Professional Developments Workshops

Essential Business Writing Skills

2 Day Workshop

Prerequisite: None

An all important 2 day workshop developed to improve your professional writing skills.

Being able to write well is a real career boost!

This 2 day course is designed for those who must do business writing as part of their job. Participants learn how to enhance their organizational profile and capture their thoughts on paper so they are strong and persuasive, but at the same time clear, concise, complete and correct.

What We Will Cover:

Advantages of written communication

  • Why do we fear writing?
  • What are the reasons we must write?

The 4 C's of Written Communications:

  1. 1. Clear
    • Will my writing be clear to the reader?
    • Choosing the right words
    • When to add, delete or substitute words
    • Eliminate words that could offend
  2. 2. Concise
    • Ways to eliminate wordiness
    • Active instead of passive voice
    • Using words more economically
    • Acronyms - using them to to save space/increase readibility
  3. 3. Complete
    • What, Where, When, Why and How
    • Checklists make that easier
    • Empathy with the reader
  4. 4. Correct
    • Obeying the rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation
    • Common punctuation problems
    • Common spelling errors
    • Using the apostrophe to show possession
    • Subject-verb agreement
    • Errors in pronoun usage
    • Using jargon

Proofreading

  • Three proofreading techniques to try
  • Spellcheck isn't perfect
  • Points to review before a document leaves your desk

Putting it all together

Writing trends

Format for today's letters

In Addition You Will Learn:

The Business letter format

Style

  • Personal style
  • Persona

Sentence and paragraph construction

Developing paragraphs

Simple to complex

Improve coherence

Types of business letters

  • How to Write a "Yes" Letter
  • How to Write a "No" Letter
  • How to Write a "Please Do Something" Letter

Business letter jargon

E-mail