Report and Proposal Writing/Crucial Communications Course

For effectiveness in business communications, this course focuses on making managers to:

• Become highly skilled in the use of English Language
• Write memos, letters, reports, proposals excellently by presenting contents with mechanical precision
• Organise thoughts clearly before writing
• Know the techniques of outlining, drafting and revising written messages
• Practice writing reports with graphical presentation of data
• Prepare proposals with project management value proposition
• Pay attention to spellings and punctuations.

Course Contents

Day One

Develop Correct Writing Skills

• Writing inertia and how to overcome it
• Essence of effective writing
• The Communication Process
• Elements of Crucial Communication

Common Writing Problems

• Common errors in the use of English by Nigerians
• Word usage
• Improving your vocabulary

Your Attitudes as a Writer

• Simplicity and conciseness
• Confused words
• Effect of Culture on language use

Formatting Your Writing

• Style and tone

Day Two

Prewriting and Planning

• Establishing purpose
• Clarifying readership
• Researching for facts.

Doing the Writing

• Word usage
• Common errors in our use of English by Nigerians
• Word economy.

Attention to Grammar

• Verb exercises
• Passive and Active Verbs
• Noun and pronoun exercises
• Spellings
• Punctuations
• Formatting the Writing

- Style and tone

- Paragraphs

- Headings

• Editing techniques.

Letters

• Salutation
• Body of letter
• Complimentary closure.

Email Guidelines

• The recipients
• Keeping it short
• File attachments
• Plain texts.

Memos

• General principles guiding Memo writing
• In-house styles

Day Three

Reports - the Purpose

• Informing
• Selling
• Persuading
• Instructing
• Advising
• Explaining

              - an Analysis

              - a Research outcome

              - an Information

              - an Experience.

Types of Report

• Information/investigation report
• Progress Report
• Formal Reports
• Informal Reports
• SOPADA formula
• The “Need-to-know” v. “Nice-to-know” reports

Executive Summary

• The Purpose of an Executive Summary
• Main Stages and Techniques of Summarisation
• Types of Summaries
• Qualities of an Effective Executive Summary

Writing the Report

• Organizing thoughts clearly before writing
• Selection of the most appropriate main message
• Structure

                  - introduction

                  - body of report

                  - references

                  - bibliography (as necessary)

                  - appendices (as necessary).

• Contents and Formats

                   - chronology

                  - functionality.

• Outlining, drafting and revising techniques.

Packaging the Report - Data reporting and conversion to graphs

• Data analysis
• Applications of Excel formats
• Graphic presentations
  • Bar Chart
  • Pie Chart
  • Line Chart
  • Frequency Distribution
  • Frequency Polygon
  • Scatter Diagram.

Writing Minutes of Meetings

Minutes   – what it is, what it is not

• The Importance of Minutes
• Types of Minutes
• Minutes Format
• Steps to Effective Minutes
• Qualities of Good Minutes.

Day Four

Proposals Outline

• Our Understanding of your requirements
• Our Point of View
• The Proposed Project

- Objective and Scope – Objectives, Covered Areas, Minimizing risks that

  could hinder successful completion of project

- Methodology - Integration and linkage between various components of work

  to deliver maximum value

- Approach – Phases of Project and duration, Teaming Approach, Our

  requirements, Knowledge transfer

- Schedule and Releases – Rationale of Phases/releases. For example, there will

  be a pilot test to generate excitement and communicate success, followed by   

  a major Release to minimise the change impact and build ownership.

- Major Work Activities

- Key Deliverables

- Resources – Resources requirements from your company and ours, their

  availability (full/part time) and duration on Project

- Project Team Structure

• Our Value Proposition - What we have to offer:
  • Operating environment
  • Methodology/experiences
  • Commitment
  • Relevant previous work done
  • Solutions tailored made for organization
  • Provision of pragmatic, practical and easy to understand approaches
  • suitable for company
  • Transfer of skills and knowledge to Company’s resources.
• Fee Arrangement
• Credentials