Michigan+ Provides University of Michigan Faculty, Students, Staff have free access to these and thousands of other courses available on Coursera

Sean Corp, Content Strategist

Effective communication in its many forms is hard enough, but standing in front of people, from a small meeting of co-workers to a conference room full of peers is another thing altogether. For those who want to learn the basics of public speaking or those looking for more advanced trainings to take their skills to the next level, University of Michigan and its partners have courses available via the Coursera platform.

U-M students, faculty and staff have access to all Michigan learning experiences on Coursera, EdX and FutureLearn as well as Michigan+, providing enrollment in Coursera’s catalog of more than 3,000 Guided Projects, courses, Specializations and Professional Certificates from university and industry partners all over the world.

Individuals who don’t have or do not remember their U-M uniqname can visit the identity verification page on the U-M Information and Technology Services (ITS) website. For related inquiries, contact U-M ITS.

Some highlighted content, courses and specializations available through U-M, Michigan Online and Michigan+:

Communication Strategies for a Virtual Age

Offered by: University of Toronto
Type: Course (Approx. 8 hours to complete)

This course will act as an overview on several concepts each of which could be a course of their own and our goal is to give you tools that you can practice and perfect on your own. By the end of this course, you will be able to: apply communication principles and techniques for in-person and virtual teams; use a science based approach to create impactful presentations; refine your communication style to better persuade and influence others; run more effective and impactful meetings; incorporate strategies to have positive difficult conversations and make people feel valued and listened to.

Effective Communication: Writing, Design, and Presentation Specialization

Offered by: University of Colorado
Type: Specialization (4 courses)

Over seventy companies and tens of thousands of students worldwide have used Effective Communication to deliver ideas powerfully in the workplace. By taking Business Writing, Graphic Design, and Successful Presentation, you’ll hone your written, visual, and verbal business presentation skills. You’ll learn to write well-organized, clear business documents; to design elegant presentation slides, reports, and posters; and to present and speak with confidence and power. In the final Capstone Project, you’ll develop a portfolio of work—including a memo, a slide deck, and a presentation—to showcase your communication skills and represent your personal brand. The Effective Communication Specialization takes you on a journey of self realization. You’ll learn that excellence in communication involves the ability to express who you are—your best self—in everything you do.

Presentation Skills: Speechwriting, Slides and Delivery Specialization

Offered by: National Research Tomsk State University
Type: Specialization (4 courses)

Presentations are the most popular way of communication. This Specialization has 4 courses and covers fundamentals of three major presentation skills: 1) Storytelling— the art of crafting an interesting, convincing and evidence-based script of your presentation, 2) Slide design — a merge of graphical and information design to make clean and clear slides that help you deliver your ideas 3) Delivery — the art of interacting with the audience during presentation and a tough Q&A. The 4th and final course of the Specialization is the Capstone project, where you will prepare a presentation «from scratch» with a topic that matters to you and then deliver it to your peers.

Our courses are designed for anyone from a rookie speaker to an established presenter. Whether you’re presenting an idea or a product or a complicated issue, this Specialization gives you tools to make it right.

Learn English: Advanced Academic Speaking and Listening Specialization

Offered by: University of California, Irvine
Type: Specialization (4 courses)

This specialization covers the listening and speaking skills that non-native English-speaking students need to be successful in English-speaking colleges and universities. Native English-speaking students who would like to increase their chances of success in university courses will also benefit as well anyone interested in improving their listening comprehension skills. You will learn how to listen to class lectures and take notes more effectively. You will also improve your speaking skills for common tasks such as class discussions and presentations. In the capstone, you will create a video presentation on an academic topic.