By Pam Starling

University of Mississippi

The University of Mississippi’s Communiversity program is offering a new series of classes this fall for those who are looking to advance in their career and polish their professional skills.

“This professional development series of classes will help people in our community make strides in their management, technical and communication skills,” UM Communiversity Coordinator Sandra Sulton said.

Classes begin Monday

First up in this series is Brave Communication owner Julia Winston’s “Time Management for Real Life” offered on Monday, Aug. 29 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Insight Park on the UM campus.

The course guides you into finding the right time and energy management practices that can fit your busy life. Topics will include setting priorities, organizing your day, and delegating tasks.

“Your confidence will skyrocket as you achieve the results you really want to see because not only do I focus on your outcomes, but I also focus on you as a whole person,” Winston said.

Winston’s slate of classes continues on Monday, Sept. 12 when she offers the popular course, “How to Have Difficult Conversations at Work.” Attendees will learn a proven way to take the fear out of difficult conversations at work, how to deal with defensive responses, and how to do it in a way that builds trust. The course will meet from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at UM’s Insight Park. The fee is $59.

The third component of Winston’s series, “How to Get Promoted: Quicker, Faster, Sooner,” will take place on Monday, Sept. 26 from 5:30-7 p.m. also at Insight Park.

Participants discover how to use seven steps to career advancement that are easily overlooked as well as what strategies and mindset are needed for a promotion. The course fee is $59.

Designed for the computer novice, a three-night class has been developed to provide a crash course in Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint for people who want to understand these very useful programs for their business.

The class will take place on Sept. 13, 15, and 20 in Weir Hall Room 107 on the UM campus. The cost is $85.

UM Instructors JoAnn and Dex Edwards have a combined 30 years of experience in public speaking and instructing others in the art of speech and debate.

They will guide others during their class, “Public Speaking: Stand and Deliver,” on Oct. 12, 19, and 26 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in Lamar Hall Room 133. The class will meet from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and the cost is $59.

Social media marketing

Small business owners, local organizations and company representatives alike are all interested in this year’s “Social Media Marketing” course taking place on Sept. 29, Oct. 6, and 13.

“Social media is an accessible marketing option for so many entities, but also confusing,” UM Assistant Director of Marketing Vanessa Cook said.

“This class will help you execute a social media marketing plan by discussing recent research, application, trial and error, and professional benchmarks so that small business people and creative entrepreneurs can better use this medium to support their business goals.

“Previous classes have been very interactive. Participants have implemented much of what they learned in the class. I try to adapt sessions two and three to the needs of individual participants so that they get answers for their particular needs.”

Participants will walk away from this boot camp knowing how to set up and optimize social media sites, generate targeted leads via Facebook ads, generate traffic, increase returns on site investment, apply practical strategies, and navigate the do’s and don’ts of social media.

The cost for this course is $69.

Another element of social media advertising is creating images and videos to draw your audience and increase engagement.  “Social Media for Non-Designers,” also taught by Cook, will focus on design trends and low-cost options for creating the best presentation for your brand.

This course is $54 and will meet Nov. 7, 14, and 21 from 6-7 p.m. in Weir Hall.