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.