Strategic Communications
WHO THIS COURSE IS FOR
Project managers, team leaders, business owners and administrative coordinators will learn how communications planning reflects the goals of the organization, can reduce confusion and create clarity and purpose.
Newcomers keen to learn these skills are equally well-suited.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
You understand professional, goal-centric communication practices.
You access research sources and study news media.
You work closely with leaders and senior managers.
You know how to build, roll out, assess and report on the effectiveness of your communication plans and projects.
You follow the professional communicator's code of ethics.
This is a six-week, self-paced online course with free learning resources.
There will be four assignments to complete.
Plan to read, work and study for about 10 hours per week.
Try not to rush as stress can block learning and retention*.
*Source: NPJ -: Science of Learning
O O O O O
Day one: Welcome meeting with your instructor.
Review course plan, assignments and reading list.
Review learning resources and Open textbooks.
Assessment letter and certificate provided upon course completion.
"I saw first-hand how a focused investment promotion agency can help accelerate a country’s economic development — identifying opportunities, building investor confidence and coordinating across government and business."
- Dominic Barton, chair of Invest in Canada, on assisting PM Carney in reaching an essential goal.
How this course can help you
The Government of Canada has identified nine essential skills for employment, one of which is communication skills. Here's why -- "Strong communication skills help you share information in a way that others can clearly understand. You also need strong communication skills to listen to, pay attention to, and understand others. In all jobs, communication skills are important for developing good working relationships to work effectively in a team, understand a variety of viewpoints, and to gather and share information while problem solving..."
The Government of British Columbia equally embraces the federal government's nine essential skills. Their division of Government Communications and Public Engagement is home to many professional communicators and describes its role as "the strategic communications partner to B.C.'s executive council (cabinet). We specialize in people-first communications, content development, media relations, advertising, multi-language services and more."
A well-educated communicator can enable business success. Recruiters seek out employees who have a solid understanding of professional communication practices. That's because communicators understand how to generate, measure and assess results. They also routinely report on progress in reaching target audiences and fulfilling goals.
What you will learn
Perspective on professional practices and ethics
- Learn how globalization has changed communication and culture.
- Access knowledge, skills and tools for organizing and assessing effective communication plans and campaigns.
- Discover the ethics and codes of conduct adopted by professional communicators and why professional standards are so important within this work world.
How to write a strategic communications plan
- Learn the step-by-step process of researching and building a solid strategic communications plan.
- Gather information and prepare an outline, then a first draft, showing how your plan aligns with the client's organizational goals, target audiences, key market areas and media channels.
- Discover ways to ensure communications connect target audiences with the organization’s purpose and services.
- Delve into the rationale, the strategies and the impact of effective positioning, messaging and branding.
How you will learn
Our courses are designed to promote cognitive engagement which involves mental effort, persistence and strategic thinking. Learners engage and grow by applying critical thinking skills, self-regulation and by connecting new information to prior knowledge. Strategies to promote a deep desire to learn include having choices, using collaborative, open-ended projects and creating tasks that require critical thinking rather than simple recall.
Here’s how we encourage cognitive engagement in our courses -
1. You will receive a course plan with details on each learning module for each week.
2. You will also receive a link to the Open Textbook for the course you have selected.
3. Each course comes with a storyboard showing each step in the learning process.
4. Learning resources include videos, slide decks, visual and editorial samples.
6. Your course plan will include a reading list to textbook content and info for your weekly quiz.
7. A live meeting is held once each week to discuss key points in the learning module.
8. Assignments are also discussed at weekly meetings. You pick your own subject matter.
9. Access the social media networking resource to ask questions, discuss and learn from other learners.
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