Master the art of persuasive communication
Hidden away on MBA courses, often only an elective, lies the most important professional skill: the ability to communicate persuasively.
Persuasive communication is the currency of our working lives. It is how we win backing for an idea, attract funding for a business, convince clients and customers to purchase. Without persuasive communication, no leader has ever inspired an audience to follow their vision. Without persuasion, no business has ever thrived.
In The Draft’s Mini MBA in Communication, Philip Collins brings an ancient art to the modern, working world. Over eight weeks, Philip teaches the theory and practice of effective communication, covering every step from understanding your audience to rallying them behind you.
Meet Philip Collins
As chief speechwriter to Tony Blair, Philip Collins helped the Labour party’s most successful Prime Minister take his argument to the nation. As Founder of The Draft, he does the same for business leaders across the world.
A writer, Philip is the author of six books, including two on the art of rhetoric and persuasion and a style guide for business writing. For over a decade, he was a political commentator at The Times, and he is now a columnist for the New Statesman, Evening Standard, and Tortoise.
Philip has taught the art of communication to leaders and organisations across the world for over fifteen years, and is currently a visiting lecturer at Oxford University’s School of Government. He has also run think tanks and been a banker, and holds degrees from the Universities of Cambridge and London.
This course is designed for...
Communicators
Learn to persuade any audience, whether you work in communications, marketing or sales.
Leaders
Learn to use your language to inspire and lead.
Early Career Professionals
Learn the skill that sets you up for success in your career.
87%
of participants say the course made them more confident communicators.
93%
say the course made them more confident writers.
100%
say the course made them more effective at work.
100%
would recommend this course to a colleague.
Buying for your team?
For teams from a single organisation, we’ll tailor the course to you. Each module will feature bespoke case studies relevant to your company, your competitors, and your industry. We’ll also give every participant personalised feedback at the end of the course, leaving you with a set of professionally-graded pieces of work.
Help your organisation speak in one voice.
Meet your learning and development goals.
Make communications part of your graduate scheme or onboarding.
The Art of Persuasive Communication in Eight Weeks
Week 1: Understanding Your Audience
Persuasion is the art of moving your audience. To begin that process, you have to understand who your audience is and where they are now. In week one, Phil shows you how.
Week 2: Discovering Your Topic
Persuasive communication must be built around a single, clear, and concise point of view. Without that core argument, persuasion is impossible. In week two, Phil shows you how to find yours.
Week 3: Telling Your Story
We understand the world through the stories that are told about it, which means any persuasive piece of communication must tell its own. In week three, Phil shows how stories are constructed and how to tell yours.
Week 4: Understanding Persuasion
Persuasion is a balancing act, combining appeals to the head and heart. In week four, Phil shows how persuasion works, and how to make your communication truly persuasive.
Week 5: Writing Persuasively
Persuasion is impossible unless you are first understood. In week five, Phil teaches the elements of clear and compelling writing, and how best to apply them to everything you write.
Week 6: Speaking Persuasively
Speaking persuasively is a related, but distinct, discipline from writing persuasively. In week six, Phil teaches you how to write for spoken delivery, whether a speech or a presentation, and how to speak well off the cuff.
Week 7: Leading With Language
Everyone persuades, but the language of leadership is different, whether you are managing a small team or thousands of employees. In this module, Phil teaches leaders to inspire and lead with their words.
Week 8: Campaigning Persuasively
Campaigns share many of the traits of all persuasive communication: a disciplined message, a clear story, appeals to head and heart. But campaigning is a skill unto itself, and in week eight Phil teaches the art.
To join the next cohort or to discuss bespoke training for your organisation:
Everything you need to know
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