1 The Art and Science of Persuasion
Maintaining Trust, Respect, and Integrity
This is a post-graduate level course covering the topics of effective communications for researchers from any discipline across campus. This module introduces key elements to communicating, that other modules will apply to different modes of delivery. As researchers, we must be careful to convey our thoughts in a clear manner, so that they can not be misinterpreted by our audience.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify diverse groups or individuals that make up an audience and their different levels of interest and background knowledge on a topic
- Define the purpose of your message to build emotional investment in the topic
- Create structure by providing a logical flow and a clear message
- Apply context, making the topic relatable to the audience through recognizable events and familiar values
- Cover additional topics on paragraphs, tenses, abbreviations and choosing your voice
This is not a spelling or grammar course, but some resources will be found at the end of this module.
Part One: Video Lecture:
Part One: Video Lecture Transcript
Part One – Quiz:
Common Ideas To Keep In Mind
The previous discussion covered the universal elements in communicating that the subsequent modules will put into context for different settings. Subsequent discussions will cover general communication tips for researchers to keep in mind, regardless whether writing or presenting. These tips include:
- Terminology
- Quantification versus qualification
- Verb tense
- Abbreviations
- Expressing numbers
- Passive versus active voice
Part Two – Video Lecture:
Part Two: Video Lecture Transcript
Part Two – Quiz:
Recommended Exercise:
Before advancing to the next module, try the following exercise.
Select two journal articles useful for your personal research and rank them in order of readability. Next, go through each article, paragraph by paragraph, and highlight the introduction, discussion, and conclusion sentences. Did the article you selected as more readable provide clear introduction, discussion, and conclusion sentences? Did the length of each sentence feel appropriate and relatively consistent? Did the conclusion of one paragraph link to the introduction of the following one? Performing this analysis will help you as you prepare to write your own articles.
