COM510 DISCUSSIONS
REFERENCES:
Munter, M. & Hamilton, L. (2014). Guide to Managerial Communication (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Booher, D. (2003). Speak with Confidence! Powerful Presentations that Inform, Inspire and Persuade. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
WEEK 1
“Communication Skill Rating” Please respond to the following:
How skillful is your communication right now? Let’s explore that.
Note: You are strongly encouraged to record and upload a video response to the following questions. Practice is the key to success!
Instructions: Record and Upload a Video
- What are your communication strengths? Provide specific details.
- What are the areas you would like to improve? Why? Provide specific details.
- Rate your current level of professional communications skill based on the following five categories and explain how you arrived at your rating.
Note: Your goal is to identify accurately your current level of communications proficiency and to grow in this course and throughout your MBA program.
Communication Skill Levels
- Novice: You tend to “wing it” when communicating. Your messages seldom achieve your desired goals.
- Intermediate: Your communications are sometimes effective, but you lack an established process for communicating (and you aren’t actively testing your methods).
- Proficient: You apply some tools and techniques of communications and, while you may do so inconsistently, you are fairly effective when you communicate.
- Distinguished: You are considered highly professional. You regularly influence outcomes through communications and you are highly communications-oriented.
- Expert: You have extensive experience in business communications, are well-versed in the topic, and can influence goals strategically while driving action with your messaging.
WEEK 2
“Real-Life Communication” Please respond to one of the following:
Option 1: Think of a time when you communicated reflexively. What were the results? Share this story with your peers.
Option 2: Think of someone who is a great communicator. What makes them skillful? What specifically do they do to project their professional presence? How have the techniques they use to communicate helped them accomplish their goals? How would communicating more skillfully help you in your own career? Provide a specific example.
WEEK 3
“Your Communications Plan” Please respond to the following:
Part 1: Provide a brief overview of your Strategic Communications Plan. Include a short description for each of the following in bullet point format:
- The purpose of the communication
- Your goal
- Audience
- Key Message
- Supporting Points
- Channel Selection
- Action Request
Part 2: Review at least two of your peers’ Strategic Communications Plan. Provide feedback. Don’t be afraid to challenge their assumptions, suggest new possibilities, and affirm their choices when those choices are good.
Note: Remember, feedback is a powerful and essential tool. Thoughtful, useful feedback is specific. It combines suggestions for improvement with the recognition of good ideas. When you offer feedback, you should contribute new ideas and new perspectives to help your peers learn and move forward.