As a new college student, figuring out the world and the role you play in it, choosing classes can be daunting. COM 260, however, is a no brainer. Professor Sara McKinnon focuses on why effective communication goes hand-in-hand with human behavior. With about 250 students in the class, I really enjoyed meeting people from all different majors in my discussion group! This three credit class fulfills the basic skills every college student needs in order to effectively communicate with their peers and superiors in numerous situations.
Here is why YOU should take COM 260 in Fall 2020:
- Job Prep: Cover Letter
I learned to write a proper cover letter, which helped me to land an internship with NBC-15 this summer. We learned what to include to properly promote ourselves and our skills, while also writing succinctly – a KEY skill in any environment. I now have a template for all of my future cover letters!
- Communication Through Visuals: Visual Ad Campaign
Near the end of the course, we created visual advertisement campaigns to promote Dane County organizations. I created five different images (all with few words) to understand the power visuals hold in conveying meaningful messages – especially in a time when digital media is so prevalent. See below for an example.
- Audience Centricity: Press Release
Though this may be a tool specific to Communication Arts, Marketing and Strategic Communication majors, learning to write a press release helped me focus on my audience. Who are you targeting with this story? Why are they important? In almost anything in life, you will need to convince people of the importance of a topic through storytelling. Writing press releases teaches you just that.