Can you learn to play basketball by watching TV? Last week I had a flat tire and I wanted to fix it myself so I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and I was like okay now I know how to fix a flat tire. So I go to my bike and I try to fix the flat tire and I totally mess it up, and it doesn't work. I had to take it to someone to fix it for me. Why? Because you can't learn by watching, you can only learn by doing. In this course as much as possible we will be trying to make you do things. So, whether it's in the lessons, in-video questions, whether it's in discussion prompts, in the readings we're going to always be asking you to try and do things. Analyze something, respond to something, change to something, find something and bring it back. This course is broken up into six modules. In the first module is an overview of some ideas in virtual communication and some ideas for communication in general to set up the other modules. Module two is about presenting and speaking both in person and virtually. Module three is about negotiation and persuasion. Module four is pitching and selling. In the fifth module we are going to be giving you tactics to make meetings more interesting, effective and maybe fun. The sixth module is going to be your big capstone presentation as well as some other little elements. So for example, active listening, how to have difficult conversations, how to answer questions effectively. There are three quizzes and three peer reviews. The quizzes are just multiple choice and the peer reviews are going to be asking you to record yourself; either in video or in audio. You're going to be marked on a one-to-five scale. So whether it's in a quiz or whether it's in a peer review, the markers, the reviewers are going to be given very specific criteria on how to mark you and listening for specific elements. Let me give you an example. Suppose we present you with a scenario on personality types, a one would be you not even referencing personality types, just talking with your opinion. A three might be you referencing personality types and the personality types you think this person is. A five would be you referencing personality types which one you think this person is, why you think they have that personality type, the things you recognize in it and how you would change your communication to adapt to that personality type. So it's a sliding scale. As much as possible because it's communication we've tried to avoid giving you yes or no answers and more nuance in your answers. I love science. Neurology, physiology, evolution and as much as possible in this course, we have tried to take what the research says from neurology, biology, evolution, and apply it to communication. We've also taken ideas from police interrogation, improv comedy, professional wrestling, busking, poker analysis and trying to take key elements and apply them to communication. And that's why it's really important that you check out the resources and the readings. Because yes we will be saying here's a resource and a book link, check out this book if you want. But a lot of the readings and the resources we'll be asking you to watch videos, read articles, and see how you could apply those ideas into communication or how you take the ideas from this course and apply them to that example. Again the big underlining theme is that you can't learn by watching you have to learn by doing. Now if you have a PhD or you know someone who has a PhD, you will know that they are very skeptical people, very analytical and that's good. I teach PhDs, how to communicate. When I first started we would always spend a bunch of time debating the merits of a given idea. Trying to talk through why something may or may not work. But here's something that was really funny, at the end of the workshops no matter how much someone disagreed with me, no matter how skeptical they were, by the end they were convinced. Why? Because you can't learn by just watching, by reading, you have to do it for yourself. So very quickly when I was challenged with an idea before we got into a debate I would say this, "Tell you what, let's just try it and then you can see for yourself. Let's just try it and then they the audience can see if it works or not, can tell you if it works or not." And that's what I ask of you in this course. I'm going to introduce some ideas that will make you skeptical. I am going to introduce some ideas that you may disagree with, not like and that's okay. But before you make your final decision, try it for yourself. Apply it in your life and see if it works. Because that's the only way to learn. By doing it for yourself. So, dear learner, good luck, enjoy, get stressed and see you at the end.