Communication Skills and Personality Development

Teacher

Prajna Pani

Category

Course Attendees

Still no participant

Course Reviews

Still no reviews

Course Name : Communication Skills and Personality Development 

 

 

Code(Credit): ASEE2104 (1-1-0)

Course Objectives

  • To improve basic English language proficiency skills
  • To enhance the personality of learners by improving their communication skills and building their confidence

Course Outcomes

A student will be able to achieve the following outcomes after completion of the course:

COs Course Outcomes  

Mapping COs with POs

 

CO1 Communicative competence and confidence PO 2 (Professional Enhancement)
CO2  

Personality development of learners through enhanced communication skills and confidence

 

PO 3 (Communication & Extension Skills) , PO 5 (Team Work)

Course Syllabus

This course aims at the promotion of the strategies for the personality development of the participants. It also aims to build the communicative competence and confidence of the learners.

Unit 1

  • Communication skills
  • Structural and functional grammar
  • Meaning and process of communication
  • Verbal and non-verbal communication

To improve communication skills, students will engage in activities that focus on grammar and usage, such as writing passages and receiving formal feedback on their work

  • Listening and note taking: listening and note taking
  • Writing skills
  • Oral presentation skills
  • Field diary and lab record

  Students can:

  • interact with academic content: reading, writing, listening, speaking;
  • demonstrate the ability to think critically;
  • utilize information and digital literacy skills; and
  • demonstrate behavior and attitudes appropriate to the university environment.

Unit 2  

  • Footnote and bibliographic procedures
  • Reading and comprehension of general and technical articles
  • Précis writing
  • Summarizing
  • Abstracting

Students will communicate effectively in writing to a variety of audiences and for a variety of purposes. Use writing as a tool for thinking and learning. Develop skills in planning writing and completing tasks.

Unit 3  

  • Individual and group presentations
  • Impromptu presentation
  • Public speaking
  • Group discussion
  • Organizing seminars and conferences
  • CV writing
  • Interview skills

The aim of this course is to enable the students to improve  the ability to communicate and achieve linguistic competence in the chosen language. A balance of receptive (reading, listening) and productive (speaking, writing) skills are developed through communicative classes and self‐study.

 

 

Session Plan

Session 1

Session 2

Communication Cycle, Barriers of Communication, Overcoming Barriers

Presentation: Students will make group presentation on various barriers to communication (e.g., Language barriers, Cultural barriers)

Reading:

https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/barriers-to-effective-communication/

Useful Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNVZxTkiX1Y

Session 3

Structural and Functional grammar

Practice Test & Discussion: Verbs, Tense, Voice, and Speech

https://byjus.com/govt-exams/active-and-passive-voice-rules/

https://www.indiabix.com/verbal-ability/change-of-voice/

https://www.grammarwiz.com/tenses-quiz.html

https://www.indiabix.com/verbal-ability/change-of-speech/

Session 4

Online Test: Structural and Functional grammar

Session 5

Business Correspondence, Personal Correspondence

Reading:

https://www.slideshare.net/poojavrs/6-principles-of-effective-writing-88356538

Useful Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VADRoo3cPNE

Assignment: Students will select a scenario from one of the following (a, b & c)/ choose a new scenario as the context for the letter:

a) Write a formal letter to a potential employer, expressing your interest in a job opening and highlighting your qualifications.

b) Write an informal letter to a close friend or family member, sharing exciting news or discussing a recent experience.

c) Write a complaint letter to a company or organization about a product or service that did not meet your expectations.

Students are advised to use Grammarly and Open AI for document makeover.

Guideline: Review and revise before submission

  • Purpose
  • Principles of effective letter writing: Courtesy and consideration, Directness and conciseness
  • Avoid verbosity
  • Participial endings
  • Positive and direct statements
  • Clarity and precision
  • Structure and layout

Session 6

E-mail Writing

  • Characteristics of Successful Email Messages
  • Email Format
  • Email Writing Strategies
  • Tips and Tricks for Effective Email Writing

Reading:

https://www.slideshare.net/nidhipandey16/email-writing-52942112

Useful Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-dFYFVgVyw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Tu1jN65slw

Assignment: 

Students will choose one of the following scenarios as the context for the email/ write an email on a new context:

a) Write a formal email to a renowned person in the field of agriculture, inviting him/her to accept the invitation to be the guest speaker in a seminar ‘Advancements in Agriculture: Shaping the Future’ organized by the MS Swaminathan School of Agriculture.

b) Write a semi-formal email to a colleague, providing an update on a project's progress and requesting additional information or assistance.

c) Write an informal email to a friend or family member, inviting them to a special event or sharing important news.

 

Students are recommended to use Grammarly (https://app.grammarly.com/) and Chat GPT https://chat.openai.com/ for document makeover.

