Business writing is a skill that can be learned well. It is still one of the important tools with which ideas are presented in business.
This 2-day course enhances professional writing. It is also for professionals who
prepare and edit business proposals, memos, and business letters.
The workshop also allows the participants to discover their communication preferences
and become more aware of their colleagues' styles. This awareness will help them adapt their business correspondence with that of their readers.
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of course, participants will:
• Identify their communication styles and match them with their customers' preferences;
• Write clear and concise business documents; and
• Use a document meter in MS Word to grade and measure readability.
Part 1. Benchmark: quick write to establish participant’s writing density.
The Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) format as the cornerstone of business writing.
Part 2. Revisiting usage rules we tend to overlook:
• fragments
• run on or fused sentences
• comma splice
• pronouns
• ambiguity
• verb tense consistency
• subject-verb
• others
Part 3. Organization
3a. Memos and email:
a. how to organize good news and bad news
b. best practices for subject lines
c. composing thought with consideration vv. economy of words
3b. Reports and Minutes of the Meeting
a. types of minutes: chronological, task based, Robert’s Rules of Order
b. agenda setting and meeting parts
c. technology to organize note taking and documentation
Part 4. Introduction to document readability in MS Word: Flesch-Kincaid scoring as an editing tool
Pre-work instructions:
1. Please write a two-paragraph essay around the theme: WHAT MY COMPANY MEANS TO ME. Please write in sentence and in paragraph form.
2. Please bring digital copies of your:
• business letter
• memo
• minutes of the meeting
If you have access to a personal laptop with MS Word, bring one. I am not sure if we have enough power outlets in the room. Kindly bring your own extension cord and alternate internet connection as well.