Effective Communication for Work Course

Overview

Do you find it hard to speak up in meetings or navigate workplace conflicts? Build your communication skills and gain practical strategies to ensure you are heard and engage more effectively with your colleagues.

In this course, you’ll learn to identify what makes effective communication and how to apply this to your meetings and your workplace. Based on research findings from the long-running Language in the Workplace Project, you’ll take away tips and techniques for effective communication based on real Aotearoa New Zealand case studies and conversations. 

In just 20 hours, you’ll improve your communication skills and be empowered to communicate more effectively in your workplace to improve productivity. 

This course is ideal for

• People looking to develop stronger communication skills
• People who want to be more effective communicators in meetings
• Managers at all levels
• Team leaders and leaders of people
• Aspiring or emerging leaders
• People leading people in a voluntary capacity such as in a sports club or religious organisation 

What you'll learn

• How to identify different ways of communicating during meetings and how to be more effective in these intense moments.
• How to apply new communication techniques to improve your relationships at work.
• How to identify and implement practical strategies to manage conflict and navigate disagreements at work more effectively.
• How to evaluate and manage your own preconceptions of what a workplace “should” look like to maximise the value of diverse cultural input. 

Course outline

Our courses are flexible, enabling you to plan your study around your other commitments. You can choose to study when it suits you during the learning period (28 April – 25 May 2025 or 30 May – 29 June 2025).

We recommend completing around 20 hours of study during the learning period. 

Module 1: Getting things done 

Understand how decisions are made in meetings and how to be more effective and productive in these scenarios. 

Module 2: Getting on with people

Recognise ways to get along with people at work by better communication and how to build better working relationships. 

Module 3: Managing the hard stuff

Recognise ways that communication can go wrong and conflict can arise. Learn how to mitigate these effects with better communication skills. 

Module 4: Working across cultures

Evaluate your own preconceptions around what workplace culture should look like and how to maximise value of diversity in the workplace. 

Assessments

All assessments are self-assessments and completion of the course is determined by completion of all the learning modules and the self-assessment activities. 

Upon successful completion of the course you will be issued a digital badge to recognise your learning achievements. 

Requirements

There are no prerequisites for this course – it is open to anyone who has confidence listening, reading, and writing in English.

Technology requirements

We recommend a laptop or desktop computer and a reliable internet connection. For most courses you'll need to download and populate assignments. These are usually available as Microsoft Word documents.

Course fees

Course fees must be paid before learning can begin, either via online credit-card payment, or by contacting info@uconline.ac.nz to request an invoice. Please note: fixed invoice payment dates apply, so we recommend getting in touch with us as soon as possible to request an invoice, as this option is subject to availability.

Group discounts

Get your colleagues together to take advantage of our group discounts: 

• 10% for 3 - 6 learners
• 15% for 7+ learners

Contact our Partnerships Manager to learn more and enquire now.

Cap & minimum enrolment threshold

A minimum number of learners is needed for effective interaction and feedback, while a maximum cap of learners ensures high quality learning and support. If the minimum number of enrolments required for a course isn’t met, or the maximum cap is exceeded, learners will be given the option to defer their study or receive a refund.

Our people

Please note: our academic team develop and present video content within their courses, but are not always available to answer queries. Our learner experience team will be available to answer queries via support@uconline.ac.nz