Effective Communication Skills for Personal and Professional Development

By Prof. Arti Nirmal, Dr. Neha Pandey | Banaras Hindu University

Learners enrolled: 126

ABOUT THE COURSE:

The proposed four-week course is designed to enhance communicative skills in the learner’s for personal and professional growth. It will develop clarity, confidence, and collaboration through active listening, verbal and non-verbal communication, and public speaking. It will equip the participants with practical tools to excel in personal and workplace interactions, fostering meaningful relationships and achieving goals.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Undergraduate students, post graduate students, working professionals and anyone interested in learning good communication skills and grooming one’s personality

PREREQUISITES: Knowledge of basic English language

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Will be useful in the field of media, journalism, corporate communication, academics and language studies

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Core
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	4 weeks
Category :	Communications
Credit Points :	1
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	18 Aug 2025
End Date :	12 Sep 2025
Enrollment Ends :	18 Aug 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	29 Aug 2025
Exam Date :	25 Oct 2025 IST
NCrF Level	4.5 — 7.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Basics of Communication: Definition, types, needs and purpose

Week 2: Communication Skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing

Week 3: Communication in Various Contexts: Personality development, Journalism & Mass Communication, Corporate and Commercial Communication, Academics and Research

Week 4: Communication for practical purposes: Conversational Impact, Building Confidence and Credibility, Group Discussion, Personal Interview, Presentation Skills, Body Language, etc.

Books and references

Adler, Ronald Brian, et al. Understanding Human Communication. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 2012.

Balasubramainan, T. A Textbook of English Phonetics for Indian Students English Pronouncing Dictionary 15th edition/New Advanced Learners Dictionary 7^th edition,1981.

Bhatnagar, R.P. & R.P. Bell: Communication in English. India, Orient Longman Limited, 1979.

Bullock, Richard, and Maureen Daly Goggin. The Norton Field Guide to Writing. 5th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2020.

Clark, Roy Peter. Writing Tools: 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer. Little, Brown and Company, 2008. Clarke, Paula J., et al. Developing Reading Comprehension. Wiley, 2013.

Garner, Bryan A. Garner’s Modern English Usage. 4th ed., Oxford University Press, 2016.

Gimson, A.C. An Introduction to English Pronunciation, 1965.

Hacker, Diana, and Nancy Sommers. A Writer's Reference. 10th ed., Bedford/St. Martin's, 2019.

Hanh, Thich N. The Art of Communicating.Harper One, 2013.

Language, Literature and Creativity, Orient Blackswan, 2013.

Lukose, M. M., editor. Images. Trinity Press, 2018. Mohan K, Banerji Meera, Developing Communication Skills

O'Connor, J. D. Better English

Pronunciation. Germany, Cambridge University Press, 1980.

Schoenbach, Ruth, Cynthia Greenleaf, and Lynn Murphy. Reading for Understanding, Wiley, 2012.

Simpson, Paul. Language through Literature, Routledge, 1997.

Strunk, William, and E.B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th ed., Longman, 2000.

Tickoo, M.L., and A.E. Subramanian, editors. Current English for Language Skills. Trinity Press, 2015.

W. Williams, James. Listening Skills Training: How to Truly Listen, Understand, and Validate for Better and Deeper Connections. United States, Alakai Publishing LLC, 2021.

Williams, Joseph M., and Joseph Bizup. Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 12th ed., Pearson, 2016.

Instructor bio

Prof. Arti Nirmal

Banaras Hindu University

Dr. Arti Nirmal is a Professor of English at the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, U.P. Her areas of academic interest include Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies, Literature and Legal Humanities, Cultural Studies, Communication Studies, and Folk and Gender Studies. Besides publishing books [Shifting Homes and Transnational Identities: Women Novelists of the Indian Subcontinental Diaspora (Satyam Books, 2015); Legal Research and Methodology: Perspectives, Process and Practice (Satyam Int., 2019); History and Myth: Postcolonial Dimensions (Vernon Press, 2021); Histories, Myths and Decolonial Interventions: A Planetary Resistance (Routledge, 2022) and Cultural and Literary Traditions in India: History, Myth, and Orality (Cambridge S P, 2024)]and research articles in reputed journals, she made academic presentations at various national and international seminars and conferences in India and abroad.She is a regular invited speaker at the National Broadcasting Agency of India-Prasar Bharti. Serving as a member of various academic bodies and editorial boards; she also reviews articles for the journals of Elsevier and Taylor & Francis Group. She is presently the Principal Director of a major research project titled “Folk and Ritual Songs of Banaras and Mirzapur: An Ethnographic Study” funded by ICSSR-New Delhi.

Dr. Neha Pandey

Dr Neha Pandey is presently nourishing the young minds at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at the prestigious Banaras Hindu University in the capacity of Assistant Professor. She has specialized in New Media and is interested in Cultural Studies, Health Communication and Organizational Behaviour. She is a meticulous academician with BHU gold medal to her credit at Masters in Journalism and Mass Communication. She has also worked in Business Standard Ltd as sub-editor and has served the society and bagged the Best Programme Officer Award in National Service Scheme at University level. She has presented papers in international and national conferences, published in Scopus journal and has published chapters in books. She has developed modules for online-learning in e-pg pathshala.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: 25 October 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 3 assignments out of the total 4 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup. It will have the logos of INI and BHU.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- INI team