Business Writing Skills Training - Melbourne Public Training Course

Document planning process

Participants learn techniques for structural clarity. Specifically, they learn how to:

• use the Planning Model to plan all written work in less than 10 minutes;
  
• organise topics into a well-structured outline so that the information is reader-focussed, tells a coherent and credible story, and ensures key points are easy to find;
  
• use parallel patterns to present the document structure;
  
• review information with a critical eye for relevance, missing elements, or faulty logic and organisation;
  
• use the Persuasion Model to draw logical and objective conclusions from data and facts, and how to recommend actions based on conclusions;
  
• review and edit documents using the Review Checklist and the Business Writing Editing Checklist.
  

Grammar, plain English and presentation

Participants learn techniques for stylistic clarity, what to avoid and what to look out for in their written correspondence. Specifically, they learn how to:

• recognise when writing contains punctuation, case and sentence construction faults, and how to fix them;
  
• become an accurate word miser (a writer who uses plain English) and write to clarify rather than confuse;
  
• select appropriate writing styles (including person, voice and tense) for different document types;
  
• use techniques that improve readability and scanability (including plain English, listings, headings and white space ratio);
  
• improve a document’s appearance to ensure a professional final copy.
  

Special issues when writing bad news and sensitive documents

Participants learn:

• how to avoid flame warfare and how to select appropriate writing styles for writing bad news, emotional and sensitive messages;
  
• techniques to maintain a positive, professional and polite tone in all documents;
  
• how to use positive language and make careful word choices to avert misunderstandings and negative repercussions.
  

What type of online learning is included?

The online program is a true online interactive program. Participants get immediate feedback on practice activities, tutorials and assessments. All they need is a computer with internet access. The online program has a number of features including, but not limited to the following:

• Comprehensive: 15 hours of study covering in detail all aspects of professional writing
• Individual: Participants learn at their own pace and in their own time
• Streamlined: Participants can complete pre-course assessments to evaluate their specific needs
• Time saving: Each lesson is bookmarked when exited, making it easy to resume learning

To register , please complete Business Writing Skills Registration Form.