Learning and Leadership › Women’s Academy › Professional Skills and Career Development › Communication Skills in the Workplace › Course Materials
Most workplace problems come from poor communication, not a lack of knowledge. In this course you will practise active listening, clear conversation, writing work messages, giving and receiving feedback, and working together in diverse teams.
Course page in the learning system
Course details
| Level | Beginner to intermediate |
| Estimated duration | 8 hours of study and practice |
| Prerequisite | None |
| Language of instruction | Farsi-e-Dari (with key English terms) |
| Cost | Free |
| Assessment | A test after each section and a final exam; pass mark 70%; certificate after Academy approval |
After this course you will be able to
- Understand other people’s messages accurately through active listening
- Write short, clear and polite work messages (emails, messages, reports)
- Give constructive feedback and accept feedback without taking offence
- Take part effectively in meetings and write minutes
- Work respectfully with colleagues from different cultures and generations
Course outline
- Sender, message, receiver
- Verbal and non-verbal communication
- Barriers to communication
- Full attention
- Asking and paraphrasing
- Empathy
- Clear work messages
- Emails and short reports
- Appropriate tone
- The ‘situation, behaviour, impact’ model
- Receiving feedback
- Showing appreciation
- Taking part effectively in meetings
- Meeting minutes
- Intercultural cooperation
Week-by-week learning path
With about 30 to 45 minutes of study and practice a day, you will finish this course in 6 weeks:
| Week | Topic | Weekly output |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Communication basics | Lessons, practical exercise and short section test |
| Week 2 | Active listening | Lessons, practical exercise and short section test |
| Week 3 | Written communication | Lessons, practical exercise and short section test |
| Week 4 | Feedback | Lessons, practical exercise and short section test |
| Week 5 | Meetings and teams | Lessons, practical exercise and short section test |
| Week 6 | Final project and final exam | Completed project and a score of 70% or more |
Final project
A ‘communication portfolio’ drawn from real situations: a work email, a short team message, minutes of a practice meeting, and a written feedback conversation using the ‘situation, behaviour, impact’ model.
Project assessment criteria:
- Clarity and brevity of the messages
- Respectful and appropriate tone
- Accurate minutes with decisions and responsibilities
- Constructive and specific feedback
Key course terms
Active listening
Non-verbal communication
Feedback
Meeting minutes
Tone
Empathy
Misunderstanding
Intercultural communication
Assessment and certificate
- After each section: a short test (70% recommended before continuing)
- Practical exercises in each lesson are for learning; send your questions via Questions the link provided.
- End of course: final exam (pass mark 70%) and submission of the final project
- Digital certificate after review and approval by the Academy: Request a certificate
Teaching approach
Each lesson includes learning objectives, explanations with real examples and images, key terms in Farsi-e-Dari and English, common mistakes, a practical exercise, a self-test and a summary. In every lesson you can put your questions to the teacher using the Questions button. The courses are impartial, free and open to all young people.
Get ready now
- For one week, listen carefully to one conversation each day and then write a summary of it
- Review lesson 4.3 ‘Professional email’ in the Basics course
- Recall a misunderstanding and write down what could have gone better
Free and reliable resources
These resources were selected by the Academy team. Most are in English; Chrome’s Translate feature can help if needed. Large files (books, exercise files, videos) will be placed in the Academy’s official Google Drive folder when the course opens and linked from this page.
- OpenLearn – The Open University, hundreds of free short courses with a certificate of participation
- GCFGlobal, free illustrated tutorials on work, computer and life skills
- Coursera, courses from leading universities worldwide; most can be viewed free of charge (Audit)
Help and questions
Questions about this course: [email protected] · All courses: Online Learning Centre · Active course: Computer and Internet Basics
Women’s Academy, Afghanistan Youth Parliament · Free and open to all young people