BETTER ENGLISH, BETTER BUSINESS

Introduction

This workshop is designed for people in both the private and the public sectors.  It has been developed to meet the changing needs of business training in South Africa and it is based on the fact that 91% of the country’s population speaks English as a second or foreign language, although it is the predominant language of business and professional life.

Overall Objectives

The main purpose of the workshop is to help participants develop confidence in their writing ability, by showing them basic and straightforward techniques for writing effective office documents. It provides information and practical guidelines which are not taught at school, technikons or even at University.

Content

• Introduction
  • The target language: a world view
  • Why is writing sometimes so difficult?
  • The great “paradigm shift”
  • What do I need to do to improve my writing skills?
• Strategy
  • The principles of strategic writing
  • Setting objectives, designing an audience analysis
  • Presenting your message
  • Four ways of presenting information
  • What is “defensive writing”?
  • Generating ideas: how to “brainstorm”
• Language
  • Some simple rules
  • The concept of “unloading rate”
  • How does the language work?
  • Activate your verbs
  • The test of readability
  • The basic sentence
  • The topic sentence and paragraph construction
  • Passive vs. active voice
  • The importance of word order in English
  • Sentence style and shape
  • User-friendly words and phrases
  • The power of Plain English
• The style of a modern office document

Outcomes

• Approach any business writing task with confidence
• Set clear, simple objectives before writing
• Design an audience analysis
• Get started without wasting time
• Write shorter, more effective sentences
• Construct hard-hitting paragraphs around topic sentences
• Participants can apply their learnings to:
  • Proposals
  • Reports
  • Memos
  • Communicating on internet and via e-mail
  • Writing to large and small audiences

Target Audience

The workshop has been specially developed to meet the needs of South African management, as well as administrative, clerical, technical, or trainee staff who do not speak English as a mother tongue.  Participants who want to improve their written communication skills – such as producing letters and reports – will learn how to do this as effectively as possible.

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