Seize attention of demanding business readers, who have too much to read and no time to waste
Give readers what they most want—in the first sentence
Root out the misguided models of "official" writing that bad writers unconsciously follow, laying a barrier of dead prose between their message and the reader
Turn chaos into clarity by a powerful three-step structuring process that applies at both the macro and micro level of any document
Think more sharply — because the discipline of writing well elicits clearer thinking
Ease readers through the message by knowing and using the kind of words busy readers unconsciously prefer
Say more with fewer words — producing shorter documents with greater impact
Inject life into the driest of documents by knowing how to make the most of verbs
Package the message so that readers spot it even before they read it—making it transparent to fast-paced scanning eyes
Increase readers' recall of business documents by up to 75 percent – through a strategic packaging of text
Break writer's block with a proven method to get the writing process in motion even before putting text on the page
Shape sentences that deliver the message flawlessly in readily digestible units
Edit with assurance using a concise workshop checklist that distills the new learning on a handy, laminated, "takeaway" card for use everyday back on the job
Tap a wealth of value added writing insights that ripple out of each of the "Ten Secrets" synergistically.
The model of "good" writing that most people learned in school was a wordy, heavy, ornate, academic prose. The seminar challenges that model as the wrong one for the fast-paced world of the workplace of the twenty-first century— where virtually all professionals have:
Too much to read
No time to waste
To communicate effectively with these readers, writers must redefine and redesign their model of good writing. The seminar brings participants through this redesign process. Participants consistently remark that the learning approach the course takes is clever, imaginative and highly engaging.
Three Core Modules
The Elements of Structure
We will begin by learning to change our writing perspective—shifting to the seat of the real-world, fast-paced, busy people who are at the other end of your letters, reports and e-mails. Starting from this critical perspective shift, we will discover the structural and format elements that have maximum effect with this demanding audience.
The Elements of Style
We will next learn the kind of wording strategies that bring well planned structure to life. These are the proven techniques used by professional writers and editors to make their prose lean, crisp, dynamic, cogent and easy for busy readers to grasp immediately.
The Elements of Editing
We will apply these new structural and stylistic skills by editing real documents drawn from participants’ own workplace. The instructor and class join in the editing process. This module brings the new skills home, dramatically illustrating how they can improve writing immediately back on the job.
E-mail is revolutionizing written communication in the workplace. To respond to this dramatic change, the Whelan Group has newly created Secrets to Powerful E-Mail, a companion half-day seminar that addresses the unique communications challenges posed by e-mail.
As an enrichment to Ten Secrets to Powerful Writing, the course includes excerpts from Secrets to Powerful E-Mail – to show how the Ten Secrets apply equally as powerfully.
