Effective Communication Capstone Project
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Effective Communication Capstone Project
This course is part of Effective Communication: Writing, Design, and Presentation Specialization
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What you'll learn
Present yourself effectively to the world through writing, design, and presentation.
Build a final portfolio of work that represents your personal brand.
Improve your work through self evaluation and peer feedback.
Details to know
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills
Build your subject-matter expertise
- Learn new concepts from industry experts
- Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
- Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
- Earn a shareable career certificate
There are 5 modules in this course
In the Effective Communication Capstone learners apply the lessons of Business Writing, Graphic Design, and Successful Presentation to create a portfolio of work that represents their mastery of writing, design, and speaking and that expresses their personal brand. The portfolio includes three individual elements—a written memo, a slide deck, and a presentation—integrated around a single topic. We provide the elements for a basic capstone, but we also invite our learners to create their own project if they so choose. This self-designed "Challenge Capstone" allows learners to engage meaningfully in their world by choosing a project relevant to their current job or by volunteering to write, design, and speak for a social organization of their choice.
By successfully undertaking the Capstone, learners will accomplish three main goals: 1. They will hone their writing, design, and speaking skills and build a portfolio for a job search and/or professional application; 2. They will shape these skills into a unique brand identity; and, if they choose, 3. They will undertake a transformative effect in the world around them. Ultimately, the importance of Capstone portfolio is greater than the sum of its individual parts. Its true goal lies in each student’s personal transformation and expression of their best selves. We invite you to unleash your skills and we can't wait to see the results! This course can be taken for academic credit as part of CU Boulder’s Master of Science in Data Science (MS-DS) degree offered on the Coursera platform. The MS-DS is an interdisciplinary degree that brings together faculty from CU Boulder’s departments of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Science, and others. With performance-based admissions and no application process, the MS-DS is ideal for individuals with a broad range of undergraduate education and/or professional experience in computer science, information science, mathematics, and statistics. Learn more about the MS-DS program at https://www.coursera.org/degrees/master-of-science-data-science-boulder.
Quentin, Dave, and William introduce learners to the Capstone, discuss options for the project, and provide learners with an overview of the elements necessary for completion.
What's included
3 videos9 readings2 discussion prompts
3 videos•Total 12 minutes
- Welcome to the Capstone•3 minutes
- A Message of Thanks from Quentin, Dave, and William•2 minutes
- William Delivers the Effective Communication Pitch•7 minutes
9 readings•Total 66 minutes
- Earn Academic Credit for your Work!•10 minutes
- Course Support•10 minutes
- About the For-Credit Version of this course •10 minutes
- Introduction to the Capstone•7 minutes
- Accepting the Challenge Capstone•5 minutes
- Embarking on the Clarity Guitars Capstone (Business Case Included Here)•7 minutes
- For Clarity Guitars: Growth in the Global Market•5 minutes
- Quentin's Final Coursera Pitch Memo Revealed•7 minutes
- Dave's Final Slides Designed•5 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
- Discuss Challenge Capstone Ideas•10 minutes
- Discuss Ideas for the Clarity Guitars Capstone•10 minutes
Compose a highly polished draft of your memo. You'll review the key lessons from Business Writing so that you have a fresh reminder of the principles and techniques that drive all great writing. Then, you'll receive peer feedback (and a grade!) in preparation to create the visual elements and speech that will comprise your final project.
What's included
5 videos4 readings1 peer review1 discussion prompt
5 videos•Total 15 minutes
- Composing the Memo•2 minutes
- Excavating Quentin's Scaffold in the Pitch Memo•3 minutes
- Optional Review: Be The Windowpane•3 minutes
- Optional Review: Waste No Time•3 minutes
- Optional Review: The 10 Principles of Good Writing Revisited and Explained (The Business Writing Conclusion)•5 minutes
4 readings•Total 19 minutes
- The Memo Assignment•10 minutes
- Optional Review: The Scaffold•3 minutes
- Optional Review: The List of the 10 Principles of Good Business Writing•3 minutes
- Optional Review: Self-Revision Checklist•3 minutes
1 peer review•Total 120 minutes
- The Polished Memo Draft•120 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 20 minutes
- Getting Past That Blank Page•20 minutes
Design presentation slides which will illustrate key points from your memo. We'll review a few lectures from the graphic design course and work to make your slides functional and visually attractive. The final slides will be used in your capstone presentation.
What's included
4 videos6 readings1 peer review1 discussion prompt
4 videos•Total 22 minutes
- The In-Between Guy•1 minute
- Designing the Coursera Pitch Slides•12 minutes
- Optional Review: Unexpected Places Yield Unexpected Results•5 minutes
- Optional Review: Introducing the Grid•5 minutes
6 readings•Total 45 minutes
- The Design Assignment•10 minutes
- Brainstorming a Design Style•5 minutes
- A Sample Written Description of a Design Strategy•5 minutes
- Using Templates•10 minutes
- Aim for the Rectangle Outside the Box•10 minutes
- 5 Best Practices of Good Presentation Design•5 minutes
1 peer review•Total 120 minutes
- First Draft of the Slides•120 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 20 minutes
- Learner Feedback on Design Strategies•20 minutes
Create a draft of your final presentation. You'll draw on the work you've done writing your memo and designing your slides. As in the previous modules, you can review some of the videos and documents from the previous MOOC, "Successful Presentation," and you're work here will lay the foundation for your final revision.
What's included
5 videos3 readings1 peer review1 discussion prompt
5 videos•Total 18 minutes
- Crafting the Speech•1 minute
- Optional Review: The Paradox of Public Speaking•4 minutes
- Optional Review: The Basic Formula•5 minutes
- Optional Review: The Central Importance of the Introduction•2 minutes
- Optional Review: Dynamic vs. Static (Getting Into Your Brand)•6 minutes
3 readings•Total 20 minutes
- The Presentation Assignment•10 minutes
- Optional Review: Kuskin's Top Ten Best Practices•5 minutes
- Optional Review: The Formula•5 minutes
1 peer review•Total 120 minutes
- The Draft Presentation•120 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 20 minutes
- Not Getting Stale•20 minutes
You've reached the final module of Effective Communication, and you're ready to produce your very best work. In this module, we ask you to pull together your memo, slides, and speech into a powerful expression of who you are.
What's included
2 videos1 reading1 peer review1 discussion prompt
2 videos•Total 13 minutes
- The Final Synthesis•2 minutes
- It's a Wrap! a Conversation about Our Approach, What We Learned, and What Coursera Means to Us•11 minutes
1 reading•Total 10 minutes
- The Final Assignment: Weaving it All Together•10 minutes
1 peer review•Total 120 minutes
- The Final Submission: The Effective Communication Portfolio•120 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
- Creating Your Most Powerful Personal Brand•10 minutes
Earn a career certificate
Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Share it on social media and in your performance review.
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Showing 3 of 176
Reviewed on Mar 20, 2022
Un difícil camino para salir adelante y ser ese "yo" que me definiría a partir de ahora.
Reviewed on Jun 24, 2023
The module was so efficiently and the assignments were so tough, this course gave me the perfect scenario of an effective training tutorial.
Reviewed on Sep 15, 2025
Excellent, Streamline process methods to approach content with assignments, Presentation slides, Memo
Frequently asked questions
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When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.
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