purpose and offer opportunities to meet others, share information, plan projects and make decisions.
Week 2
Giving successful presentations
Business presentations
Presentations are common in business contexts. Successful business presentations must be engaging and clearly organised.
Preparing a presentation
Successful presentations are clearly planned and are tailored to their specific audience and context.
Structuring a presentation
Learn to deliver a clearly structured presentation that your audience will be able to follow easily.
Engaging with your audience
Involve your audience through a range of strategies.
Week 3
Online written communication
Key principles of business email communication
Effective emails are clearly and professionally written and respond to their recipients’ needs and expectations.
Writing an effective workplace email
When writing an email, it is important to follow a clear and logical structure.
Enterprise social networking
Enterprise social networking allows users to connect with a wider range of people within an organisation to develop relationships and promote innovation.
Week 4
Effective writing
Writing persuasive documents
Writing a persuasive text consists of building an argument, which means putting forward one or more points of view and demonstrating that they are valid.
Writing a report
Learn to write a report that will help to convince readers to accept the findings of the investigation and its recommendations.
Writing a proposal
Learn to write proposals that will persuade another person to approve a particular project or action and to support its implementation.
Working collaboratively
Developments in communication and the way they are used could change our workplaces dramatically.
When would you like to start?
Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.
Available now
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Apply and understand principles of effective communication in a range of media
- Improve your writing skills for greater work and study success
- Apply simple but powerful frameworks to get more out of email and telephone calls in less time
- Design and create more convincing presentations and run more productive meetings
- Develop cultural and interpersonal sensitivity in your communication behaviour
Who is the course for?
This business communication course is for anyone interested in how to improve communication skills in a workplace context.
This could range from jobseekers to those seeking internal promotions to anyone interested in communicating better day-to-day.
No prior communications skills training is necessary.
For further information about registration, the final assessment course, your eligibility and the BA in Business Management, visit the Open University website.
What do people say about this course?
Who will you learn with?
Hilary is a senior lecturer in executive education with research interests in the economic and cultural role of the creative industries. She researches academic identity and the future of work.
Who developed the course?
Established
1969Location
Milton Keynes, UKWorld ranking
Top 510Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020
Ways to learn | Buy this course | Subscribe & save | Limited access |
---|---|---|---|
Choose the best way to learn for you! | $109/one-off payment | $244.99 for a whole year Automatically renews | Free |
Fulfill your current learning need | Develop skills to further your career | Sample the course materials | |
Access to this course | tick | tick | Access expires 4 Mar 2025 |
Access to 1,000+ courses | cross | tick | cross |
Learn at your own pace | tick | tick | cross |
Discuss your learning in comments | tick | tick | tick |
Tests to check your learning | tick | tick | cross |
Certificate when you're eligible | Printed and digital | Digital only | cross |
Cancel for free anytime |
Ways to learn
Choose the best way to learn for you!
Subscribe & save
$244.99 for a whole year
Automatically renews
Develop skills to further your career
- Access to this course
- Access to 1,000+ courses
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Tests to boost your learning
- Digital certificate when you're eligible
Cancel for free anytime
Buy this course
$109/one-off payment
Fulfill your current learning need
- Access to this course
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Tests to boost your learning
- Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible
Limited access
Free
Sample the course materials
- Access expires 4 Mar 2025
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades) Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply. |
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)
Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.
Learning on FutureLearn
Your learning, your rules
- Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
- Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
- Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores
Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
- Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
- Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others
Map your progress
- As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
- Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate
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