Session 1:     DEVELOPING STRATEGY FOR WRITING AT WORK

  • Purposes and Constraints of Writing
  • Systems Concerns: Understanding the Organization
  • Audience Concerns: Understanding the Reader

Session 2:    DECIDING WHAT TO SAY

  • Developing Content: Techniques to Unleash Creativity
  • Developing Perspective: Writing For Your Reader
  • Mastering Tone: Controlling Reader Response
  • Success Consciousness: the Power of Positive Thinking
  • Empathy: Balancing Writer and Reader Needs

Session 3:    THE PHYSICAL LAYOUT: MAKING YOUR WRITING READER-FRIENDLY

  • Ensuring Reading “At a Glance:”
  • Creating Effective Layout
  • Using Graphics

Session 4:    RHETORICAL PLANNING: ORGANIZING YOUR IDEAS

  • Using Current Outlining Techniques
  • “Fleshing Out” the Outline: Developing Key Ideas and Supportive Data
  • Logic: Rhetorical Patterns
  • Coherence: Parallelism, Umbrellas
  • Clarity: Ensuring Precision

Session 5:    SENTENCE PLANNING: MASTERING PHRASING

  • Phrasing Concerns and Stylistic Choices
  • Conciseness: Deleting the Unnecessary
  • Power: Strengthening Verbs and Energizing Sentences
  • Quality control: Eliminating Common Grammatical Errors

Session 6:    PROFESSIONAL E-MAIL

  • Composing a talking subject line
  • Limiting content to one screen
  • Using effective visual layout
  • Maintaining appropriate tone

Session 7:    EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES

  • Ensuring readability at a glance”
  • Extracting the essence
  • Creating a “stand-alone” document
  • Writing concisely

Session 8:    PROPOSALS

  • Internal/external proposals
  • Writing proposals using logos, pathos, ethos
  • Addressing self-interest (WIFM)
  • Ensuring credibility (your ability to do the job)

Session 9:    EDITING

  • Macro-edit before micro-editing
  • Current methods for effective editing & proofreading
  • Editing others

Session 10:     TEAM WRITING

  • Collaborative brainstorming and outlining
  • Designing effective storyboards
  • Creating a writing schedule
  • Avoiding mistakes common in team writing assignments

Optional: ONE-ON-ONE COACHING

Although formal classroom training in communication is an essential first step, nothing can compare with direct intervention when a message is being prepared. One-on-one coaching provides just-in-time training to assist participants to produce clear, audience-focused written work. This training emphasizes the structure of the total message and its clarity for readers.