Topic outline

  • General

    Welcome to the Communication skills course! We will meet on Thursdays 27th Oct - 1st Dec at 12:30-15:45. All our sessions will be on campus, in room U411, in Otakaari 1, U-wing.

    During this course, you will learn about and hone your skills in:

    • Conversation skills, listening and non-verbal communication

    • Giving and receiving feedback

    • Performance stress management

    • Presentation skills, structuring the presentation and clarifying your message

    • Group communication and one’s own role(s) as a group member


    In the first session on Thursday 27th Oct , we will discuss your current communication competence. To prepare for the session:

    1.      Please read pages 165-171 from Tessa Horila’s article Communication competence in the workplace in Mikkola, L. & Valo, M. (ed.) Workplace Communication (Routledge, 2020). You can access the online version of the book via Aalto Library at primo.aalto.fi.

    2.     While reading the article, think about what kind of communication competence you already have. Through what kind of experiences and feedback from others have you developed that image of yourself as a communicator? Which skills do you see as key competences and how would you like to develop your skills?

    3.     Reflect about your personal learning processes. Try to think about a) one very good learning experience or process and b) another not so good one. What happened in those situations? What enhanced your learning and what hindered it? In a learning situation, what affects your own attitude and willingness to participate? How would you like to be building an encouraging atmosphere for everyone to participate in this course? 

    If you have any questions about the course or this pre-assignment, please post your question here at MyCourses or send me an email (Henriette.kervinen@aalto.fi). I am looking forward to meeting you all next Thursday!