Introduction

Learn how to create business documents that say what you mean and achieve the results you want. This course not only covers the basics of how to improve your writing skills but also how to achieve the right result from your written correspondence.  

Learning Objective At the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Structure your business documents effectively
• Avoid common grammatical mistakes
• Write in a clear, concise style
• Get your message across convincingly
• Organize and structure ideas logically and with appropriate language structures to convey the ideas with clarity, and reader-friendly
• Understand style and tone strategies appropriate to the audience
• Give your business documents that final polish before you send them

  Target Audience  All participants that:

• Are required to write internal or external emails on a regular basis
• May be required to write standard reports
• Are looking to improve their business writing proficiency for a range of documents
• Feel that their writing can be improved through a better understanding of the key principles and avoidance of common errors
• Are looking to write more professionally, accurately and clearly

Program Duration 2 Days  

Program Content (9.00am -5.00pm)

MODULE 1 General principles of writing

• Clarifying your objective – know where you’re going and you’ll know when you’ve arrived
• Quick and clear messages – six questions to clarify your thinking
• Who is going to read your document? Knowing your reader helps you pitch your message

 MODULE 2 Good writing techniques for business correspondence

• The best sequence of delivery reflects your contents
• Structuring your text – layouts to support content and draw the reader in
• How to ask for things without starting a long sequence of replies to replies
• How to give bad news – being up-front and empathising
• Responding to complaints – when you are at fault; when you wish to make a concession; standing firm; what to avoid
• Writing letters of complaint – useful phrases

MODULE 3 Writing emails

• Why have email etiquette?
• Email etiquette for header fields – subject lines, content, forward and reply
• Technical issues – signature files, attachments, elaborate fonts can work for or against you
• Choosing the right structure for your content and objective
• Email style counts – it still represents your business!
• Sending the right message – what your email could be saying about you
• How to minimise flaming by recognising ambiguous content and knowing when to use the phone instead

MODULE 4 Editing your work

• A top-down approach to improving text – edit like a reader
• Effective transitions – holding the flow of thought
• Tips to maximise impact
• Polishing the words – poppycock and commonly-confused words
• Polishing your grammar and punctuation – common mistakes and things that make some people go mad
• Spelling – using the tools
• Infinitives
• Proofing your work – tricks to help you see what’s really there

  Training Approach The trainer uses up-to-date training techniques and a variety of training methods to give all participants the best opportunities for learning, including:

• Class Session
• Discussions
• Simulations exercises
• Participants to bring along 1 or 2 samples of their emails that they will work on for improvement during the workshop.
• Individual assignments
• Templates and tools