Professional Communication Skills (5 cr)

Learning outcomes

The student is able to
- communicate as a professional in field-specific tasks and intercultural contexts
- produce effective spoken and written texts using an appropriate style and register
- demonstrate knowledge of essential terminology needed in working life
- apply principles of interpersonal and organizational communication

Materials

Learning materials in Canvas. See also:
Bovée, C. & Thill, J. 2011. Excellence in business communication. 9th edition. London: Pearson.
Hartley, P. & Chatterton, P. 2015. Business communication: rethinking your professional practice for the post-digital age. 2nd edition. London: Routledge.
Mclean, S. 2015. Business communication for success. Washington, D.C.: Flat World Knowledge.
Munter, M. 2014. Guide to managerial communication: effective business writing and speaking. 10th edition. Boston: Prentice Hall.

Teaching methods

Support material for the course is offered online in Canvas and classes are held on campus on a weekly basis.
Classroom activities are intended to activate students awareness of the course materials and offer practice in some of the targeted communication skills.

Exam schedules

Canvas will be opened on 13th February 2024 (a week before the first meeting).
The last class meeting will be held in May. Some additional dates may be scheduled for small group meetings.

Also see Laurea's degree regulations, section 18:

“Students must be present for the first contact teaching session, or they must notify the responsible teacher of their absence to confirm they intend to participate in studies, Alternatively, the teacher can specify a different manner for the student to confirm that they intend to participate in the studies. The completion of these measures can be required within a week of the studies having begun. The application of the aforementioned approach requires that the teacher notifies the students accepted to the study unit of the practice and that the practice is specifically mentioned in the study unit’s implementation plan.

If the student has a justified reason for not attending the first contact teaching session or for not notifying the teacher of their intention to be involved in studies in the manner required by the teacher, the student must contact the responsible teacher to agree on participation in the studies. Their registration for the study unit will be rejected, of the student does not notify the teacher of being absent from the first contact teaching session or the reason for their absence cannot be considered justified, Another student who is in line for the study unit can be selected in their place”.

Completion alternatives

By agreement with the lecturer

Student workload

5 ECTS is approximately 135 hours of work.

Content scheduling

A detailed schedule will be given in Canvas.

The study unit contains work on the following themes:
• communication models, applying a communication strategy
• intercultural communication and communication styles
• business writing: genre and style, the writing process, macro and micro features
• persuasive communication in presentations, pitches and debates
• building rapport and interpersonal communication in meetings and negotiations
• revision of common business terms & professional vocabulary

Evaluation scale

H-5