Teaching Materials

Management Communication for Undergraduates (15.279)

Course Overview

Management Communication is intended to help you think strategically about communication and aid you in improving your writing, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills within a managerial setting. We will look at a set of "best practices" or guidelines that have been derived from both research and experience, give you the opportunity to put those guidelines into practice, and provide you with feedback on your work to help you strengthen your abilities. More often than not, we will be using a workshop format that will rely heavily on discussion and in-class exercises.

Course Objectives

Good communication is one of the keys to a successful career no matter what field you choose, and many different skills contribute to a professional’s capacity to communicate well. The objective of 15.279 is to help you improve the ability to:

• Formulate an effective communication strategy for any message, in any medium, and in any situation.
• Write clearly, concisely, and convincingly.
• Create impressive formal presentations that are delivered with confidence and poise.
• Give and receive feedback that will improve yours and other’s communication.
• Listen for understanding.
• Work effectively with others in small groups or teams.
• Understand and negotiate the difference in communication between yourself and people who are not from your culture.

Improving communication is a continuous process of learning, doing, critiquing, evaluating, and doing again. It is a process that we hope will continue for you even after you complete 15.279.