Overview
The Professional Communications short course will provide you the confidence to communicate effectively in the workforce. It’s been designed for anyone entering a business environment for the first time who wants to ensure they become a valued employee.
This course will help you on your way to becoming an expert communicator and to stand out from the crowd by giving you key communication tools and showing you the right ways to address common workplace mistakes. And, unlike other courses, you’ll get to apply your learning with relevant and practical activities which set you up for job success.
What you’ll learn
In this course you’ll learn how to:
- communicate verbally and professionally with your boss, peers and anyone else;
- interpret body language – yours and others to read any situation and present the right message;
- communicate positively and manage emotions;
- actively listen for meaning and move forward with confidence;
- use formal and informal language for in-person, phone and email scenarios; and
- get your written message across in the right way to various audiences.
Benefits to you
On completion of this course, you’ll:
- become a better communicator and understand how to best avoid common communication pitfalls;
- learn specific, practical skills such as how to write better emails, get interview ready and speak professionally;
- stand-out effectively among your peers and develop more meaningful workplace relationships; and
- earn your certificate (for sharing, further study or career pathway options).
Complete at your pace
The Professional Communications course can be completed at your own pace. With three (3) months access, you can study it when it’s convenient for you. Study either intensively and complete it in a couple of days or put a couple of hours each week aside and complete it in over a number of weeks - the choice is yours.
Overview
The Professional Communications short course will provide you the confidence to communicate effectively in the workforce. It’s been designed for anyone entering a business environment for the first time who wants to ensure they become a valued employee.
This course will help you on your way to becoming an expert communicator and to stand out from the crowd by giving you key communication tools and showing you the right ways to address common workplace mistakes. And, unlike other courses, you’ll get to apply your learning with relevant and practical activities which set you up for job success.
What you’ll learn
In this course you’ll learn how to:
- communicate verbally and professionally with your boss, peers and anyone else;
- interpret body language – yours and others to read any situation and present the right message;
- communicate positively and manage emotions;
- actively listen for meaning and move forward with confidence;
- use formal and informal language for in-person, phone and email scenarios; and
- get your written message across in the right way to various audiences.
Benefits to you
On completion of this course, you’ll:
- become a better communicator and understand how to best avoid common communication pitfalls;
- learn specific, practical skills such as how to write better emails, get interview ready and speak professionally;
- stand-out effectively among your peers and develop more meaningful workplace relationships; and
- earn your certificate (for sharing, further study or career pathway options).
Complete at your pace
The Professional Communications course can be completed at your own pace. With three (3) months access, you can study it when it’s convenient for you. Study either intensively and complete it in a couple of days or put a couple of hours each week aside and complete it in over a number of weeks - the choice is yours.
Who's this for?
The Professional Communications short course focuses on the communication essentials you’ll need in a business, office or professional environment. The methods, tips and processes you’ll learn will help you gain the confidence to communicate effectively as your career grows.
This course has been designed for people who:
- have just left school;
- are entering the workforce for the first time; or
- are in the early stages of their career.
This course will also address the most common challenges, including;
- speaking to the boss - How do I to talk to my boss compared to how I speak to my colleagues or mates? Do I do things differently?
- not listening properly - Did I need to do anything from that catch-up?
- making sure you’re understood - Do they understand what I’m talking about? What if it's over the telephone? How can I make myself clear?
- avoiding written communications disasters - What can I do about it after the fact?
- being aware of your body language - What was my body language indirectly saying to others?
Course Content
| SH1000-1 |
Professional vs Personal Communications |
In the Professional versus Personal Communications topic, you will learn how to communicate with your audience; clients, team members and management. You will develop skills to help you build relationships for successful team dynamics and learn how to use different styles to your advantage.
Learning Content - Videos, Audio or Transcript
- Professional versus personal communications
- Know your audience
- Communicate without negative emotions
Practice Learning Activities
- Interview approach
- Practice interactions with others
- email - write without negative emotions
- 3 instant messaging scenarios
Knowledge Quiz
Topic take-aways & Tools
- Communicating - connecting humans
- Top 10 communications tips
- Know Your audience
- Understanding people
| SH1000-2 |
Active Listening |
In the Active Listening topic, you will learn techniques to listen effectively. Giving you the ability to understand the meaning behind the words being spoken and the emotion involved. This will allow you to provide appropriate feedback and enhance your interactions in the workplace.
