Communications and Writing Courses for Spring 2010

If a movie or TV show says it is based on, or inspired by true events, what exactly does that mean? Movies cannot exactly follow the truth - they are only an interpretation of real life that generally must fit into a two hour time frame. The nature of writing a true story, or adapting source material for the screen often involves losing subplots, combining or cutting characters, leaving out main themes, and finding the beginning, middle and end of a dramatic story line. This course is geared to help the screenwriter, producer and film director bring true stories to life, or the novelist and playwright who want to convert their own material into a screenplay. Movies discussed during class, whose writers successfully faced this difficult task, include Titanic, We Are Marshall, The Untouchables, The Queen, Seabiscuit and others. Students will learn by example, and will understand why some adaptations don't work and why others do.

Are you the type of reader who values a writer's style as much as the meaning it conveys? Do you mark your favorite sentences or copy them in a notebook where you can savor them later? Would you like to improve your understanding of the tools and techniques writers use to create powerful sentences? Join us for a close examination of the literary techniques used by prose writers from Charles Dickens to Elizabeth Gilbert and Jon Krakauer. After we've identified the tools of beautiful language, you'll have the option of applying them to your own writing style.

Acquire the basic skills to boost your web site traffic, including how to analyze your visitor traffic, how to use search engine optimization to get greater visibility and exposure in Google searches, and how to redesign your web site copy to increase your visitors and results. No experience necessary, but if you are at an advanced level, your instructor is an SEO expert and can answer your toughest questions. Note: This is an online, instructor-led class. You must have internet access and audio (speakers) to participate. In the online classroom, you will listen to audio lectures, view slides and even take optional quizzes to test yourself. Post comments in the online discussion with your fellow participants and the instructor. Your instructor logs on once a day to answer questions and join in on the discussion. Participate anytime day or night, as little or as often as you like.

You love your characters. You think your plot is intriguing, but on the page your story falls flat. Focusing on something more basic, the building blocks that give a story's structure, can give good ideas the foundation they need to succeed. We will revisit some of those 'boring' basics you sat through in high school - things like points of view and verb tenses. But this time, we'll do it with an eye toward improving our own fiction. Explore examples of stories where the writer's choices are what make the story work, and learn how different choices could have weakened the final product.

On the job, being able to write clearly, concisely and conversationally is an increasingly rare talent, but it gets documents and correspondence the attention they deserve. Through real-world examples and exercises, learn the tricks professional writers use to cut the fat, avoid embarrassing errors, and connect with readers. You'll gain an arsenal of easy ways to quickly find and fix many flaws in any piece of writing - without becoming a grammar snob. Students should purchase The Elements of Style (4th edition) ISBN 020530902X, prior to the first class.

Develop a two-way communication and marketing strategy for your organization using social networks. Let your instructor guide you in exploring major social networks, including Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogging. Learn quick, easy ways to use Twitter, blogs and LinkedIn to engage your customers or clients and keep them interested in your organization or business. You'll find out the advantages and disadvantages of each, and learn what's right for your work and kind of organization. Your instructor, Suzanne Kart, is a director of marketing for a national association, and writes and speaks on the topic. Note: This is an online, instructor-led class. You must have internet access and audio (speakers) to participate. In the online classroom, you will listen to audio lectures, view slides and even take optional quizzes to test yourself. Post comments in the online discussion with your fellow participants and the instructor. Your instructor logs on once a day to answer questions and join in on the discussion. Participate anytime day or night, as little or as often as you like.

Discover the latest hot new technology to promote your products, services and information. Discover how you can use this low-cost new eMarketing tool. Find out how to create a digital brochure for your organization. Then learn how to include search, interaction, and interest-tracking features. Get on the cutting edge of this new marketing trend. This course could be worth thousands of dollars to your organization.

It is so important to welcome people of diverse backgrounds who bring different perspectives to the workplace. It is a strategic advantage for most companies who encourage diversity. Yet when we think of diversity, we usually think of race and gender. Age is an important element in developing a diverse team as well. And for the first time in the history of the industrialized world, four generations of people are finding themselves working side by side! It is imperative that companies not only satisfy the needs of the established Baby Boomers and Traditionalists who hold most of the jobs, but attract the talented tech savvy Gen Ex and Millennial employees and customers if they are to be successful. The different generations don't always understand each other or see eye-to-eye. With education and communication, the generational gaps can be bridged and successfully navigated. This is a fun topic that takes a look at the past and the future in order to ensure that all generations are appreciated, valued and optimized in the workplace and the marketplace.
Note: Offers 0.6 SHRM units.

