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Business Communications

Attend three courses to receive your Business Communications certificate.

 

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BCC010 Communication Confidence

Instructor: Ronda Mitchell

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We all can be better communicators. Most of us think we’re good communicators. Listening and talking are things we engage in all the time, so we assume we do it well. Unfortunately, that’s often not the case. Attend “Communication Confidence” to learn a number of skills and tools to improve the way you communicate with others. Behind these skills are these fundamental concepts:

  • By understanding what makes communicating difficult, we can improve.
  • By using certain tools and skills, we can counteract the difficulties.

BCC020 Now Hear This: Listening, Comprehending, Communicating

Instructor: Kandice Lloyd

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Did you know that as much as 40 percent of the average workday is spent listening to others? That’s close to half of your day! Do you need to stop and make sure you’re using your time to its greatest advantage? Take a few moments and ask yourself: Are you an effective listener? How often do you assess your listening skills? Could you improve? That’s where “Now Hear This” can help. In this workshop, we’ll:

  • Define “listening” and how it impacts your work.
  • Recognize and deal with the barriers between listener and speaker.
  • Practice good listening techniques and identify ways to make them work for you.

BCC030 Communicate Assertively

Instructor: Verlissa Ford

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Assertiveness is a skill you can acquire, not a personality trait that some people are born with and others are not. When we communicate assertively, we express our feelings, thoughts and wishes—standing up for our legitimate rights without violating the rights of others. In this workshop, you’ll learn to:

  • Distinguish between assertive, aggressive and non-assertive (or passive) behaviors.
  • Include the three parts of an assertive message in your communication approach.
  • Listen assertively by concentrating your attention on the other person.
  • Respond appropriately to criticism.

Building on the topics discussed in “Communication Confidence,” this workshop highlights communication skills that are essential in many day-to-day situations.


BCC040 Power Writing

Instructor: Verlissa Ford

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In this class, we will focus on preparing professional business documents, including a review of grammar, tone, stressing the positive, saying “no” gently and doing a little more than you need to in order to get your message across. You will learn to:

  • Define your purpose.
  • Target your reader.
  • Reduce writer’s block.
  • Organize your writing.
  • Eliminate “clutter.”
  • Edit for accuracy and grammatical correctness.

 

BCC060 Email Effectiveness

Instructor: Brandon Telg

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Do you control your email or does your email control you? Is email the best communication tool? Most of us spend a good part of our day using this powerful medium. Often we sort through emails with content that would have been better communicated via the phone, in-person, in a chat or in a virtual meeting.

Attend this interactive session to master how to select the best communication method for your message, review email etiquette, and learn to combine email best practices with the tools in the Microsoft Outlook desktop version in order to turn email into a valuable productivity tool.


BCC070 Grammar Game

Instructor: Brandon Telg

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Can business grammar be fun? Absolutely. This fast-paced and interactive class is designed to help you catch common grammar mistakes that can hurt your professional image and your credibility. During this course, participants will explore those essential grammar rules that every professional must know such as:

  • Subject/verb agreement
  • Who vs. whom; me vs. myself (You’ll never be confused again!)
  • How to correct writing without changing the meaning
  • If you would like to strengthen your writing skills (and have fun in the process), this class is for you!

SCS080 Making Meetings Work

Instructor: Nicole A. Harris

Register for “Making Meetings Work”

How many meetings have you attended or conducted that just seemed like wasted time? Well, no more! Attend this workshop to learn techniques for planning and facilitating effective meetings.

  • This workshop counts as an elective in the Supervisory Challenge certificate program.
  • This class qualifies for CPE Credit for Florida CPAs. Click here for details about CPE.

SCS090 Powerful Public Speaking

Instructor: Verlissa Ford

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Have you ever been in a meeting or making a presentation and wished you had prepared more fully? Has stage fright ever had an impact on your effectiveness? This program can help! Attend this program and learn how to:

  • Reduce stage fright
  • Deliver with professionalism
  • Apply the basics of public speaking by focusing on situation, purpose, audience and methods

TRV050 Create Presentation Visuals Worthy of the TED Stage

Instructor: Karina Kolb

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Imagine you are giving the best presentation of your career. Your verbal delivery is captivating and masterfully choreographed with slide visuals and props that are attention grabbing, easy to understand, and even moving. This is what it means to use presentation visuals in a way that is “worthy of the TED stage.” In this course, participants will learn about the common mistakes presenters make with their presentation visuals, gain insights into the way the human brain best processes information while experiencing a presentation, leverage visual techniques for making your content resonate and stick, use next-level techniques to plan a visual presentation, analyze examples from some of the world’s best presenters, and apply key design principles. This course is helpful for both novice and even highly seasoned presenters. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop to this session to engage in hands-on design work activities in small groups.