Writing skills

Effective business writing helps you get your job done by showing you how to communicate effectively and appropriately. You will learn how to organize your thoughts, use appropriate wording, target your communication, and write clearly. Good business writing brings results, so it’s worth learning how to do it well. This advanced business writing course will help you become a better communicator. That means you will be able to work more effectively and make life easier for your associates. Everyone will appreciate the effort you put into writing appropriately. This workshop will include lecture, practice exercises, and discussion. Those taking this course will be provided with a workbook of notes, exercises and references.

Minutes should serve as more than a record of who said what at a meeting. They should help organizations advance their goals and objectives and provide accountabilities. Building on PMC’s course Minute Taking for Better Meetings this day-long seminar provides participants with opportunities to craft minutes that focus on clear, concise writing designed to reach its intended audience — colleagues, board members, decision makers. Workshop participants will take notes in several mock meetings and write minutes in a variety of styles suitable for the audience. Active learning takes place in a relaxed and fun environment. Course participants will be encouraged to summarize their key learning points and prepare a short action plan to implement on their return to work.

Do you struggle to write correctly and professionally? Have you struggled with whether or not to use a comma or with how to punctuate bulleted lists? Have embarrassing errors undermined your writing? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then this workshop is for you. In a lively, hands-on session, you will learn to appreciate and apply grammar rules for clear communication. You will also learn to avoid common pitfalls and edit your work for clarity and correctness. Participants will have plenty of opportunity to practice their new skills on common business documents, and are encouraged to bring examples they are working on.

Would you like to write more effectively? Have you forgotten what you learned in school? Would you like to have a greater impact and influence on your readers? Today’s business environment relies heavily on the written word. Whether you’re answering email, writing a detailed report, or responding to a customer query, your effectiveness will be judged by your ability to write in a clear and concise manner. Each participant receives a workbook and bibliography of helpful references. Seminar participants are encouraged to participate in writing exercises throughout the day and there is an opportunity for one-on-one consulting to answer specific questions and evaluate personal writing styles.

Equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) are often promoted as essential concepts in Canadian society. However, we are rarely given the instruction needed to incorporate EDIA practices into our daily work. This course will discuss the importance of and methods for applying EDIA to our writing and document formatting. This will give participants concrete applicable instruction for incorporating inclusive language and accessible formatting techniques into anything they set out to write.

Meetings are an important part of the group decision-making process. With today’s flatter, less hierarchical organizations, one week you could be asked to chair a meeting and the next week to record the minutes. Minutes are a record of the group’s decisions and action items and it is vital that they are clear, concise and accurate. This seminar helps participants to understand the full range of their role and responsibilities as Minute Takers, to work effectively with the Chair and to produce agendas and minutes in a variety of styles – formal, informal and action. Workshop participants will take part in a mock meeting to gain a practical understanding of the roles of Chair and Minute Taker, to practice taking accurate notes and producing correct minutes. Active learning takes place in a relaxed and fun environment. Course participants will be encouraged to summarize their key learning points and prepare a short action plan to implement on their return to work.

This workshop is designed for those whose job requires them to proofread and edit their own or others’ written work. Those new to the skills will gain a working ability to proofread, including knowledge of the marks and techniques. Experienced proofreaders will benefit from this course as a refresher and also from the practice and group commentaries. You’ll learn the principles of plain language editing, practice in an enjoyable group environment, and receive immediate feedback on your progress. Through group corrections, individual practice and discussion, you’ll come away with the confidence to proof and edit even the most important documents.

Do your business proposals succeed? Do your reports influence decision-making? Do you need help organizing and clarifying your thinking? Would you like to produce clear, persuasive business proposals and reports that get results – in half the time? This one-day workshop will help you produce powerful reports and winning proposals in significantly less time. Obtain planning techniques, guidelines for writing clearly, grammatically and concisely, and tips for increasing impact and persuasiveness. The course is “hands-on” and fun, with numerous opportunities to practice and improve your business writing. You may bring samples of your work for review by the instructor.

Briefing notes are an essential means for staff to inform, advise, and influence the decision-making process in public and private sector organizations. This workshop uses practical exercises to develop skills in writing effective briefing notes. You will learn techniques for planning, drafting, summarizing complex information, improving your writing skills, and editing. The workshop is highly interactive with frequent opportunities to receive feedback. Participants are also invited to bring samples of their work for review by the instructor.

Plain language techniques make your written communications clear — and they help the audience easily understand your intended message. The Government of Canada’s communications policy states, “An institution’s duty to inform the public includes the obligation to communicate effectively….To ensure clarity and consistency of information, plain language and proper grammar must be used in all communication with the public.” This workshop will provide you with skills needed to communicate clearly, concisely, coherently, and correctly. You will learn how to gear each piece of communication to its intended audience, always keeping the needs of the audience in mind.

This practical and interactive half-day workshop is designed to raise awareness about what factors go into professional emails.  Through theory and practical exercises, you will learn the importance of taking the time to write a quality email and how to do so. You will also discover how bad emails can affect your credibility, professional relationships, and productivity.

This two-day course is designed for business owners and entrepreneurs who are ready to create a business plan. All the essential steps are covered, including drafting the original document; identifying the audience; gathering information; researching; describing product plans; and marketing, sales, and accounting terms. Students will come away from the course energized and prepared to write their business plan.

The Internet is a fascinating place to find information, visit your favorite companies and stores, read the news, stay connected and much more. However, people do not read information on the web in the same way that they read a printed newspaper, magazine, or a book. As writers, we have to be aware of how people approach a web page or mobile device so that we can create interesting and engaging content. In this interactive one-day workshop, participants will learn and practise new ways of structuring their writing for the web and mobile devices for maximum impact.