Effective Communication for Today’s Leader

Overview

Class Central Tips

Interpersonal communication is one of the most important management skills: everyday we relate with our bosses, collaborators, customers and colleagues. Being a good communicator is synonym to being a good leader. Interpersonal and group communication helps us to create better business environments, and therefore, to have better results.

Syllabus

Topic 1. Human communication levels

In the first topic of this course, you will study the concept of human communication, its importance in people’s lives, and its application to the environments we move in: family, professional, and social. At the same time, you will learn about communication levels, which allow both the sender and the receiver to identify the level we are communicating in order to establish a connection between both parties.

Topic 2. Assertive communication

This week will cover information on assertive communication, the ability to communicate with messages that are delivered clearly, firmly, directly, and respectfully. The goal is for you to learn about assertiveness, the first communication skill that is the foundation of dialogue, so you can put it into practice. You will also learn a technique that is easy to use, that you can use immediately to deliver assertive messages.

Topic 3. Empathetic listening

This week you will learn essential aspects of the second interpersonal communication skill: empathetic listening. One of the most frequent errors when we communicate in work environments is to only pay attention to the technical aspects of the conversation. In other words, we tend to ignore the emotional state or mood of the other person, and this can damage our interpersonal relationship.

Topic 4. Performance feedback

During this last week of the course, you’ll learn more about the third interpersonal communication skill: performance feedback. This is a skill that, overall, allows us to respond to messages from other people; and specifically, can be used as a tool to improve performance in sessions to establish goals and evaluate performance. In this way, effective leaders increase their ability to direct, guide, teach, and motivate collaborators by correctly using feedback.