ZU/WI/7/11

DEPARTMENT OF MEDIA ARTS AND DESIGN

COURSE OUTLINE
Unit Code: UCU 100
Unit Title: COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Program(s): UNIVERSITY COMMON UNIT FOR ALL CERTIFICATES
Lecturer Name: DAVID MAINA
Lecturer Contact: Email: david.maina@zetech.ac.ke
Consultation hours EVERY THURSDAY FROM 8.00 A.M-11.00 A.M

Course objective: The purpose of this unit is to prepare a student obtain Communication Skills, necessary for
coordinating and report writing for any business concern.

Course Purpose:

To equip the learner with knowledge and skills in preparation of crucial written documents and verbal
and non-verbal techniques of communication that will enable him/her to generate and process
information effectively both inside and outside the work environment.
Expected Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course the learner should be able to:
1. Identify and use the appropriate tools for communication
2. Demonstrate good presentation skills
3. Exhibit effective listening skills
4. Deliver message based on audience and context
5. Demonstrate critical reading and writing skills
 COURSE SYLLABUS AND SCHEDULE

WEEKS TOPIC CONTENT

1. INTRODUCTION  What is communication?

 aspects of communication

 the process of communication

 purposes of communication

 qualities of communication

 barriers to effective communication

2. ORAL/VERBAL COMMUNICATION  definition of oral/verbal communication

 types of verbal communication

 public speaking

 characteristics of public speaking speech

 qualities of a good speaker

 Planning to speak

 committee meeting

 types of committees

 factors affecting effective discussion

3.  Story telling
ORAL/VERBAL COMMUNICATION  Public speaking
 Debates
 Interviews
 Meetings
 Reading out loud
 Group discussions
 Conferences and Seminars
4. LISTENING SKILLS  Definition of listening
 types of listening
 barriers to effective listening
 listening process
 importance of listening
 techniques of effective listening
 listening skills
 The process of listening
 Listening skills
 Ten principles of listening
 Listening for information
5. READING SKILLS • definition of reading
 • efficient reading

• methods of reading
ASSIGNMENT ONE ASSIGNMENT ONE

6. NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION  Definition of non-verbal communication

 functions of non-verbal communication

 aspects of non-verbal communication

 categories of non-verbal communication

7. CAT ONE CAT ONE

8. PRESENTATION SKILLS  Public speaking

 Mock interviews

 Mock meetings

 Reading out loud

 Debates

 Conferences

 Seminars

 Story telling

 Audio-visual presentations
9. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION  definition of writing
&VISUAL COMMUNIACTION  types of good writing
 types of written communication
 Essay writing and Academic writing
 Invitations and Instructions Reports

ASSIGNMENT TWO ASSIGNMENT TWO

10. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION  Emails

&VISUAL COMMUNIACTION  Minute writing
ASSIGNMENT TWO  Curriculum Vitae writing
 Summary writing
 definition of visual communication
 modes of visual communication

11. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION  definition of public communication

SOURCES OF  types of public communication
INFORMATION&COMMUNICATION  sources of information
PATTERNS  communication patterns
 techniques of communication
12 CAT TWO CAT TWO
 13 Revision Revision
14 End of semester exams End of semester exams

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Assessment Type Frequency Percentage

Assignment 2 10% EACH
CATs 2 10% EACH
Total 40%
Final Examination 1 60%
Total 100%

Core Textbooks
i. Payne, J. (2001). Communication for Personal and Professional Contexts. Topeka: Clark
Publishing, Inc.
ii. Taylor, S. (2005). Communication for Business. A Practical Approach (4 Ed). Edingburgh:
th

Pearson education Ltd.

iii. Lucas, S. (2006). The Art of Public Speaking. London: McGraw-hill.

Recommended Textbooks
i. Moss, B., (2007). Communication Skills for Health and Social Care (Paperback). Sage Ltd
ii. Jaffe, C.I., (2004). Public Speaking: Concepts and Skills for a Diverse Society 4th edition.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
iii. Sen, L. (2006). Communication Skills; New Delni: Prentice Hall.
iv. Dennis Tourish and Owen Hargie, (2009)Auditing Organizational Communication. UK:
Psychology Press.
v. Hargie(2006).Handbook of Communication skills. UK: Psychology Press.
vi. Owen, H.,(2018). The Handbook of Communication Skills. Taylor &Francis Publisher.
vii. Wide, P., (2017). Mastering Technical Communication Skills. Jenny Stanford Publishing
viii. Wood, J. Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth, 2005.
ix. Flowerdew, J. and Miller, L. 2005. Second Language Listening: Theory and Practice. (pp. 22-
23) Cambridge University Press, USA
x. Field, J. 2008. Listening in the Language classroom (pp. 27-28) Cambridge University Press,
United Kingdom.
xi. Vandergrift, L. 2004. “Listening to Learn or Learning to Listen?”. In Cambridge University
Press (Ed.), Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (2004) (pp. 3-25) Cambridge University
Press, USA.
xii. Lynch, T. 1998. “Theoretical perspectives on listening”. Annual Review of Applied
Linguistics. 18, 3-19 [online] Available from:
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7404996
[Accessed: 12th January 2013].
xiii. Bowman, J. M. (2020). Nonverbal Communication: An Applied Approach. SAGE
Publications, Inc; 1st Edition.
xiv. Hunting, J. (2020). JOB INTERVIEW: THIS BOOK INCLUDES: Guide to a Winning
Interview, How to Answer Questions, Preparation, Questions and Answers. Kindle Edition.
xv. LCSW, N. L. (2020). Active Listening Techniques: 30 Practical Tools to Hone Your
Communication Skills. Rockridge Press.
xvi. 16. Matthew McKay, M. D. (2018). Messages: The Communication Skills Book. New
Harbinger Publications; Fourth Edition, Revised.
xvii. McLeod, V. (2020). Effective Communication at Work: Speaking and Writing Well in the
Modern Workplace. Rockridge Press.
 Course Journals
1. Journal of Communication.
2. American Communication Journal.
3. Western Journal of Communication
4. Wall Street Journal
5. Hayati, A. M. 2009. The Impact of Cultural Knowledge on Listening Comprehension
[Online]Availablefrom:http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/view/3704/3305
(Accessed: 10th September 2014)

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