Business Writing and Grammar Skills Made Easy and Fun! On-Site Training

This on-site training class is also available as Public Schedule Seminar.

Gain dozens of field-tested strategies relied on by today’s most effective business writers.

Course Description/Agenda

You’ll learn …

The “pre-writing” technique that’ll have the words flowing effortlessly!
How to know if your paragraphs are in a confusing, illogical order … and the best way to fix the problem
How to avoid the trap of wordy opening paragraphs that leave the readers wondering “Huh?”
The 12 most damaging blunders in business writing
And much more!

Gain dozens of field-tested strategies relied on by today’s most effective business writers. Learn how to present your ideas clearly and persuasively … select words that fit your meaning … spot misused verbs, pronouns and punctuation … avoid communication misfires … and much, much more.

Day One: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Getting started: Transforming a blank page into a bold message

Freewriting: What it is and how to use it to produce a great first draft in half the time
Are your paragraphs in a confusing, illogical order? Here’s how to tell and how to fix the problem
Great words and phrases for linking paragraphs together so your readers don’t have to stumble through your document
How to guard against the deadly mistake of leaving important points out because you’re so focused on the little stuff

Understanding the ground rules

Take the confidential Writer’s Discovery Analysis to identify areas you want to polish
Understand how business writing is uniquely different from other types of writing
Discover your natural style—it’s the key to reader-friendly, interesting writing
How to “do your homework”—you’ll be amazed at how effortlessly the words flow after that
Put the “Know Thy Reader” commandment into practice and double the impact of your message

Perfecting your grammar and usage skills

The most troublesome words in business and how to erase any uncertainty about using them
When a personal, casual style is important—never underestimate the power of contractions
A concise refresher on how to correctly use verb tenses, subject-verb patterns and pronouns and their antecedents
The “best-of-the-best” desktop references you’ll want at your fingertips for quick answers
Ensure or insure? Affect or effect? Making the right choice between confusing words like these just became a whole lot easier!
When it’s okay to bend the “rules” to make your point clearly
Are abbreviations and acronyms really proper in business writing? This insight will shed light on the issue
The unwritten rules about the appropriate and inappropriate use of jargon
BONUS: A handy reference list of conjugations for 120 irregular verbs!

Avoiding embarrassing mistakes

Can’t remember if the punctuation goes inside or outside the quotation marks? Here’s how to avoid this pitfall
Follow this widely accepted guideline for when to spell out numbers and when to use figures
Avoid these blunders when using apostrophes—they scream “Rookie!”
When adding hyphens, dashes and other marks for emphasis … know when you’ve gone overboard
To capitalize or not to capitalize? These tips will eliminate any question
A refreshing overview of how to use punctuation marks correctly every time
Your guide to international correspondence—follow this to the letter to ensure you put your best foot forward

Spelling every word correctly every time

An intriguing spelling technique that many national spelling champs secretly rely on
How to stop having to look up the same word in the dictionary over and over
Prefixes and suffixes made easy
How to take the confusion out of pluralizing letters, abbreviations and numbers
DANGER: If you think your spell-checker takes the place of the human eye, you’re asking for trouble

Day Two: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Grabbing your reader’s attention with powerful openings and closings

The “bible” on how to write openings that reel readers in
How to construct a closing so action-oriented it’s like a shot of adrenaline to your reader
Real-world insight into humor and when—if ever—it should be used in business
How to avoid the trap of wordy opening paragraphs that leave the reader wondering “Huh?”
Tough but necessary questions to ask yourself after you’ve written the opening paragraph

Persuading, influencing and convincing for results

Super techniques that give you powerful psychological leverage over your reader
The proven connection between the use of personal pronouns and the results your business writing gets
Undeniably effective tips for winning the reader over to your way of thinking
How to make a strong and logical written argument without coming across like a bulldozer
Stop! If you want to avoid a negative reaction from the reader, take this precautionary step

Projecting credibility and professionalism

The 12 most damaging blunders in business writing—sidestep these at all costs
How to curb the use of worn-out business clichés and what to say instead
Hard-and-fast rules when working with a team on a writing project
How to develop a sixth sense for damaging, biased and sexist language so you can make absolutely sure your writing is “clean”
Get a firm grip on how to deliver bad news in writing—without a doubt, you will need this someday

Expanding your professional skills

EXCLUSIVE: How to choose a style manual that works for your organization
Just released! The latest, most professional business writing formats … for letters, memos, proposals, reports and more
A crash course in building winning business proposals
How to write memos and e-mail that today’s busy professional can digest in 60 seconds or less
Field-tested letter-writing techniques that pay off in 3 big ways
Don’t miss a single one of these 6 elements when writing a report … they’re all essential!
Straight from the mouths of direct mail pros: Creating sales letters that bring in the orders
How to write a press release that gets glowing coverage your company president will thank you for
The art of writing crisp, clear instructions

Editing and proofreading like the pros

4 amazing proofreading secrets that will automatically push your accuracy rate to 99%—or higher
Editing and proofreading symbols the pros use to simplify and speed up the revision process
Relax … this team approach takes the fear out of proofing technical or financial data
How to proofread quickly and accurately under pressure
How to shut out phones, voices and other distractions when proofing in a busy office (It’s like sitting in an airtight bubble!)
Catching typographical errors—yes, it’s tricky, but these tips will help shine the spotlight on them
Keep your sanity with this proofreader’s checklist that ensures perfection down to the very last detail
Proofreading a foreign language? Here are helpful rules that will calm your nerves
How to do a final “sanity check” before your document goes out the door so you can sleep like a baby that night
Editing techniques that will work miracles on your document