Most writers start out using characters that are closely modeled on their own experiences. But Eudora Welty's advice to writers was to write about what you don't know about what you know. In this class we'll make some forays outside our own experiences by taking on central characters as unlike ourselves as possible! Finding more characters to work with can make for more, and richer, story ideas.

There are plenty of courses that teach you how to write, but it's tough to find information about how to actually make money as a freelance writer. This course provides an in-depth look at the practical knowledge writers need to have as they develop their careers as business writers, journalists, copywriters, and more. Learn about licensing and legal issues as well as accounting, marketing, and business development strategies you can use to develop your thriving career.

Discover new ways to improve your email promotions, including when to email, what to email, and testing email copy. Then find out how to analyze your email response rates, including getting the bench marks for open rates and click through rates. Learn how to improve your email promotion and responses with tracking and testing. Get a basic introduction to email promotions. If you are advanced, your instructor is an email expert and can answer your toughest questions as well. Note: This is an online, instructor-led class. You must have internet access and audio (speakers) to participate. In the online classroom, you will listen to audio lectures, view slides and even take optional quizzes to test yourself. Post comments in the online discussion with your fellow participants and the instructor. Your instructor logs on once a day to answer questions and join in on the discussion. Participate anytime day or night, as little or as often as you like.

If you're ready to discuss issues related to race, gender, religion and other 'hot button' topics, and would like some help with starting the conversation, we're here for you! Gloria and Rita come from different backgrounds and have established a facilitated discussion and workshop that will offer a comfortable, supportive environment. This is where you can come to ask questions and to share insights regarding inclusion and exclusion. We will discuss how to deal with the challenges facing our communities and workplaces. Learn to communicate about differences, without creating unmanageable conflict; explore the repercussions of the past in a way that is supportive and healing; overcome fear of offending, by learning how to communicate respectfully; respond tactfully and effectively to offensive remarks; share your insights; establish a broader mindset; and avoid exclusion, based on perceived or real differences, by understanding how it threatens our shared future.

This program is designed to increase innovative thinking to improve productivity through the activities, lessons and philosophy or improvisation. Improve your customer service, sales, presentation and leadership skills, while also increasing your creativity, risk taking and brainstorming! Learn how to think faster on your feet, increase proactive listening skills, learn brainstorming techniques, and think more betterer! Yes, more betterer! Oh, you might just have fun while being creative and stepping outside of that box.

Take away a practical strategy and techniques for implementing social networks for your organization or business. Learn how to create your own private social network using Ning, work socially using Google Docs and calendars, and move your web site to an interactive Web 2.0 site. Then your instructor will help you choose which social network tools are right for your situation, and then integrate them into your web site to develop a social networking strategy for your organization. Find out what you can be doing, what you should be doing, and take back a plan to integrate social networks into your communication and marketing. Your instructor, Jennifer Selke, is a nationally known speaker, consultant and trainer on social networks and social media. Note: This is an online, instructor-led class. You must have internet access and audio (speakers) to participate. In the online classroom, you will listen to audio lectures, view slides and even take optional quizzes to test yourself. Post comments in the online discussion with your fellow participants and the instructor. Your instructor logs on once a day to answer questions and join in on the discussion. Participate anytime day or night, as little or as often as you like.

Get involved in the move from in-person to online communication. Learn what social networks are and their role in your business and personal life. Find out the top sites and how businesses are using the sites for communication, customer retention, branding, marketing, market research, needs assessment and serving customers and clients. Explore the options for your organization. Look at case studies of what other organizations are doing. Let your instructor guide your exploration of Facebook and YouTube. Your instructor, Jennifer Selke, is a nationally known speaker, consultant and trainer on social networks and social media. Note: This is an online, instructor-led class. You must have internet access and audio (speakers) to participate. In the online classroom, you will listen to audio lectures, view slides and even take optional quizzes to test yourself. Post comments in the online discussion with your fellow participants and the instructor. Your instructor logs on once a day to answer questions and join in on the discussion. Participate anytime day or night, as little or as often as you like.

Explore how news is presented for public consumption and how those who find themselves in the news might consider presenting themselves as news makers. We will look at print, radio, television, and other media as sources for news and attempt to gain an understanding of how these entities gather what they produce and what informs their choice and presentation of a variety of stories. We will also look at what it means to be a news maker in the 21st century. Learn how to prepare yourself to be interviewed and represent yourself, your company, and your story accurately.

