Making Your Case:
The Art of Oral and Written Communications

Communication is at the heart of instructional design and development. Each aspect or element of the process calls for meaningful dialogue with others--sponsors, clients, key stakeholders, users/learners, funders; the list is endless. In this course, we'll focus in particular on writing and speaking--emphasizing tone/formality, organization and structure, level of detail, word choice, segues and transitions, body language, audience tailoring, and more. We'll also touch on listening skills. This is the class for you if you've ever felt that your words were misconstrued, your message lost, or the impact of your effort (a written or oral report, a proposal) criticized for being unclear or off-track.
Meets 9/9 & 9/23, 8:30am to 4:30pm. Schedule # 11152.

Overview

This is a practical course--designed to improve the way you communicate with others.

• Communication is core to the processes that "define" our field: assessing learner needs, preparing task analyses, managing product development, conducting formative assessments, evaluating instructional impact and organizational value, etc.
• A project's success or failure often hinges on the ability of staff to express themselves well and interact productively with others.

You'll explore and practice with an array of communication "tips," assess your own skills relative to them (both before and after practice), build a list of resources to which you can turn in different situations, and assessmedium differences (for example: web vs. print).

Audience

This course targets anyone interested in understanding the role communication plays in the field of instructional design/performance technology. The instructor assumes basic familiarity with such Microsoft Word tools as grammar check, spellcheck, and the thesaurus. Familiarity with tables and other advanced formatting options is a plus as well.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, you'll know:

• how intent or purpose factor into an array of communication decisions (format, structure, medium, etc.).
• how visuals help us enhance or obscure our "message."
• ways to build your communication confidence--whether speaking, writing, listening, or facilitating.
• strategies to promote ethical communications
• why presentation matters.
• ways technology can both enhance communication--and confound it.
• techniques for assessing your communication prowess.
• how communication skills factor into career options in our field (jobs or positions you might seek; the types of organizations in which you might work; etc.).

Resources

• Alread, G. J., Brusaw, C. T., & Oliu, W. E. Handbook of Technical Writing (8th ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. (Required; purchase from Amazon or Aztec Shops)
• Informative websites
  • Utah Valley State Online Writing Lab
  • Griffith University: Tools for Teaching Students Graduate Skills
  • Principles of Effective Listening (not pretty--but very useful!)
  • Running Effective Meetings (again, not pretty--but informative)
  • ERIC Digest (1985): Assessing Listening and Speaking Skills
  • Communication assessment references from the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU)

  I'll grow this list (with your help) over the next several weeks -- but it's a good starting point for the communication themes we'll cover.

Course Outline

Session 1: September 9, 2006 -- a focus on writing

We'll cover the connections between and among:

• audience: thinking about to whom (or for whom) we write.
• genre: the many different "ways" in which we express ourselves.
• purposes: the many reasons for which we write.
• writing process: steps or procedures we follow when we write.
• impact of the web: how the Internet affects our written communication (from blogs to emails, from chats to web pages).
• technical accuracy: "seeing" our work through the eyes of our readers.
• bias: recognizing and dealing with it; avoiding stereotyping and other judgmental (ethical) errors.
• writing well: connecting the dots. 

This session is hands-on. You'll complete a number of practices--independently and with a partner--that "personalize" the tips and strategies covered during the day.

Between Sessions

You'll prepare a series of documents (all brief) associated with Case Study 8 (Lynn Dorman--from the ID Casebook. For each, you'll need to consider audience, content or situation, purpose for writing, delivery medium, structure, etc.).

• Needs assessment plan (no more than 3 pages; format/structure of your choosing).
• Agenda (1 page) for the meeting where Lynn will present her plan.
• Email invitation to the meeting (audience of your choosing).
• PowerPoint slides (6 to 7) that reveal the data (and other critical information) Lynn plans to present.

Both your classmates and I will critique your work --using a mixed-methods rubric/checklist I've created in Zoomerang. (Later, we'll discuss your perceptions of the feedback provided from a communication perspective.) We'll use Quick Topic to share work and garner feedback--and a course blog to share ideas, resources, tips ... and more!

Session 2: September 23, 2006 -- a focus on listening and oral communications ... and the art of facilitation

We'll cover:

• listening "choices": situational decisions we make about what we say, when we speak, and the words and tone we "adopt."
• body language: what it "is" and what it conveys -- when we speak or listen to others ... or manage a discussion.
• audience: thinking about with whom we're speaking... and their expectations of us.
• genre: the many different ways in which we orally express ourselves.
• purposes: the many reasons for oral expression.
• impact of the web: how the Internet affects our oral communication (from tutorials to podcasts).
• technical accuracy: hearing our "words" as our listeners do.
• bias: recognizing and dealing with it when we speak and facilitate; avoiding stereotyping and other judgmental (ethical) errors.
• speaking well: connecting the dots.

This session is hands-on. You'll complete a number of practices--independently and with a partner--that "personalize" the tips and strategies covered during the day. You'll also prepare and deliver a brief presentation that extends the scenario on which you've already been working.

Both your classmates and I will critique your work --using a mixed-methods rubric/checklist that I'll post just prior to Session 2. That feedback--and your response to it--will be due no later than October 6.