Business Report Writing

Participants

This course is for anyone seeking to develop the knowledge and skills to write efficiently and effectively. The workshop will be highly interactive and you will be encouraged to participate actively in training exercises and bring experiences from your workplace into the discussions. The course provides plenty of clear examples of good and bad writing techniques, helping you develop your own writing skills with confidence.

Goals

Writing clear and simple text is a valuable core skill for anyone involved in business. Effective writing saves time, reduces errors and avoids misunderstandings. This course aims to provide an all-purpose skillset to communicate well on all platforms commonly used in business e.g. emails, reports and presentations.

Learning outcomes

On successfully completing the course, participants will be able to: 1. Engage and persuade readers 2. Bring effective structure and flow to their reports and other communications 3. Write clear, concise and grammatically correct sentences 4. Use smart techniques to skilfully edit reports 5. Apply simple techniques to get the best out of MS Word and Outlook 6. Use simple PPT techniques to present report summaries clearly and confidently

Bringing your reader into focus

Understanding all the forces at play when we communicate The single most important rule for effective communications Profiling the reader(s) Persuading the reader

Good practice and common report structures

A systematic approach to planning the structure and content of your reports Drafting and polishing Editing and checking techniques

Writing – how to communicate precisely and clearly to readers

The TAB3C channel to effective writing Simple time management techniques to meet your deadlines How to make your reports accurate and complete Common enemies of brevity and simple steps to writing concisely Four steps to writing clear sentences How to punctuate your writing to express what you want to say The wisdom of courtesy Nine tips for effective emails

Valuable MS Word features every report writer should use

Building your Quick Access Toolbar Using and adapting inbuilt MS styles Setting up smart numerical sequences for headings, subheadings and sub subheadings Using the navigation function and automatic tables of content The “Read Aloud” function.

Using PPT to present report summaries

Avoid “Death by PowerPoint” Apply the 10/20/30 guide judiciously Elevate your presentations through PPT’s “animations” and “transitions “features Nine steps to a confident professional presentation

Next steps

Transferring your learning into real life Implementation / Takeaway exercise

Future trends in technical communication

Virtual Reality Artificial Intelligence Chat GPT - a worked example