Get the keys to making online advertising work for you and your organization. See how pay-per-click advertising with Google AdWords works. Find out how to test low budget AdWord campaigns. Learn how you can target local audiences. Then discover Facebook advertising and how you can determine the demographics and even numbers of people you want to reach. No experience necessary, but if you are at an advanced level, your instructor is an online ad expert and can answer your toughest questions. Note: This is an online, instructor-led class. You must have internet access and audio (speakers) to participate. In the online classroom, you will listen to audio lectures, view slides and even take optional quizzes to test yourself. Post comments in the online discussion with your fellow participants and the instructor. Your instructor logs on once a day to answer questions and join in on the discussion. Participate anytime day or night, as little or as often as you like.

Social media (engaging with friends, family and colleagues using an online social platform) has exploded in recent years. From Coca-Cola to the Obama administration to colleges and universities, everyone seems to be connecting in the social media realm! But how do you do it effectively? Which tools should you use? How do you incorporate social media strategy into your overall public relations and marketing campaigns? Do traditional PR and marketing strategies still work? What is search engine optimization? Does SEO even matter anymore? How do you measure success with all these tools? These questions and many more will be answered in this engaging three-night class!

If you need to find the most errors in the least amount of time, this fast-paced class will give you a sure-fire method for proofing documents of any length to pinpoint problems with consistency, capitalization, punctuation, formatting and more. Learn tips on how to harness the power of word processing software to aid proofreading on the screen. Note: A good grasp of grammar is required, as that is not the focus of this course.

Imagine feeling excited and confident the next time you speak in front of a group. There are easy-to-learn steps you can take to prepare, write and deliver a presentation with greater ease, even if you are naturally shy and introverted. Discover the myths of public speaking that create fear and anxiety. Organize material in a way that will build your confidence. This unique approach to building presentation skills will make you look and feel like a pro! Learn to overcome fear and turn it into energy with powerful focusing techniques; organize material for maximum flow and impact; illustrate points and connect with your audience through humor and stories; capture and keep every audience member's attention; decide whether or not to use a humorous bit with four simple questions; make the most of your individual look, voice and speaking style; develop a dynamic opening and compelling closing; handle questions confidently; identify trivial and extraneous material to cut, using two simple techniques; choose visual aids that fit you, your topic and your audience.

Creative writing, like any craft, is best learned by doing. In this hands-on course, we will spend four Saturday mornings creating and revising our own short fiction, poetry, and memoir. Beginning writers and writers seeking to refine their creative styles are all welcome!

Have you tapped into all of the potential communication holds for you? Many things can stand in your way, including: habits, lack of skill, shyness, as well as the myths and misconceptions that are perpetuated about communication. Excellent communication skills are essential to achieving both professional and personal goals. You can learn how to present your ideas with credibility, authority and confidence. Make a powerful impression at meetings. Put an end to over-apologizing, over-accommodating and speaking tentatively. Learn how to handle conflict and confrontations, without feeling drained. If you are unable to hold your ground or are intimidated by certain communication situations, you don't have to transform your personality to inject power into your communications. Simple changes will make you feel more comfortable, even when put on the spot. This course builds communication skills step by step. You will learn to: communicate more confidently, clearly and concisely; use both direct and indirect communication techniques to assert your point of view; influence others in a positive way; recognize four behavioral types and learn how to connect with each; use Power Lines to help you think on your feet; avoid personalizing the emotional outbursts of others; halt gossip and backstabbing; use a structured process to learn from any difficult communication scenario that you experience; feel more empowered by communicating your personal limits and boundaries; maintain positive energy in your communication; deal effectively with challenging individuals and scenarios; manage conflict and remain cool in heated encounters.
Note: All course materials and workbooks are included in the fee.

Have you tapped into all of the potential communication holds for you? Many things can stand in your way, including: habits, lack of skill, shyness, as well as the myths and misconceptions that are perpetuated about communication. Excellent communication skills are essential to achieving both professional and personal goals. You can learn how to present your ideas with credibility, authority and confidence. Make a powerful impression at meetings. Put an end to over-apologizing, over-accommodating and speaking tentatively. Learn how to handle conflict and confrontations, without feeling drained. If you are unable to hold your ground or are intimidated by certain communication situations, you don't have to transform your personality to inject power into your communications. Simple changes will make you feel more comfortable, even when put 'on the spot'. This course builds communication skills step by step. You will learn to: communicate more confidently, clearly and concisely; use both direct and indirect communication techniques to assert your point of view; influence others in a positive way; recognize four behavioral types and learn how to connect with each; use Power Lines to help you think on your feet; avoid personalizing the emotional outbursts of others; halt gossip and backstabbing; use a structured process to learn from any difficult communication scenario that you experience; feel more empowered by communicating your personal limits and boundaries; maintain positive energy in your communication; deal effectively with challenging individuals and scenarios; manage conflict and remain cool in heated encounters. All course materials and workbooks are included in the fee.

