Description
Name: Njoud AlMousa
Event: Online workshop
Title of the event: Effective communication
Date: February 7, 2019
Organizer: The open university
Presenter: Hilary Collins
Location: Online
on the 7th of February, I decided to attend an online course to earn knowledge. I chose to join the effective communication workshop because I really want to be a good communicator. In this four-week workshop, Ms. Hilary Collins explained the meaning of business communication how important the business communication is. She also talked about some key principles of business communication that will help to improve communication. The workshop contains some exercises and videos that helped me understand the subject deeply. Also, I was able to read, write some comments and ask questions.
Analysis of learning
The first week of the workshop was about business communication. The business communication is defined as the written and spoken interactions that takes place between people who operate in business contexts (Hilary Collins, 2019). The presenter has also explained the difference between the internal and the external business communication. The internal business communication includes the conversations, emails, meetings, and calls among the people who work in an organization. And the external business communication is the interactions between the organization and anything outside the organization’s environment.
One of the most important things the presenter talked about is how to get a message across to anyone clearly and simply. She has mentioned that understanding your audience is very important. Because when you understand your audience, you can choose the best mode of communication. She also has mentioned that choosing the most suitable medium for your message is very important too. Because selecting the best media will help you to make an effective message. The presenter has also talked about how to write an agenda. All that you have to do is determining when, where, and who will be in the meeting. Then, write a short statement of the goals you want achieve in the meeting. And then write a schedule.
In week two, the presenter has talked about how to make an effective presentation. Presentations are sometimes necessary when you want to share information or explain complex things. There are some useful tips about making a good presentation. The most important thing in making a presentation is that the presenter must have a goal for the presentation. Also, the presenter must prepare before the presentation to decrease anxiety. Ms. Hilary Collins has also talked about how using slides to support presentation can improve your presentation. Using slides with some images and simple diagrams will make your slides more effective. Also, it is important to avoid filling your slides with long paragraphs and flashy colors.
One of the most important things the presenter talked about is how to get a message across to anyone clearly and simply. She has mentioned that understanding your audience is very important. Because when you understand your audience, you can choose the best mode of communication. She also has mentioned that choosing the most suitable medium for your message is very important too. Because selecting the best media will help you to make an effective message. The presenter has also talked about how to write an agenda. All that you have to do is determining when, where, and who will be in the meeting. Then, write a short statement of the goals you want achieve in the meeting. And then write a schedule.
In week two, the presenter has talked about how to make an effective presentation. Presentations are sometimes necessary when you want to share information or explain complex things. There are some useful tips about making a good presentation. The most important thing in making a presentation is that the presenter must have a goal for the presentation. Also, the presenter must prepare before the presentation to decrease anxiety. Ms. Hilary Collins has also talked about how using slides to support presentation can improve your presentation. Using slides with some images and simple diagrams will make your slides more effective. Also, it is important to avoid filling your slides with long paragraphs and flashy colors.
There were two topics in the third week of the workshop. The first one was about business email communication. Sending an email is one of the most important media for business communication. Because when you send an email to your target audience instead of making a meeting, you are saving a lot of time and energy. The presenter has talked about the two essential principles you need to do when sending an email. Firstly, you must be clear. Secondly, Be professional. It’s important to make your email as simple as you can, it is also important to not make spelling and grammar mistakes.
The second topic in week three was about blogging. A blog is a website created by individual, group of people or even an organization. Some organizations create corporate blogs to represent the organization views, post news about the organization, share details about their products, and to communicate with their external stakeholders.
In the fourth week, there were two topics. The first one was about how to write persuasive reports and proposals. There are some important steps to write a persuasive report. Firstly, make sure that your report is written in a formal way. Secondly, make sure that your report is very clear and well organized. Thirdly, use diagrams or images to support your report. These steps are also useful when writing a persuasive proposal. But there are also five more important steps you must do when you write a proposal. One, write the problem statement. Two, write a statement of goals. Three, write a solution statement. Four, write benefits statement. Lastly, call to action.
The second topic was about the impact of social technologies. Nowadays, many workplaces tend to use technological tools to communicate and collaborate rather than doing activities in regular offices. And this helps to increase flexibility and productivity. But this requires adapting for the new way of communication. Because employees will need to develop their communication skills to match the social technology.
Evaluation of learning
After I finished this workshop, I realized how important to be a good communicator. I believe that good communication will absolutely help you to make an effective presentation and write documents such as reports and proposals clearly and simply. The steps that presenter has mentioned of writing documents and making presentations are very sensible. And I will absolutely follow those steps when I make college projects. The workshop was very interesting and beneficial because there were some activities that helped me to understand more. I highly recommend this workshop to every college student.
References
[What is business communication. Future Learn. [Online]. Available at: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/effective-communication/8/steps/438734 . [Accessed: 7 Feb 2019] ].
THE ART OF BUSINESS 