What you'll learn
- ✦Lead every message with the point, a pyramid, not a story. Write a subject line and a status update a busy reader can act on without a follow-up ping
- ✦Give feedback that names a specific behaviour and its effect, so the person knows exactly what to change next time
- ✦Receive feedback without getting defensive, and ask for feedback on one specific thing instead of "how am I doing?"
- ✦Speak up in a meeting you didn't call, with a structured point that gets heard
- ✦Run a focused meeting with a clear agenda and a decision at the end. Disagree out loud without shutting the conversation down
- ✦Say no at work and deliver bad news kindly, without burying it in softening words
- ✦Name a problem with a colleague by describing the specific behaviour and its effect, never the person's character
- ✦Adjust a message's directness, timing and formality for a colleague's culture, hierarchy and time zone
Certification projects
Build 3 projects to earn your certificate
Hands-on work that proves you can apply what you learned — part of the certificate requirements.
Syllabus
Module 1 · 20m
Point-First Messages Free
What you'll be able to do
- Put the point of a message first, then the reasons and background
- Write a subject line that names the ask, the decision or the deadline
- Write a status update that leads with on-track or at-risk and the one decision needed
Module 2 · 21m
Giving and Taking Feedback Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Give feedback that names a specific behaviour and its effect
- Hear feedback out fully before reacting, by separating the message from the reaction to it
- Ask for feedback on one specific thing instead of a vague question
Module 3 · 22m
Meetings Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Offer a short, structured point in a meeting they didn't organise
- Run a meeting with a narrow agenda and a clear decision at the end
- Disagree in a meeting, respectfully and out loud, without shutting the conversation down
Module 4 · 22m
Hard Conversations Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Say a clear no at work, with a reason, instead of a vague maybe
- Deliver bad news plainly and kindly, without burying it in softening words
- Name a problem with a colleague by describing the behaviour and its effect, not their character
Module 5 · 20m
Working Across Cultures Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Recognise whether a team states disagreement and requests directly or indirectly, and adjust their own message
- Read a workplace's hierarchy signals and its norms around reply time
- Write a message that survives translation and schedule fairly across a distant time zone
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