Communication and the World Around You Part II

Communication is the one skill you use in every part of your work, and the one most people assume they already have. This module goes back to the beginning: what communication actually is, the two channels it travels through, and the three purposes it serves.

After completing this module you will be able to:

1. Explain what communication is and why it is essential.
2. Differentiate between verbal and non-verbal communication.
3. Describe the Mehrabian findings and explain what they do and do not show.
4. Identify the three main purposes of communication.
5. Adapt a single message for different purposes.

What you will do. Six short lessons, two reflections, two quick checks, one practical activity in which you build a two-minute pitch, and a short quiz.

Understanding Effective Communication

Module 1 looked at what communication is. This module looks at what happens to a message on its way from one person to another, and why so much of it goes missing on the journey.

After completing this module you will be able to:

1. Explain how the quality of communication affects trust, collaboration and results.
2. Name the common causes of miscommunication.
3. Describe the eight elements of the communication process.
4. Apply the Listen–Understand–Speak–Confirm technique to a real conversation.

What you will do. Five short lessons, one short video, two reflections, a quick check, two practical activities and a short quiz.

Module 2 introduced a four-step technique: Listen, Understand, Speak, Confirm. This module takes each step in turn. Most of us assume we listen well. The evidence of most workplaces - the repeated instructions, the misunderstood requests, the meetings that resolve nothing, suggests otherwise.

After completing this module you will be able to:

1. Distinguish hearing from listening, and automatic from generous listening.
2. Use core listening behaviours in a real conversation.
3. Ask open, closed and clarifying questions for the right purpose.
4. Speak in three dimensions — words, tone and body.
5. Confirm understanding accurately.
6. Apply the 7Cs to a message, and recognise the barriers that block understanding.

What you will do. Eight short lessons, a short video, a reflection, a self-audit, a question-writing activity, a quick check, and a short quiz.

You begin making an impression before you even speak. This module explores the non-verbal messages we communicate and receive through body language, personal presence, appearance, and facial expressions. It also highlights an important point: non-verbal signals can have different meanings in different cultures and contexts.

After completing this module you will be able to:

1. Explain what non-verbal communication is and why it shapes first impressions.
2. Identify the families of non-verbal cue.
3. Interpret cues in context, rather than as fixed meanings.
4. Describe how presence, presentation and facial expression affect how a message lands.
5. Explain why the same cue can carry different meanings across cultures.

Most people picture negotiation as two sides pulling in opposite directions, each trying to give away as little as possible. This module introduces a better approach, developed at Harvard, that looks beneath what people say they want to why they want it and very often finds an agreement that serves both sides better than a compromise would.

After completing this module you will be able to:

1. Define negotiation and explain its role in professional relationships.
2. Distinguish positions from interests.
3. Explain why positional bargaining produces poor outcomes.
4. Apply the four principles of interest-based negotiation.