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A communication pack for one real recommendation, aimed at a named room

The capstone project for Executive Communication & Client Management — a free Business course. Pass it and you earn a certificate anyone can verify.

Start the course free Download the project workbook

The project unlocks once you complete the lessons. The workbook is free to download now so you can see exactly what is expected.

What you will submit

A written pack of roughly 1,100 to 1,800 words containing: the recommendation and the named room with its sponsor, decider, beneficiaries, losers and blocker; the one-page pyramid with the question each layer answers and one named cut; the full executive summary; the six-slide specification with its titles-only sequence test; the pre-wire plan covering three people and the blocker with objections diagnosed as genuine or costume; the exact bad-news words with the chosen room and reasoning, plus the two-sentence own-error correction; and the same-day meeting note and 90-day check-in message.

What to do, step by step

  1. Choose ONE real recommendation you could genuinely have to argue for — from your own business, your employer, or the capstone of either previous course in this sequence (say which). It must be specific enough to act on and contestable enough that a reasonable person could push back. Then describe the REAL room it would face: three to six named roles (initials or roles only for privacy — 'the MD, 58', 'the operations manager who built the depot'), including who sponsors, who decides, who benefits, who loses, and who can block.
  2. Build the pyramid on one page: the top line as a full sentence somebody could disagree with; three or four MECE supporting points, each a full sentence, each answering the exact question the top line provokes (say which question: why, how, or which); and under each support, one line naming its strongest evidence and where that evidence comes from. Then show the discipline: name one thing you cut from the pyramid — a finding you liked that did not support the answer — and say where it went instead.
  3. Write the one-page executive summary in full (250–400 words): the recommendation as the first sentence carrying action, deadline, people and payoff; a short paragraph per supporting point, each opening with the point in bold; the condition under which the recommendation should be revisited, stated with a number; and one honest sentence of limits. No hedged grammar — if a sentence contains 'could be argued', 'may potentially' or their relatives, rewrite it as a plain claim plus a named condition.
  4. Specify the six-slide deck, slide by slide. For each slide give: the action title as a full sentence; what the body shows (the one chart, the one comparison, the one number — and why that form fits that claim); and the source line it would carry. The six titles, read alone in order, must reproduce the whole argument — write them out as a sequence and confirm they pass this test. Name at least two things you deliberately sent to the appendix and why.
  5. Write the pre-wire plan: which three people you would see before the decision meeting, in what order, and — for each — what you would show them, what objection you expect, whether you judge it a genuine objection or a costume for something else (and what that something else is), and what you would do if the objection turns out to be right. Include the blocker: what they are actually protecting, and which of the three approaches from the course you would use.
  6. Handle the hard moment: your recommendation contains bad news for at least one named person in your room (if it does not, you have chosen too easy a recommendation — go back). Write the exact words, two to four sentences, you would use to deliver that news to that person, and say which room you would deliver it in and why. Then write the two-sentence correction you would send if, after presenting, you discovered one of your own figures was wrong — following the fast, first, plainly protocol with the consequence stated.
  7. Close with the follow-through: the four-line same-day meeting note you would send after the decision meeting (decisions, owners, dates, open questions), and the 90-day check-in message — three sentences — that closes the loop on whether your recommendation survived contact with reality, referencing the specific early-warning indicator you attached to it.

Files to work with

Project workbook (fill in, then submit)The whole brief, an evidence checklist, the grading rubric as a self-check and the link-sharing steps in one file. Opens in Word, Google Docs or WPS.Word · 8 KB

How it is graded

CriterionWeight
The recommendation and room are real and contestable: a specific, actionable recommendation a reasonable person could oppose, and a named room of three to six roles with sponsor, decider, beneficiaries, losers and blocker identified — not a generic audience15%
The pyramid holds: a top line that could be disagreed with, MECE supports each stated as a full sentence answering the named question the top line provokes, evidence lines with sources, and one honestly-named cut with its destination20%
The executive summary does its job: first sentence carrying action, deadline, people and payoff; bold point sentences a hurried reader could read alone; a revisit condition with a number; an honest limits sentence; and no hedged grammar anywhere on the page20%
The deck is specified as argument: six action titles that reproduce the case when read alone (with the sequence test shown), a body specification for each slide whose form fits its claim, source lines throughout, and at least two deliberate appendix decisions with reasons15%
The influence plan is person-specific: three pre-wires in a stated order with expected objections diagnosed as genuine or costume, a stated response if an objection proves right, and a blocker analysis naming what they protect and which approach fits15%
The hard moments are written in real words: the bad-news delivery in two to four sentences with the room chosen and justified, the own-error correction following fast-first-plainly with its consequence, the four-line same-day note, and a 90-day check-in tied to a named early-warning indicator15%

You need 65% overall to pass. A failed submission comes back with feedback and can be revised and resubmitted.

Before you submit: make your link public

If your work lives in Google Drive or Google Docs, open Share → General access and change “Restricted” to “Anyone with the link” (Viewer). Then paste the link into a private browser window: if it opens without sign-in, you are ready. A private link cannot be graded — it is the single most common reason a good project fails.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to finish Executive Communication & Client Management before submitting the project?

Yes. The submission screen opens once every lesson in Executive Communication & Client Management is marked complete. The lessons are where the methods, the Nigerian context and the worked examples the project depends on are taught.

How is the project graded?

An examiner scores each rubric criterion from 0 to 100 and weights them as shown on this page; you need 65% overall to pass. Most submissions are graded within minutes and you get written feedback on what was strong and what to improve.

Can I resubmit if I fail?

Yes. A failed project comes back with feedback; revise the weak parts and resubmit. A passed project is final — the certificate is issued and cannot be re-rolled.

What do I actually submit?

A write-up of what you did (under 5,000 characters). You can mention a public link to supporting files in the write-up. The free project workbook on this page walks you through all 7 steps.

Is the certificate real?

Yes. Passing this project issues a certificate with a unique verification code. Anyone — an employer, a client, a school — can open the verification page and see that the certificate is genuine and which project earned it.

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