Description

Module Content

Virtually every international career, whether in diplomacy, business or the non-profit sector, requires good communication skills. Students will learn how to communicate complex ideas to a wider audience, while avoiding arcane policy jargon and using simple direct language to construct accessible narratives and clear messaging.

Students will learn basic journalistic skills such as how to grab a reader’s attention in the first paragraph. Other classes will focus on how to advocate through writing a powerful Op-ed, blog, Ted talk or press release. There will also be a workshop on how to write a clear and concise brief focusing on a country, topic or campaign.

Students will be taught how journalists do their research. While writing skills will form the basis of this communications course, we will also look at other effective forms of advocacy such as the use of theatre, film and visual art to educate and inform wider audiences. There will be guest speakers who work as professional advocates in journalism, campaigning NGOs and public diplomacy.

There will be classroom discussions about the changing landscape of journalist in the digital age and what makes writing about international affairs different from writing about domestic issues.

The course is taught by leading UK journalist and author Sarfraz Manzoor.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of the module students will: 


	Have acquired an advanced introduction in how to communicate, tell stories, to broad, non-specialist publics and to understand the key principles of good writing. 
	
	
	Acquired and developed the skills required to research a story, carry out interviews and realise the story arc within a long form piece of journalism.   
	
	
	Have received training in good journalistic factual writing to document their own research. 
	
	
	Have extended their understanding of different forms of communication (briefs, press releases etc.) as well as non-written forms of advocacy. 
	
Delivery Method

Two 1 hour seminars per week.