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Communications (COMM) 329
The Practice of Interpersonal Communications (Revision 2)

This version of COMM 329 is closed. To current version. Feb. 5, 2001.

View previous syllabus

Overview

The overall objective of Communications 329 is to provide you with those skills, which, when practised, will make you a more effective communicator. This course expands upon the concepts and issues presented in Communications 243, and then introduces the topics of pacing, attending, making value judgements, handling emotions, perception checking, and selecting and evaluating a guidance or helping strategy. The course will also outline attributes that are not conducive to positive communication.

Method of Delivery: Home study or paced study.
Credit Weight/Area of Study: 3 credits - Applied Studies
Prerequisite: None. COMM 243 is recommended but not required for students with no previous university-level background in communication.

Outline

Communications 329 has been divided into four broad sections, with each section addressing some or all of the following communication skills.
  • Attending, listening, and understanding
  • Nonverbal communication (body language)
  • Setting a climate of trust
  • Basic empathy
  • Providing help in telling the story
  • Brainstorming
  • Goal setting
  • Paraphrasing
  • Probing and summarizing
  • Self-disclosure
  • Challenging
  • Problem solving
  • Making value judgements

Evaluation

To obtain credit for the home study version (the evaluation scheme may change in paced course delivery) of COMM 329, students must successfully complete the course assignments. Weighting of the assignments is as follows :

Assignment 1Assignment 2Assignment 3Assignment 4Assignment 5Total
20%10%25%20%25%100%

Course Materials

Textbooks

Egan, Gerard. 1998. Exercises in Helping Skills: A Manual to Accompany the Skilled Helper, 6th ed. Brooks / Cole Publishing Company.

Egan, Gerard. 1998. The Skilled Helper: A Problem-Management Approach to Helping, 6th ed. Brooks / Cole Publishing Company.

Other material

The course materials include a student manual.

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their home-study counterparts.
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Revision 2. July 4/00
To archived Revision 1
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This page was updated by E. Comrie