Certificate in Business Communications

Communicating clearly and concisely in written and oral formats is critical to your professional success. From clarifying and structuring your ideas to designing the PowerPoint slides that will best complement them, the techniques, interactive exercises, and checklists in this certificate program will help you create presentations and workplace documents that inform and persuade.

This program is offered in partnership with MindEdge and consists of 5 self-paced courses:

• Effective Business Writing
• Effective Presentations
• Effective Public Speaking
• Communicating Collaboratively
• Effective Emails, Memos and Letters

Students should progress through the program one course at a time as each course has a 90-day time limit. Students must complete all courses successfully to be granted the certificate. 

Audience

The following types of students will benefit from this program:

• Managers, supervisors and individual contributors
• Business owners and entrepreneurs
• Undergraduate and graduate students

Program objectives

After successfully completing this program, students will be able to:

• Identify the difference between ineffective and effective writing
• List and define the four major factors of effective writing (clarity, tone, organization, and delivery)
• Recognize the role of the audience in effective communication and the importance of understanding an audience's needs
• Describe what makes communication effective
• Identify the elements in the communications process
• Organize your communications and presentations
• Recognize the success factors for face-to-face presentations
• Identify the seven stages of giving a speech or presentation
• Describe key techniques for dealing with speech anxiety
• Devise a strategy for working effectively in remote settings, including in telework settings
• Explain the purpose of various types of meetings and explain the outcomes expected
• Prepare for, moderate, and follow up after a meeting to ensure effective use of organizational resources
• Document a meeting and distribute minutes or a meeting summary as appropriate
• Recognize when it's appropriate to use an email, a memo, or a letter

Certificate requirements

To receive the certificate, students must:

• Complete all five of the self-paced courses within the time specified 
• Pass quizzes administered in all courses

Credits

Successfully completing this program provides the following credits*:

• 25 PMI PDUs:
  • 12 Ways of Working PDUs
  • 11 Power Skills PDUs
  • 2 Business Acumen PDUs
• 2.4 IACET CEUs
• 25 SHRM PDCs
• 25 HRCI Credits
• 25 ATD CI Credits

*Credits are listed cumulatively. Each course in the program grants a portion of the credits.