 Now let's talk about the first three units of this course and how their contents and themes tie together. In unit one you're going to learn about the communication process and how your traits and the traits of your audience can influence that process. It's important while going through all of this course to consider three main concepts. The communication process, the message that represents the communication, and the audience that you are targeting by your communication. First it's important that you understand the communication process. If you do not understand this process you may be unable to anticipate factors that can block effective communication. By understanding the communication process you will be able to analyze a situation and control or compensate for factors that you know could result in poor communication. It is also important to learn how to present the message that is central to your communication and that is what unit two is all about. Examining the relationship between language, messages, and communication. You will learn that there are three types of messages primary, secondary, and auxiliary. These distinctions are based on whether the message was communicated intentionally or unintentionally. You also learn about the five parts of a message. The attention statement, the introduction, the body, the conclusion, and the residual message. An effective communicator knows the options that are available to them so that they can choose the best option given the business context. By the end of this course you'll be able to do just that. Unit three is all about audience, the people you want to influence with your message. You will learn that your own personal traits and the traits of your audience are very important. You'll also learn what perception is and how it can affect the way your audience receives your message. The key point in unit three is that you must know your audience so that you can tailor messages to suit their needs and expectations. As an effective communicator you'll want to research your audience to ensure that your message reaches them, is understood, and produces the desired response. This all may seem fairly abstract right now, but as you work through this course you will build the knowledge and confidence to make you an effective business communicator. Good luck.