Writing Skills- Written Communication Skills Training (How to Write Effectively and Concisely) Course

Effective written communication is an important aspect of business and personal Image and branding. Written communication can be confusing, offensive and ineffective if it is poorly written, uses vague terminology or because it sends messages that are flat, lacking other elements of communication such as right tone and semantics. This training is designed to provide participants with the right skills to communicate in such a way to pass the intended messages, project the right image and reputation for self and the organization and elicit the desired response from the recipient of the messages .

Day One

Developing Writing Skills

• Writing inertia and how to overcome it

Writing Guidelines

• Essence of effective senior level writing
• Planning the writing
• Organizing thought before writing.

Prewriting and Planning

• Establishing purpose
• Clarifying readership
• Researching for facts.
• Developing appropriate writing style
• Audience
• Message
• Word Choice.

Day Two

Attention to Grammar

• Verb exercises
• Noun and pronoun exercises
• Spellings
• Punctuations.
• Editing techniques
• Sentence Structure
• Paragraphs

Writing Competently for Effective Communication

• Planning the writing
• Organizing thought before writing
• Researching for facts

The Business Writer’s Attitudes

• Simplicity and conciseness
• Confused words
• Outdated expressions
• Opinion words and expressions
• Look-alike words.

Common Writing Problems

• Common errors in the use of English by Nigerians
• Problem with Clichés
• Parallelism problems
• Misplaced modifiers

Day Three

• Formatting the Writing
• Style and tone
• Paragraphs
• Headings
• Agendas
• Letters
• Memos
• Executive Summaries
• Reports
• Proposals
• Business Cases.

Day Four

Speechwriting

• Informative Speech
• Persuasive Speech
• Inspirational Speech.

Anatomy of a Great Written Speech

• A review of sample great speeches in history
• Clear about the goal the speaker is to achieve
• Resonates “What’s In It for Me” to the audience
• In tune with the speaker’s voice
• Simple in words
• Original
• Authentic.

The Speechwriter’s Tool Kit

• Facts researching
• Dictionary
• Biographies
• Great speeches
• Quotations.

Speechwriting Steps

• Meeting with the executives
• Deciding the theme
• Reviewing the audience
• Agreeing the slant
• Speechwriting Process
• Writing opening that grabs an audience’s attention
• Closing that sticks in an audience memory
• Using stories to bring ideas to life.

Day Five

• Finalizing Formal Document
• Informal Written Communication
• Revising, Editing and Proofreading
• Visual Appeal
• British v. American English
• Rules that guide the use of numerals in written projects.