Applied Communication

Most organizations and communities are now engaging in the urgent work of climate adaptation and mitigation. Strategic communication of climate policy is often left out. No climate action policy implementation will be well received without an investment in a communication strategy. Knowing how to strategically identify, inform, and engage your stakeholders and audiences involves a set of learnable skills. In this four-week online course we will dive into strategic communication, particularly how to develop a communications strategy. Participants will be creating their own communication strategy, whether that be for their workplace or community.

We all dread them – having to confront a challenging co-worker, customer, or friend about a difficult and uncomfortable issue. Often we handle the situation very poorly, and it is impossible to completely avoid the person or people involved. This workshop offers insights into the multiple layers beneath each conversation and provides advice for handling these difficult exchanges in a manner that addresses the core issues. If you’re interested in improving your communication skills and reducing conflict, this four-week online course will provide strategies to make challenging conversations calmer and more productive.

Today, many of us find we are talking through our fingers on keyboards and touch-screens more than we are talking face-to-face and on the phone. This increased need for writing, both in and out of the workplace, requires us to improve our writing skills. Strong writing skills lead to smoother communications and fewer misunderstandings. Whether you write letters, emails, reports, promotional materials, or personal blog and social media posts, the skills and techniques you’ll learn in this course will help you to improve your writing to get your message across.

To be successful in busy cross-functional organizations, you need to be skillful in the way you work, influence and communicate with others. Individual and team success often depends on the ability of people to communicate confidently and competently whether dealing with others within or outside their organization, remotely or in person. This practical and engaging one-day workshop will provide strategies and skills that anyone with limited authority can use to communicate with people at all levels. You will learn and practice proven methods for communicating to get commitment and to foster collaboration. By walking through a number of scenarios and real-life cases, you will learn how to effectively move your ideas into action.

Climate communication has evolved from debating the reality of human-caused climate change to facing the urgent challenge of mobilizing entire publics in the project of massive climate action. Have you ever wondered how to start or respond to a conversation about climate? Is it possible to communicate about climate adaptation in a way that inspires people? This four-week course addresses these questions, equipping learners with key concepts for effective communication as well as best practices and guidance from leading climate communication experts and researchers.

Social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, WordPress and YouTube offer unlimited resources and opportunities to help us discover new job prospects and advance our careers. This course teaches emerging, mid-career and experienced professionals how to develop real-life social media strategies and learn practical techniques for personal social media marketing. Over four weeks, students will interactively explore ways to define their career goals, enhance their networking skills and promote their professional brand online to help achieve sustainable success in their field.

Effective and professional communication skills are essential to success in today's workplace. Learn the tools for effective verbal and written communication that will enable you to communicate with clarity and impact. Gain the skills required to effectively manage conflict and navigate difficult conversations and develop mindful listening and communication techniques. By increasing your professional communication skills, you minimize the potential for misunderstandings and ambiguities and increase your ability to inspire through clear and focused communication strategies.

This four-week online course builds on Writing for Business Level 1 with a deep dive into audience analysis, critical thinking, and writing strategies for larger writing tasks in the workplace: articles, briefing notes, business cases, decision-papers, formal correspondence, planning documents, presentations, proposals, and reports. Use document samples within the course or your own content as you learn to adapt your writing style to meet your readers' level of knowledge and content needs. Demonstrations, videos, and hands-on exercises will help you gain confidence in your writing as you draft and polish coherent business documents that will get results.