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Oral and Written Communication for Engineers

G
General Teaching
ComEng
LEGOUT Arnaud
Abstract

Abstract

Communication is the ability to convey a message in a clear and persuasive manner. It is an essential skill for all engineers, but is often overlooked and underestimated.

The aim of this course is to teach how to communicate effectively and persuasively, both orally (in presentations) and in writing.

 

Teaching and Learning Methods

In this course, after an introduction to oral and written communication techniques, we will engage in practical applications:

  • Each student will design a 5-minute presentation that will be analyzed in class.
  • Each student will write a 200-word summary.

 

Course Policies

Mandatory attendance at all sessions.

Bibliography

Bibliographie

Course Materials

·         Arnaud Legout. How to Give a Good Talk?. Course material. Slides (cel-00529505, version 7, - 22 January 2015), INRIA, Sophia Antipolis, January 2015. http://cel.archives-ouvertes.fr/cel-00529505/en/

·         Arnaud Legout. The Art and Science of Writing. How to write easy-to-read text?. Course material. Slides (cel-00879035, version 2, - 22 January 2015), INRIA, Sophia Antipolis, January 2015. http://cel.archives-ouvertes.fr/cel-00879035/en

 

Additional ressources

·         Presentation Zen. Garr Reynolds.

·         How to give a bad talk? By David A. Patterson, Rolf Riedi, John Ousterhout, Tom Anderson

·         How to speak by Patrick Winston. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unzc731iCUY

·         Style. Lessons in Clarity and Grace. Joseph M. Williams and Gregory Colomb

The Elements of Style.William Strunk Jr and E.B. White

Requirements

Prerequisites

None

Description

Description

For the oral presentation section, we will cover the following concepts:

  • Why is it important to deliver clear and effective presentations?
  • How to structure a presentation?

    • Density, message, narrative.
  • How to design slides?

    • Brevity, figures, images, animations, design.
  • How to deliver a presentation and interact with your slides?

    • Slides usage, explanations, pacing, Q&A, body language, voice, energy, unforeseen challenges.

For the writing section, we will cover the following concepts:

  • Common stylistic mistakes.
  • Structuring a sentence.
  • Cohesion between sentences, leading to the concept of a paragraph.
  • Complex sentence structure.
  • Structuring a message.
  • Common writing errors.

Learning outcomes

  • Improve the Quality of Your Presentations.
  • Improve the Quality of Your Writing.

Evaluation

There will be two grades based on the evaluation of the 5-minute presentation and the 200-word summary.