Description:
The current just-in-time course will help you communicate with ease, substance, and impact using a new method for defining stories and their structure. The course teaches you that STEM (Science, Technology, Math, and Engineering) communication is a form of storytelling. Like all great science, scientific storytelling advances by violating old assumptions. Like all great storytelling, scientific communication uses new data to teach the audience, ANY audience, how to think about the future. Organized in three modules, you will learn how to identify a story, how to give it structure, how to format it, how to enhance it with images, and how to deliver it orally or in writing.
Who should take this course: Any aspiring STEM professional who wants to travel across professions and organizations. Any current STEM professional who wants to break the barriers between his narrow field of work and the world outside, being within or across organizations. Any industry or technology leader who wants to learn how to frame a problem, not just boil it down into a PowerPoint slide.
Why should a STEM professional take this course: STEM careers are diverse and their skills and knowledge may take their practitioners in many directions, from academic research and teaching, to designing the things of tomorrow, to policy and administration, or to non-profit advocacy. Although going in many directions, all these career paths go through a necessary intersection, that between technical education and communication acumen. Communication is one of the most valued skills in today’s workplace. Speaking and writing clearly and persuasively is not, however, just a matter of skill. It is a matter of thoughtful framing of a problem, adequate choice of words, images, and formats, and -- most importantly -- deep understanding of what the audience needs and wants.
Registration in this course is subject to the Purdue University Online Non-Credit Policies.