Business Writing Skills

When one commits thought to paper the message loses the impact of the voice and accompanying body language, but gains the impact of the reader's imagination and interpretation. But when we're doing the writing, the message we intended is not necessarily the one the reader will receive. Naturally, we'd like it to be!

Good writing is deliberate and well thought out. A good poem may take weeks to compose, a good book years, and then it goes through a process of careful editing before the final product is published. Effective business writing is a skill that can be learned, and perfected through practice.

In this two-day course delegates are taken through the process of assessment of self, topic and reader; the planning, research and generating of ideas; drafting a first version; and finally editing, formatting and structuring the written communication to the final product.

Business Writing Skills

Course outline

Module 1

In this module, delegates are given the opportunity to explore a competency model so that they can assess their current level of expertise within the area of business writing and set personal learning goals.

Module 2

In this module, delegates learn how to: -

Accurately assess the topic on which they are writing.
Assess the reader/s.
Begin planning and generating ideas for their communication using a creative process.

Module 3

In this module, delegates learn how to plan their communication more effectively, conduct any research that is necessary, and gather information through face-to-face interaction, as appropriate. They also learn how to draft the first version of their written communication.

Module 4

In this module, delegates learn how to generate and analyse recommendations.

Module 5

In this module, delegates learn about style and format/structure their communication and produce a final product.

Module 6 (optional)

In this module, delegates learn how to study and write exams more effectively.

Please note that this is our standard outline. As there a different kinds of business writing depending on the context, this programme can be adapted to the needs of the client for in-house training.

Please contact us for more information: 0860 503 191 (RSA only) +27 11 804 3520 director@congruence.co.za