BUSINESS WRITING SKILLS

Take the strain out of composing any kind of document!

Would you like a quick and easy method for composing documents,letters, memos, reports, proposals and performance appraisals in an organized format? This seminar provides you with basic formats and formulas for tackling any kind of writing task and communicating to your readers what they need to know. You streamline your writing process and save time by focusing on what to write instead of how to write it. Bring a current project and get one-on-one feedback.

This workshop will –

• Provide Tips and techniques to get words flowing freely with a lot less effort and aggravation.
• Organize your ideas and get words down on paper quickly.
• You’ll become a more powerful, compelling communicator …
• Clear, concise, compelling writing to achieve your aim.
• It will help you develop a powerful writing style sure to get the results you want!
• Most mistakes can be avoided by knowing a mere handful of easy-to-remember grammar and usage rules — rules you’ll master at this workshop.
• Format allows you time to practice — and thus reinforce — what you’ve learned.
• Upgrade your writing skills and add professional polish to every piece of written communication you create

Tips for Getting Started 

• Simple ways to plan what you write
• The secret to cutting your writing time by 30 percent – 40 percent
• Key questions to answer before you begin writing
• A systematic way to organize your thoughts and information
• Surefire tips for overcoming writing anxiety

Basics of Solid Business Writing

• A casual tone – key to today’s business communication
• How to present details and explanations clearly and simply
• Strategies for avoiding wordiness and eliminating stiff, formal language
• Why being concise is imperative to getting results in today’s workplace

Writing Letters, Memos and Reports That Get Results!

• Capitalize on your personal style to make your writing more interesting — and more effective
• Tips for eliminating monotony in long reports and complex proposals
• A proven way to guarantee your memos get read
• Avoiding the most commonly made errors in letters and memos

Smart Tips for Sparking Your Readers’ Interest

• Reader-friendliness.
• Proven techniques used by professional writers to stimulate reader interest
• Openers that are sure to get noticed
• Tips for creating sharp images that linger in the reader’s mind
• Why using tired clichés could brand you as “out of touch”

How to Influence, Persuade and Sell Your Bright Ideas!

• Mastering the 7 C’s of convincing business writing
• How to be more persuasive when you expect resistance from your readers
• Smart tips that will add punch to every paragraph
• Success strategies for selling anything — products, ideas, services
• Communicate with passion and enthusiasm: How to rev things up with active verbs

Keys to Conveying Credibility and Professionalism

• How to align your writing with the image your organization wants to project
• The pros and cons of using computerized spelling and grammar checkers

Mastering the Rewriting Process: Your Key to Exceptional Business Writing

• Your first draft should never be your last draft
• A simple technique that will make your writing more readable
• How to trim the fat from all your business documents
• Editing “musts” for concise, clear writing
• Slashing adjectives and stamping out unnecessary adverbs
• How to “hear” what you write

Practical Solutions to Real-World Writing Challenges

• How to write “no” letters with a “yes” sound
• Writing complaint letters that get immediate action
• Techniques for responding to complaints with relationship-rebuilding success
• How to make written requests that get favourable replies
• Writing for special situations

Gender, Age and Culture Sensitivity: Using Care in Business Writing

• Solutions to gender-based pronoun problems
• What to do about courtesy titles

Using Correct Grammar for Powerful Writing

• How misplaced modifiers can wreak havoc with your meaning
• A simple way to make sure subjects and verbs agree
• “Is it HE at the door?” Or “Is it HIM at the door?” Secrets to choosing the right pronoun
• The most misused words in business and the words that don’t exist
• The “10 Commandments of Capitalization” every business writer must know
• How to spot look-alike words

Easy Punctuation Guidelines

• Avoid “comma-itis” by knowing when a comma is essential
• Apostrophe: Using the minimark that keeps your meaning clear
• A rule for using punctuation with quotation marks

Proofread Like a Pro to Keep Errors From Slipping Through

• Are you proofreading or editing?
• Expert editors’ tricks for spotting their own mistakes
• The words most often misused in business communication

Proven shortcuts that will ensure your documents are error-free