Business writing skills (1 day)

Be clear about the aims of their communication and the needs of their audience.

Structure their message  – ensuring their audiences reads their communication.

Chose the most effective medium of communication in different situations.

Understand how to use language and grammar effectively.

Write effective e-mails, reports and presentations in line with in-house communication guidelines.

Defining effective communications.

What are the barriers to good communications?

4-step model for achieving effective communications.

What am I trying to communicate?

What is the audience interested in?

How will my audience receive my message?

Using brainstorming and mind mapping to identify the content of your message.

Using a “pyramid” approach to structuring your message.

The magic number for good structure.

3 types of logic for structuring a communication.

Anticipating your audience’s questions.

Developing a level-by-level approach to giving details.

Using a structuring planning sheet before you start writing.

Following in-house guidelines on report formats.

An effective approach to structuring introductions.

How to get the reader’s or listener’s attention.

Choosing the appropriate level of formality.

Guidelines on sentence length, accuracy and brevity.

Guidelines on the use of language and grammar.

Active vs. passive writing.

Picking a level of formality for your writing

How to use jargon.

Using MS word to check “Fog index” and other readability statistics.

Formatting guidelines

Personal action planning.