Learning Content - Videos, Audio or Transcript
- Listening for meaning
- Viewing how to restate for understanding
- Listening for emotion
Practice Learning Activities
- Practice meeting the team
- Three active listening scenarios to get it right
- Three scenarios listening for clarity
Knowledge Quiz
Topic take-aways & Tools
- The 5 components of emotional intelligence
- Master active listening
- Get the most out of questioning
| SH1000-3 |
Verbal Communication |
Through the Verbal Communication topic, you will acquire the skills to effectively build relationships with work colleagues. This topic helps master both verbal and written communication, ensuring your messages and conversations aren’t misinterpreted or misunderstood.
Learning Content - Videos, Audio or Transcript
- Watch your tone.
- Communicating with clarity.
- Using the phone.
Practice Learning Activities
- Practice client communications.
- Four - Say What? Active listening scenarios.
- Acronym generator scenario.
- Idea inspiration activity.
Knowledge Quiz
Topic take-aways & Tools
- Top 10 tips for great verbal communication.
- The importance of tone.
- Communicating with clarity.
- Hold the phone!
| SH1000-4 |
Written Communication |
In the Written Communication topic, you will learn how to make written communication clear, powerful and effective. You will recognize what messages to send to any audience in any workplace and ultimately understand why written communication is so important.
Learning Content - Videos, Audio or Transcript
- Being language appropriate
- Defining the message
- Email courtesy
Practice Learning Activities
- Writing to the team experience
- Cyber-detection activity - check the written
- To Instant Message or not Instant Message - review and choose activity
- Email mash up examples and practice
Knowledge Quiz
Topic take-aways & Tools
- The write stuff
- A professional guide to instant messaging
- Communicating with clarity
- The perfect email
Learning Content - Videos, Audio or Transcript
- What you're saying without realising.
- How to appear engaged.
- Not appearing confrontational.
Practice Learning Activities
- The presentation experience activity.
- Making faces experience activity.
- Body language - drag, drop and learn.
Knowledge Quiz
Topic take-aways & Tools
- Translating body language.
- Being there: 10 tips to show you're engaged.
How it works
Upon enrolling and paying the one time fee, within minutes you’ll be granted access to OpenSpace, our world-class learning platform. To find out more about your online campus, you can watch this short video on OpenSpace:
This course consists of:
1. VIDEOS which teach common scenarios showcasing the wrong approach, then the correct one (allow approx. 25 mins-30 mins)
2. PLAYGROUND LEARNING ACTIVITIES to put into practice what you have just learned (allow approx. 40 mins).
3. A QUIZ to test the progress of your knowledge (allow approx. 15 mins).
4. A RESOURCE LIBRARY that lets you explore the topic in more detail (allow approx. up to 60 mins).
FAQs
Here's some answers to the most commonly asked questions around this course.
Open Colleges short courses are learning assets created by Open Colleges which you can utilise to gain skills to fast-track your workplace success and grow your career. When you purchase a short course you get access to the learning assets within that short course. Assets include but are not limited to short video courses, audio versions and transcripts, as well as customised learning activities and resources which can be accessed via desktop and mobile devices.
Throughout each topic / module, there'll be learning activities (also called self-check quizzes). They are designed to test your understanding of what you’ve read, seen and practiced. You may attempt a quiz at any time you are ready. They're not assessed and you do not need to submit them for marking as they are auto-marked. Your results and feedback will appear immediately after completing the quiz.
Some of the activities may ask you to share your thoughts and discuss the activity with other students. These discussions are not moderated and are optional, however they're a great way to build on your knowledge, share your learnings and learn from other students.
Some short courses have quizzes at the end of video content that help learners adopt the course content. These are multiple choice or true/false and take only a few minutes to complete. Quizzes are auto-marked, which means your results and feedback appear immediately after completing the quiz.
You'll receive an Open Colleges certificate of attainment for your short course. Our short courses are not qualification-led. Instead, they are custom designed to fast-track your workplace success and grow your career. As such, you'll not receive a qualification for completing a short course. If you’re interested in going on to study a recognised qualification, Open Colleges offer a wide range of nationally-recognised qualifications which can be browsed from our home page.
