Looking for some guidance in crafting your organization's message and improving your written communications?

Client and Schipul pal John Sturtevant (of The Writing Workshop) is conducting a Business Writing Seminar to 'Get the confidence and skills you need to think clearly and write what you mean!'

Clear Writing Essentials

You’ll learn to organize your thinking and write what you mean, without the clutter of useless words and complexity.

What you’ll learn:

How to be clear – The single most important goal in writing.
Purpose – Why are you writing? What are you writing? What do you want to accomplish?
Audience – Who is your reader? What’s his perspective? What are his expectations?
Plan, write, revise, edit – A process to help you think clearly, organize your ideas, focus your objectives, take less time, and have more fun writing.

Analysis

You will learn how to dig deeper, understand your objectives, consider options, choose a direction, and organize your ideas.

You will learn how to use these planning tools:
Analytical questions - How to look beyond the obvious.
Brainstorming - How to generate ideas and form connections.
Outlining - How to organize your ideas and structure a logical document.

Analysis Exercises

You will participate in a series of exercises designed to help you examine a situation thoroughly, and ask the right kinds of questions. 

What you’ll learn:
A 4-step process that’s guaranteed to improve your efficiency.
Practical ways to uncover your real objectives for writing.
How to keep your words from obscuring your ideas.
How to address the 4 most common reader attitudes.
Ways to avoid jargon, clichés and pompous language.
How to motivate your reader to take action.    

Persuasive Communication Skills

We’ll look at the principles of persuasive communication. You will learn how to structure an argument, introduce facts, support claims, and make clear recommendations – all essential to persuasive communication.

We’ll analyze a given business situation and produce an outline for an effective argument.

What you’ll learn:

• The 5 most common communication mistakes business people make – and how to avoid them.
• Commitment, Structure, Coherence – the model of a tight presentation.
• 29 questions to help you think and write analytically.
• How to achieve cooperation and encourage action through writing.
• The 7 essential components of an effective argument.
• Sentences & Paragraphs  
• The Sentence - People use them every day, but don’t know what they are.
• The Paragraph - Your document’s rhythm section.
• You will learn how to write effective sentences and paragraphs to make your writing clear, logical, and persuasive.
• Revising & Editing
• We’ll look at writing examples and revise them to improve style, structure, word choice, and clarity. 
• Style - How to set the right tone for your audience and purpose.
• Clarity - What’s clear for the writer is often confusing for the reader!
• Loud, later, slow - A 3-step technique to help strengthen your writing.