Course Overview

Speak, Negotiate, Lead: Mastering Effective Communication for International Leadership is a course aimed at addressing current trends invoking several disciplines – cultural studies, language, business, sociology, and psychology.
In a highly interactive way, it combines the concepts of – effective communication, negotiation techniques, power of persuasion, intercultural encounters, creativity, and leadership – pointing to the need to combine them all when we aspire to achieve success in the modern world.
After the introductory sessions, which briefly lay some relevant, theory-based foundations, the course introduces numerous real-life illustrations and experiences describing present-day needs in life/business, obstacles one might witness while climbing up the corporate ladder, as well as the role of effective communication/negotiation/persuasion in the process of overcoming them.
In this way, Speak, Negotiate, Lead: Mastering Effective Communication for International Leadership provides students not only with knowledge of some relevant theoretical concepts, but also, even more importantly, equips them with tools and skills which could improve their own effectiveness in creative thinking and communication, on their way of becoming true leaders.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- Recognize the needs surrounding them in life/corporate environment,
- Communicate effectively in intercultural encounters,
- Recognize leadership styles and skills,
- Know and apply techniques of negotiation and persuasion,
- Apply useful tools and mechanisms for personal growth,

Course Content

The course will dominantly cover the topics as follows:
- Cultural Values, Diversity- Intercultural Skillset
- World of Multinational Business
- Present-day Trends, Threats and Demands
- A Path to Success (Across Generations)
- Effective Communication
- Power of Persuasion
- Negotiation Techniques
- Success and Failure
- Leaders that Matter
- Fictional Leaders (novels, movies, etc.)
- Creative Leadership in Different Areas (Economics, Politics, Sports, Entertainment, etc.)

Instructional Method

The course represents a balance between theoretical and practical components – lectures are always followed by practical, hands-on illustration and application of the addressed concepts.
It is characterized by a rather interactive method, including a number of podcasts, video materials, hand-outs, book and movie/TV show excerpts, quizzes – illustrating different circumstances we might find ourselves in, success and failure in communication,
misunderstandings, power of persuasion, negotiation scenarios, paths of prominent leaders, success stories, etc. Apart from that, students have an opportunity to work on projects examining relevant topics (individually or in groups/pairs).

Required Course Materials

1. Dignen, B. (2020). Communicating Across Cultures. Cambridge: CUP
2. Johnson, C. & Hackman, M. (2018). Leadership: A communication Perspective. London: Waveland Press.
3. Jasper, K. (2018). Persuasion. The Hidden Forces That Influence Negotiations. London: Routledge.
4. Snook, S., Nohria, N. & Khurana, R. (Eds.) (2012). Teaching Leadership. Harvard: Harvard Business School/SAGE Publishing
5. TED talks
6. LEADex Show podcats
7. CEO School podcast - From each of the listed sources – selected chapters/passages will be used.

Assessment

At the end of the course, relying on the acquired competences and skills, and in agreement with the fashion of the course itself – students will be working on a project; they will be given a list of topics including the most inspiring, though-provoking concepts covered in the course; each student will choose a topic to his/her preference and compare/contrast the stand of well-known
theories with his/her view of the topic (the presentation itself can be an interactive one, including audio-visual support).