Session 7

Report Writing:

  • Definition and types
  • Deciding on format and length
  • Structure/parts of Formal Report
  • Topics covered in a Report
  • Introduction, body and closing of Report

Assignment: Students will write an informational report on a recent event or activity e.g., seminar, conference, field visit, progress report on agriculture units, analytical report on projects.

Students are recommended to use Grammarly (https://app.grammarly.com/) and Chat GPT https://chat.openai.com/ to improve the language and style of the report, and make a presentation to the class.

Reading:

https://www.slideshare.net/hritviksoni2/report-writing-119303985

Useful Link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elKVRDBAMvQ

Session 8

Lecture: Career communication: Cover and Job acceptance Letter

  • Elements of a cover letter
  • Formatting tips for cover letters
  • Components of an acceptance letter

Reading:https://www.naukri.com/blog/writing-a-job-acceptance-letter-samples/

Useful Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddjx0v1lNnk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56qI2X0h9hg

Session 9

Career Communication

  • Constructing the CV: Introductory paragraph, Body, Conclusion
  • Chronological & Functional CV: Advantages and Disadvantages

Assignment: Students will write a CV to highlight their specific skills, knowledge, and experiences relevant to the agricultural industry/agriculture officer.

Template: https://www.canva.com/

Reading: https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk491/files/inline-files/Powerful-Resume-CV-Writing-PPT-Reading-Version.pdf

Useful Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggj8l-OiLrE

Session 10

Persuasive Speaking & Oral Presentation:

  • Improving fluency and self expressions
  • Articulation
  • Good pronunciation, voice quality
  • Planning & preparing your oral presentation
  • Types of delivery
  • Guidelines for delivery
  • Verbal elements, non-verbal elements, visual elements
  • Practice delivery elements,
  • Controlling nervousness and  stage fright
  • Handling questions responsively

Assignment: Students are required to deliver a persuasive presentation focusing on the agriculture units (any other topic), incorporating a sales pitch. The presentation should aim to persuade the audience about the significance and benefits of the agriculture units, using compelling arguments, evidences, and engaging communication techniques.

Reading:

https://www.slideshare.net/importerss/report-writing-15660553

Useful Links

https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=fzIxD1jXn44&t=43shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2TwNWiYIMI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OkIbUWQLi8&list=PL2fUZ7TZy_xfTR2Go-QhyQET5Bu7jpb1t&index=3

Session 11

Facing an interview

  • Understanding the interview process
  • Preparing for a Job Interview
  • Types of interview
  • The Question and answer stage
  • Some do’s and don’ts

Practice: Mock PI on frequently asked questions https://in.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/agriculture-interview-questions-and-answers

Reading:  https://www.slideshare.net/sarapadne/interview-11039826

Useful Links: Tips for Successful Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggj8l-OiLrE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycG5_uccoNk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMS16PUKwCs

Session 12

Group discussions

  • Nature of Group Discussion
  • Characteristics of Group Discussion Skills
  • Selection Group Discussions
  • Subject knowledge
  • Oral communication skills
  • Team management
  • Group Discussion Strategies and
  • Role Functions in Group Discussions
  • Tips and strategies for GD

Practice: GD on current topics https://www.groupdiscussionideas.com/top-30-gd-topics-of-2023/

Reading:

https://www.learnpick.in/prime/documents/ppts/details/1486/group-discussion

Useful Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-Cq06fegI4

Reference

  1. Business Communication by Meenakshi Raman and Prakash
  2. Effective Technical Communication by M Ashraf Rizvi
  3. Business Communication By A.C. Krizan
  4. Narayanaswamy V R 1979. Strengthen your writing, Orient Longman, New Delhi
  5. Krishnaswamy, N and Sriraman, T. 1995. Current English for Colleges, Macmillan, India Ltd. Madress
  6. Krishna Mohan and Meera Banerjee 1990. Developing Communication Skills, Macmillan India Ltd. New Delhi, Macmillan India Ltd. New Delhi
  7. Mondal, Sagar and Ray, G L, Textbook on rural development entrepreneurship and communication skills, Ludhiana, Kalyani Publishers, 2007, ISBN: 978-93-272-2069-8
  8. Sharma R C and Krishna Mohan 1978. Business Correspondence, Tata Mc Graw Hill publishing Company, New Delhi.

 

Our Main Teachers

Prajna Pani

Professor of English
VIEW PROFILE

Prof. Prajna Pani obtained her doctorate from Utkal University in 2008. Her specialisations include Linguistics and ELT and 20th C British Literature. She has invested 21 years to teaching, mentoring, training and development. She is associated with ELT@I, Asia TEFL and GRDS. She is one of the editors of CFTRA Global. She is drawn in […]