Entrepreneurial Communication Summer 2013

Transcription

1 Entrepreneurial Communication Summer 2013 Fridays from 2:15 pm to 3:45 pm classes held in Bldg. 200, Rm 105 COMM118 Professor Linda Capello Office: McClelland 101A Phone: Office Hours: by appointment Course Overview One of the most important skills that separate successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs is effective communication. Specifically, the entrepreneur s ability to communicate his/her vision to potential investors, partners, employees, and customers. This seminar will explore successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurial communication. Students will learn the basics of persuasive oral and written communication, and then apply these principles to their own ideas. This course will help you to develop confidence and authenticity in your speaking and writing as an entrepreneur through presentations and assignments, lectures and discussions, guest speakers, simulated activities, and video recorded feedback. In this course you will learn to: Create communication strategies Develop clearly organized and effective presentations and documents Diagnose and expand your personal writing and oral delivery style Adapt your delivery style to different material and audiences Enhance oral delivery through effective visual aids

2 Course Textbooks Required: Weissman, Jerry. Presenting to Win. Prentice Hall, Required: Heath, Chip and Dan. Made to Stick. Random House, Optional: Koegel, Tim, The Exceptional Presenter. Greenleaf Book Group Press, Optional: Duarte, Nancy. Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations. O Reilly Media,

3 Assignments and Weighting of Grades Area Description Due date Weight Oral (50%) Written (30%) Re-do First Impression (2 minutes) In-class 5% Elevator Pitch (30 seconds) In-class 15% Final Presentation (6 minutes) Aug. 9 30% Written self critique of First Impression July 12 10% 1page Executive Summary of your venture July 26 20% Other (20%) Attendance, Participation, and Contribution (includes * items above) Throughout 20% I will produce and distribute an assignment deck that more clearly outlines each of the above assignments. I will also provide to you the evaluation forms that I will use to grade each assignment so you know what I seek. 3

4 Attendance, Participation, and Contribution Factors Without question this will be a highly interactive course. To get the most out of it, you need to have a business idea you are currently working on or an idea to which you have given a significant amount of thought. It is also necessary to attend all of the scheduled class sessions. Follow the calendar on the final page of this syllabus for details of your assignments and related due dates. While in class you must participate in such a way that furthers class discussions and contributes to the learning of others. Any work I assign which doesn t specifically have a grade associated with it will be factored into your participation grade. I will use a mix of cold calls, warm calls, and volunteers in discussions. If you choose to miss class, I urge you to do so with the least amount of impact on your learning experience. Two or more absences will have a direct impact on your final course grade. Absences on days you are scheduled to present are particularly problematic. Class begins promptly at 2:15 PM. If you must arrive late, do so with the least amount of interruption. If I am speaking, slip in quietly. If a guest speaker or a peer is presenting, wait outside the classroom until there is a logical break (e.g. applause) and enter class at that time. I will notify you in advance if laptops are necessary; otherwise there is no need to bring them to class. Cell phones, ipads, iphones, blackberries, pagers, and other distracting electronic devices fall into this same category. It will be our standard practice to keep name placards visible during the first few classes, whenever I have guest speakers, and whenever students are presenting. I have a high respect for Stanford s Honor Code and trust that you will abide by it in this course. There may be times where I will allow you to re-purpose your own material for a presentation or written assignment in this course, but I must know about this in advance of the assignment being submitted. Regardless, all work you submit must be original for this course or clear in its delivery where it originated. If you have a question about an honor code issue the time to raise it is while you are preparing an assignment, not after you ve delivered the information. I will provide you with feedback on each of your presentations and written assignments throughout the course. If you ever have a question about your standing in the course, I m happy to discuss this with you. It s my goal that this course will have a direct and practical impact on your Stanford experience and well beyond. I expect your writing and speaking in other courses and activities will be enhanced as you apply these course principles. I look forward to working with you. 4

5 Entrepreneurial Communication Course Agenda Summer Quarter 2013 (Subject to change) Day Date Class Plan Assignments (prior to class unless noted) Fri. 6/28 First Impressions /Connecting With Your Audience Fri 7/5 Non-Verbal/Vocal Communication Fri 7/12 Verbal Communication Submit self-critique of selfintroduction video Fri 7/19 Written Communication Fri 7/26 Guest Speaker Submit executive summary Pitch Framework Fri 8/2 Storytelling Techniques Prepare a written 2-minute story about your venture Fri 8/9 Student Final Presentations Deliver final project presentation in class Fri 8/16 Class De-Brief 5