Communications (COMM) 329
The Practice of Interpersonal Communications (Revision 3)

This version of COMM 329 closed Jan. 17/03. To current version.

View previous syllabus

Delivery mode: Individualized study or grouped study.
Credits: 3 - Applied Studies
Prerequisite: None. COMM 243 is recommended but not required for students with no previous university-level background in communication.
Centre: School of Business
Challenge for Credit: COMM 329 has a Challenge for Credit option

>> Overview | Outline | Evaluation | Course Materials | Course Fees| Course Availability


Overview

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

Outline

Communications 329 has been divided into four broad sections, with each section addressing some or all of the following communication skills.

  • Attending, active listening, and understanding
  • Nonverbal communication (body language)
  • Setting a climate of trust
  • Basic empathy
  • Advanced empathy
  • Providing help in telling the story
  • Brainstorming
  • Summarizing
  • Paraphrasing
  • Probing
  • Providing feedback
  • Self-disclosure
  • Challenging
  • Problem solving
  • Making value judgments
  • Goal setting

Section One introduces you to the basic information, knowledge and skills you will need to be an effective communicator.

Section Two gives you a chance to apply the information you learned in Section One.

Section Three provides you with an opportunity to look beyond the information presented in your course materials

Section Four lets you assess your skills as communicator.

A final yet important objective of Communications 329, is to enhance your personal awareness and understanding of how well you communicate in your everyday interactions. Completing the required assignments will reinforce these concepts and skills.

Evaluation

To receive credit for Communications 329, you must successfully complete three assignments and one final examination. To successfully pass this course, students must obtain a grade of at least 50 percent on combined assignments and 50 percent on the final exam. The credit weightings for each assignment are as follows:

Assignment 1 Assignment 2 Assignment 3 Final ExamTotal
15% 25%30%30%100%

Course Materials

Textbooks

Egan, G. 1998. Exercises in helping skills: A manual to accompany the skilled helper. (6th ed.). Scarborough: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.

Egan, G. 1998. The skilled helper: A problem-management approach to helping. (6th ed.). Scarborough: 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 individualized-study counterparts.

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Revision 3. January 5/01
To archived Revision 2
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This page was updated by G. Zahara