Build the essential skills to write clearly, communicate confidently, and use AI responsibly in professional situations.
Effective communication helps you share ideas, build relationships, and succeed in the workplace. Professional Communication & AI is a free, beginner-friendly course from the American Institute of Extended Studies that introduces practical techniques for communicating with clarity, courtesy, and confidence.
Throughout this course, you will explore the foundations of professional communication, clear and concise writing, effective emails, professional requests, follow-up messages, and progress updates. You will also learn how to listen actively, give constructive feedback, handle disagreements, apologize sincerely, and rebuild trust after mistakes.
Artificial intelligence is integrated throughout the course as a tool for improving communication. You will explore how AI can help you draft messages, refine tone, summarize information, and practice responses while protecting confidential information, checking accuracy, and preserving your own voice.
Through carefully selected educational videos, practical examples, downloadable study guides, and knowledge assessments, you will build skills you can apply to everyday workplace situations. By the end of the course, you will be better prepared to communicate professionally and use AI thoughtfully to support your work.
What You Will Learn
By completing this course, you will be able to:
Who This Course Is For
This course is designed for:
No previous professional communication training or experience with AI is required.
Course Approach
This fully online, self-paced course includes four modules and 12 lessons, designed to be completed over approximately two weeks. You can study at your own pace, with no scheduled classes or live teaching sessions.
The course combines curated educational videos, workplace examples, downloadable study guides, and automated assessments. Practical activities focus on situations such as:
Each lesson quiz includes 10 questions, with 30 minutes and two attempts. Each module assessment includes 15 questions, with 40 minutes and two attempts. A score of 60% or higher is required to pass each quiz and assessment.
Certificate of Completion
Upon successful completion of the course and all required assessments, you will receive a Certificate of Completion issued by the American Institute of Extended Studies (AIES), a Cognia-accredited institution.
This certificate recognizes your achievement in Digital Marketing Fundamentals and can be added to your résumé, professional portfolio, or LinkedIn profile to showcase your commitment to professional development.
Certificate Preview

Sample certificate for illustration purposes. The final certificate will be issued with the learner’s name and course details upon successful completion.
Learn to communicate with a clear purpose, adapt messages to your audience, and identify useful next steps. Practice clear writing, confident spoken requests, and reviewing AI-assisted drafts.
Review and reinforce the essential concepts covered in Lesson 1.1. This study guide explores the purpose of professional communication, audience awareness, tone, clarity, communication barriers, and the responsible use of AI. It includes key definitions, practical examples, and review questions to strengthen your understanding and prepare for assessments.
Organize messages so readers can quickly understand the purpose and next step. Practice plain language, concise wording, and reviewing AI-assisted rewrites without losing important facts or conditions.
Review and reinforce the essential concepts covered in Lesson 1.2. This study guide explores clear sentence structure, plain language, concise writing, logical organization, and the responsible use of AI to improve clarity. It includes practical examples, editing exercises, and review questions to strengthen your writing skills and prepare for assessments.
Choose communication channels according to urgency, complexity, sensitivity, and the need for a record. Practice sharing information appropriately, confirming decisions, and protecting workplace information when using AI.
Review and reinforce the essential concepts covered in Lesson 1.3. This study guide explores how to choose appropriate communication channels, consider urgency and audience needs, protect confidential information, and use AI responsibly. It includes practical examples, workplace scenarios, and review questions to strengthen your judgment and prepare for assessments.
Learn to write professional emails with clear subject lines, useful context, courteous language, and specific next steps. Practice using AI to improve a draft while checking accuracy and protecting information.
Review and reinforce the essential concepts covered in Lesson 2.1. This study guide explores clear subject lines, professional greetings, organized messages, appropriate tone, and effective calls to action. It includes practical examples, guidance on using AI to draft and refine emails, and review questions to strengthen your email writing skills and prepare for assessments.
Learn to make clear, courteous requests, set reasonable response expectations, and follow up without blame or unnecessary pressure. Practice using AI to improve wording while preserving facts.
Review and reinforce the essential concepts covered in Lesson 2.2. This study guide explores polite and specific requests, clear deadlines, courteous reminders, and professional follow-up messages. It includes practical examples, guidance on using AI to refine wording and tone, and review questions to strengthen your communication skills and prepare for assessments.
Learn to communicate progress, explain delays, and summarize decisions with clear actions, owners, and deadlines. Practice checking AI-generated summaries against the original notes.
Review and reinforce the essential concepts covered in Lesson 2.3. This study guide explores clear progress updates, concise summaries, action items, responsibilities, and deadlines. It includes practical examples, guidance on using AI to organize and summarize information accurately, and review questions to strengthen your communication skills and prepare for assessments.
Learn to express ideas, clarify limits, and communicate uncertainty with a respectful, confident tone. Practice improving written and spoken messages while checking AI suggestions for accuracy.
Review and reinforce the essential concepts covered in Lesson 3.1. This study guide explores respectful language, confident expression, assertive communication, and professional tone. It includes practical examples, guidance on using AI to refine messages while preserving your voice, and review questions to strengthen your communication skills and prepare for assessments.
Learn to listen attentively, ask useful clarifying questions, and confirm meaning before acting. Practice identifying assumptions and checking AI-generated interpretations.
Review and reinforce the essential concepts covered in Lesson 3.2. This study guide explores active listening, clarifying questions, paraphrasing, and confirming shared understanding. It includes practical examples, guidance on using AI to support communication practice, and review questions to strengthen your listening skills and prepare for assessments.
Learn to give specific, respectful feedback that explains what happened, why it matters, and what could improve. Practice receiving feedback and reviewing AI-assisted drafts.
Review and reinforce the essential concepts covered in Lesson 3.3. This study guide explores specific, respectful feedback, the difference between observations and judgments, and actionable suggestions for improvement. It includes practical examples, guidance on using AI to refine feedback, and review questions to strengthen your communication skills and prepare for assessments.
Learn to address workplace disagreements calmly, separate facts from assumptions, and discuss practical options. Practice using AI to prepare respectful wording without inventing motives or agreements.
Review and reinforce the essential concepts covered in Lesson 4.1. This study guide explores respectful disagreement, managing emotions, acknowledging different perspectives, and finding common ground. It includes practical examples, guidance on using AI to practice constructive responses, and review questions to strengthen your communication skills and prepare for assessments.
Learn to acknowledge mistakes, write sincere apologies, communicate corrections, and rebuild trust through reliable follow-through. Practice using AI to improve your wording while keeping responsibility and judgment with you.
Review and reinforce the essential concepts covered in Lesson 4.2. This study guide explores sincere apologies, taking responsibility, correcting mistakes, and rebuilding trust through consistent follow-through. It includes practical examples, guidance on using AI to refine accountable and empathetic messages, and review questions to strengthen your communication skills and prepare for assessments.
Apply your communication skills to a realistic workplace situation. Practice writing a clear update, handling uncertainty, checking an AI draft, and using a final review checklist.
Review and reinforce the essential concepts covered in Lesson 4.3. This study guide brings together professional writing, listening, feedback, and conflict resolution with responsible AI use. It includes practical scenarios, guidance on writing effective prompts and checking AI-generated messages, and review questions to help you apply your skills and prepare for assessments.