Online professional development courses are available 24 hours a day from any device with an internet connection.
Please select an Online Communication Course:
Certificate in Business Communications
Because corporate higher-ups and stakeholders can't support your ideas—or recognize you for them—without first understanding what they are, 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 suite will help you create presentations and workplace documents that inform and persuade.
The course offers instruction on crafting many of the most common business communication formats: memos, reports, brochures, proposals, presentations, catalogs, and websites. Topics include formal and informal outlining techniques, using e-mail appropriately in an organizational setting, and revising for wordiness, unnecessary phrases, redundancy, and jargon.
Each 3 to 5 hour, self-paced course offers an assortment of interactive exercises, selected readings, and self-assessments that will engage you and help you practice effective business writing.
Our Ask the Expert feature connects you to a network of experts ready to answer any content-related questions you have. You can expect to receive a response within 24 to 48 hours, though some questions are answered the same day they are sent.
Upon successful completion, you can download a printable certificate of completion for this online course suite. The course has no textbooks or prerequisites.
Courses include:
- Effective Business Writing
- Effective Presentations
These courses are self-paced and online. You will have access to this course for 60 days.
PDUs/Contact Hours: 10 | CEUs: 1
Level: Introductory
Estimated time to complete: 8-12 hours
Cost: $149
Make Your Business Writing More Effective
This course
focuses on improving business writing. The ability to write clearly and directly is highly prized in organizations. You will learn how to be a better writer and how to revise your writing to make it purposeful and effective.
The ideas, techniques, and checklists in this course apply to all forms of business writing: memos, reports, brochures, proposals, presentations, catalogs, and websites. You will learn to recognize key factors for effective writing (clarity, tone, organization, delivery), how to answer the reader's question: "What's in it for me?", and how to structure, format, and write quickly (when appropriate). Other topics include formal and informal outlining techniques, how to revise for wordiness, unnecessary phrases, redundancy, and jargon, and the appropriate use of email in an organizational setting.
After completing this course, you'll be able to:
- Recognize 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
- Employ formal and informal outlining techniques
- List and recognize techniques for overcoming writer’s block
- Recognize the importance and dangers of writing quickly
- Revise for wordiness, unnecessary phrases, redundancy, and jargon
- Write more effective emails and recognize the appropriate use of email in an organizational setting
- Employ checklists for organizing, writing and revising
This course is self-paced and online. You will have access to this course for 30 days
PDUs/Contact Hours: 5 | CEUs: .5
Level: Introductory
Estimated time to complete: 4-6 hours
Cost: $125
Make Your Presentations More Effective
The ability to communicate clearly and effectively is increasingly important in organizational settings. This course helps learners organize, structure, and create
presentations. Since many organizations use PowerPoint as a way of communicating information, this course offers advice and guidance on the most effective and persuasive uses of PowerPoint.
This course will teach you how to understand the elements in the communications process and better organize your presentations. You will learn PowerPoint graphic rules of
thumb and how to create an effective summary slide. You will also understand how to structure persuasive and well-organized presentations. Further, you will learn how to revise PowerPoint slides for clarity and graphic elements. Finally, you will understand success factors for a presentation.
After completing this course, you'll be able to:
- Recognize what makes communication effective
- Understand the elements in the communications process
- Better organize your communications and presentations
- Understand PowerPoint graphic rules of thumb
- Create an effective summary slide
- Describe and employ the four steps of purposeful communication in your presentations
- Understand the forecast, present, and echo structure for presentations
- Recognize key visual considerations for PowerPoint slides and presentations
- Understand how to organize and create PowerPoint presentations
- Revise PowerPoint slides to make them more effective
- Understand the success factors for face-to-face presentations
This course is self-paced and online.
You will have access to this course for 30 days.
PDUs/Contact Hours: 5 | CEUs: .5
Level: Introductory
Estimated time to complete: 4-6 hours
Cost: $125
