Course Outcomes

This business writing workshop will:

  • Define what makes a piece of writing bad and outline steps to avoid common traps.
  • Discuss the importance of purpose, audience, stakeholders, and context.
  • Introduce tools for quickly building a document’s framework.
  • Provide methods for writing stronger sentences.
  • Suggest several proofreading and editing techniques and applications.

Course Overview

“Six hours in a writing course! I’d rather eat glue.” Sound familiar? If you answered “yes,” then you’ve probably never attended one of our business writing workshops. Our programs are fun, interactive, and focused on practical tools that make the writing process easier. This workshop is 100% hands on and designed for groups who are less interested in theory and more concerned in practical tools they can immediately implement back on the job.

Program Objectives

At this program’s conclusion, participants should be able to:

  • Avoid common mistakes that can sabotage workplace writing.
  • Articulate a document’s purpose, audience, stakeholders, and context.
  • Make choices related to scope, tone, vocabulary, and formatting.
  • Build a document’s framework quickly.
  • Organize information in a way that supports the document’s purpose.
  • Write in the active voice.
  • Select strong verbs.
  • Choose appropriate transitional words and phrases.
  • Use a variety of proofreading and editing tools.

The following outline highlights some of the course’s key learning points. As part of your training program, we will modify content as needed to meet your business objectives. Upon request, we will provide you with a copy of the participant materials prior to the session(s).

Workshop Outline

Why Bad Writing Happens: Saving Ugly Ducks

This workshop opens with a frank discussion about why bad writing happens to good people and what participants can do to avoid the most common problems that ruin workplace writing.

The Core Four: Purpose, Audience, Stakeholders, and Context

In the second module of this program, we’ll look at the importance of identifying the purpose for writing, the audience for which a document is intended, the stakeholders affected by the content of a document, and the context in which the writing occurs. Next, participants will practice creating “cores” using their workplace situations.

Good Bones: Creating a Solid Framework

The next segment of this workshop focuses on frameworks and the importance of beginning with the end in mind. We will introduce participants to purpose stems and four techniques for fleshing out and organizing content.

Verb, That’s What’s Happening: Writing with Power

Once participants know how to create a framework and assemble the basic elements of a document, we’ll turn our attention to tools and techniques for crafting stronger sentences. Specifically, we will address the active voice, sentence length, and the value of a verb inventory.

Connecting the Dots: Transition Words

Good business documents flow logically and never leave readers wondering where they are. This workshop component explores the importance of transitional words and phrases and how to use them to link ideas and maintain a reader’s focus.

Cutting, Chopping, and Correcting: Edit and Proof

This program concludes with practice using a variety of online and offline proofreading and editing tools.

By the conclusion of this workshop, participants should have command of several writing tools they can put in immediate practice back on the job.