Do you find it challenging to keep your team inspired? Do you need to improve your communication skills to increase your sales? Wish you could deliver presentations without the fear of failure? Christine Walters, director of ComedySportz Improv Theatre, and expert on communication skills, will be offering a presentation that will kick start your team, improve your communication skills, and teach you the tools to make killer presentations. This program will increase focus, build trust, improve communication skills, boost confidence, and increase listening, reasoning and motivation skills.

We all know the adage that good fiction comes from real life. Using our astute powers of observation and a mix of class discussion and writing exercises, we will create strong characters, confront them with believable obstacles, toss in a descriptive setting and some lively dialogue and see what happens. Both beginning and experienced writers are welcome.

A novel is a work of dramatic fiction, and the drama in a novel is achieved through the plot. 99% of all novels submitted to literary agents, publishing houses and writing contests are rejected because of shortcomings in the plot. In this class we will take an extended and extensive look into this thing called plot, in order to assist you in achieving your writing and publishing goals. Through discussion, examples, and classroom, we will look into, among other things, what plot is, what it is not, where it comes from, the difference between storyline and plot line, the difference between character-driven story and plot-driven story, when to introduce plot into the storyline, how to build on it, and the importance of understanding the function of plot and its critical relevance for understanding virtually all other novel elements and principles (dialogue, description, scenes).
Note: This course is open to writers with works-in-progress and/or completed works.

As fiction writers, we create our stories with good readers in mind; and as good readers, we pay attention to detail. We notice the characters' quirks and their sense of place as we follow the narrative's ebb and flow. In this workshop we will hone our reading skills as we create fresh writing and offer supportive critiques to our fellow writers. Note: Participants are asked to submit manuscripts (no more than 20 pages) prior to the first class.

Effective writing is both an art and a science, and it is much more than just the words you choose. Without a proper understanding of purpose, audience and chosen medium, your words will fall hopelessly short of their target. If you are responsible for the words that shape your organization, or if you simply want to learn how to write more effectively, come join us. In print and online, from ads to Web copy, discover the role of strategy in effective writing and learn techniques to cut through the noise and make the written word work for your organization.

'The boundaries of creative nonfiction,' according to author Mary Clearman Blew, 'will always be as fluid as water.' In this 'fluid' writing process, we will reflect on the richness of our personal stories and then employ narrative techniques to create honest memoirs and personal essays. Students will acquire skills to identify and evaluate the stages of the writing process, understand creative nonfiction forms and elements, and learn to critically evaluate their writing and the writing of others. Writers of all levels are welcome.

What exactly is short-short fiction and how does it work? Short-short stories are usually limited to less than 2,000 words. Flash fiction is less than 750 words. Hey, Hemingway even managed to create a successful story with a word count of six! How does successful fiction function in cramped conditions? We will look at the techniques of writers who work short, and then experiment with those techniques in our own writing. Prefer to work on a larger scale? You can still use these methods to give your writing better focus and more impact. This course will show you how big stories can fit in small packages.

This course provides practical guidance in how to write books or shorter works for adults or children, and how to get that writing published. Topics include choosing a subject; manuscript mechanics; revising and rewriting; copyright basics; contracts and writers' finances; and how to submit manuscripts for publication. Participants will develop a writing project of their own, share their writing with other class members, and give and receive feedback on their work. Paul Fleisher is the author of several dozen books for children and educators, as well as educational software and numerous magazine articles. Several former students from his class have published books of their own!

In today's world, an ineffective Web site is a liability to your business or organization. Users have limited time and patience and want full control of the interaction. If you don't hook them, your competition will - and they're only one click away! To use the Web effectively for your business, you need specific knowledge of web-writing principles and the skills to apply that knowledge consistently.

You're about to write your first screenplay, or better yet you've actually written your first screenplay! You pitch your idea. You send query letters to agents...and nothing happens. Why? Find out from a former Writer's Guild Literary Agent with years of experience, pitching and working with major studios, star production companies and LA and NY producers. Learn ways to make your story more appealing to make industry people want to read it. Class Requirement: Students will need to bring in a one paragraph log line to pitch their screenplay, along with a three page single spaced synopsis of their screenplay. Personal attention will be given to each student from the instructor. Creative feedback from other students is also encouraged to help the writer.