Our short courses are ideally accessed with a fast-broadband connection to enjoy a smooth learning experience. Assets can also be viewed over your mobile 4G connection with our iPhone or Android mobile application.
All Open Colleges courses include the following minimum computer and audio-visual requirements.
You’ll need the following:
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Microsoft Office 2010 or equivalent
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Broadband internet connection
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2GB of RAM
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Adobe Reader XI or equivalent
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Printer and associated software
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Digital imaging software
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File compression software
For Windows users:
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Microsoft Windows 7 or higher (Windows 8 recommended)
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1 Ghz or faster processer (2GHz recommended)
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Adobe Flash Player 10 or higher
For Mac OS users:
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Mac OSX v10.5 or higher (Mac OSX v10.6 recommended)
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1 Ghz or faster processer (2GHz recommended)
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Adobe Flash Player 10 or higher
Audio-Visual Requirements
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All learners will need access to software such as Adobe Reader, Windows Media Player, Windows Photo Viewer etc. to view online videos and images. The software mentioned is available as a free download from the internet.
Once you’ve purchased a short course, you’ll receive an email containing login information and simple instructions on how to get started and access your content within our OpenSpace learning portal. If you have not received an email please check your spam or junk folders within your email program to make sure it has not accidentally been filtered by your email program.
Although we have made every effort to make our OpenSpace learning platform as simple to use as possible, you can access support via the platform's menu after logging in. Here you can ask technical questions relating to navigating content or getting around the portal.
Open Colleges does not offer support on the short course content from a tutoring\knowledge perspective.
You do however have access to community discussions, study buddy communications and message centre to contact both other students directly and the support centre for any technical support issues.
We recommend taking the short course in order whereby if there are 5 topic areas we suggest starting with topic 1. This gives you an introduction and overview to the course, with each topic acting like a building block to prepare you for the next.
You’ll need to complete a learning quiz for each module (topic) in order to receive your certificate of attainment. Each quiz takes around 15 minutes to complete.
Unfortunately, we do not offer payment plans or government funding for this course.
The course price displayed includes GST and must be paid in full upfront, no discounts apply.
If you still have any questions about the course price and alternate payment options, please submit an enquiry through the ‘Enquiries’ tab.
Unfortunately we do not facilitate the purchase of this short courses over the phone. All enrolments for this course are conducted online.
Prices for our short courses are based on the breadth of content assets contained within each course. As not all short courses contain the same amount of customised content, we have priced them appropriately to offer the best value for money.
Short courses are not refundable, subject to your rights under Australian Consumer Law. We encourage you to read our Terms and Conditions and to browse our short course program overview to make an informed decision regarding purchasing a short course.
Our short courses are self-paced which means you have the flexibility to choose how and when you want to study.
However, our short courses have a maximum duration of 3 months, so you'll need to finish your course within that time frame.
Your short course expiry date is based on the maximum duration of the course and your date of enrolment. Your course expiry date is 3 months from enrolment.
Yes, we provide a three day cooling off period from the date of enrolment. This does not apply in certain circumstances such as when you have accessed more than 20% of the content in the Short Course. See the T&Cs for more information.
Yes, you can cancel your course at any time. If you choose to cancel your course within the three day cooling off period, subject to conditions, you will receive a refund of the course fees less a $100 administrative fee. If you cancel outside of the cooling off period, you will not receive a refund of fees paid.
Nothing further is required except access to a printer to print your pdf’s from the available resources section if desired.
We do offer a one-month extension upon request (in writing). This may be subject to payment of our reasonable fees. See Terms and Conditions.
We may charge fees if you cancel in the cooling off period or request an extension to the term of the short course. These are intended to cover our reasonable administrative costs and reflect the nature of short courses. In certain circumstances we may waive the fee for granting an extension.
These fees are:
- $50 for a one-month extension
- $100 for cancellation in the cooling off period.
You must be at least 18 years of age and reside in Australia to be eligible to purchase a short course.
You can find our
Terms and Conditions here. Our
Privacy Policy can also be viewed here as this details how we use and handle your personal information. Note: We do not store your credit card details.
What are Open Colleges short courses?
