Applied Technical Writing
Course Description
These in-company workshops are designed to deliver specific predefined benefits in terms of participants writing skills and improved document design. People learn by best by doing and the content will combine generic learning inputs with smart practice on relevant documents and situations agreed in advance.
Duration: 1 days
Prerequisites
None
Customisation
Prior to making a definitive work proposal and designing the workshop we will carry out a preliminary needs analysis to:
Lock in the specific reports/tasks that constitute the focus of the training
Fine-tune the emphasis and incorporate client specific terminology into Professional Training's proprietary materials for the skills development segment of the workshop
Define skills building exercises and briefings which replicate situations that are realistic, relevant and useful to client and the participants at the workshop.
Agree evaluation methods for the workshop
Indicative content for the workshop
The workshop will be split into two segments:
1. The generic principles and skills needed for the defined technical/business writing situation
2. A series of exercises applying these skills to the identified situation
Writing
The Reader
The Message and Information Triangle
Structure and process
Understanding and applying the techniques for effective technical/business writing :
Timing
Accuracy
Brevity
Clarity
Completeness
Courtesy
Communicating
The five factors common to business communications
The Active Listening Wheel
Managing Difficult Conversations
Emotional Intelligence
Presenting
Preparation
Establishing the audience/message
Structure The three tells
Reading and engaging the audience
Presenting confidently
Handling questions
Applying the skills
Exercises on one or more of the following:
Incident report
Business case
Instructional material
Procedure manual
The exercises will use identified documents on a specified situation.
The participants will be given two sets of Flash Cards:
1. The specific guidelines for the document as defined by the client company
2. Professional Training's standard recap on the key techniques and issues covered in the general skills segment
Participants will receive a short tutorial on giving and receiving feedback.
Each team will also make one formal key-point presentation showing how they would present the information to a senior management team.