Applied Business Writing for Reports and Proposals

Participants in this two-day workshop will learn how to:

• Use tools contained in Word more effectively
• Convince others of the value of a proposed course of action
• Be confident your work is clear, concise, complete, and correct
• Understand and write to appeal to any audience
• Persuade the right people
• Know how to organize any type of document
• Ensure Management buy-in
• Present a professional image

Who will benefit from this course:

• Managers
• Accountants
• Scientists
• Lawyers
• Anyone who is moving into a management position for the first time

 

Course Outline

Introduction and Course Overview
Get to know other participants and discuss what will take place during the workshop.  Participants will also have an opportunity to identify their personal learning objectives.

Why Write?
Many people feel that writing is a burden or something they should be able to delegate. This session will help participants identify the value of writing and the need to communicate.

Back to Basics
Learn three of the C’s of writing with participants: clear, concise, and correct. Participants will practice writing exercises, including empathy/reader benefit and the creation of proper paragraphs.

Stages of Report Writing
During this session, participants will learn about the stages of report writing, including understanding your audience and how to properly format a report.

Researching and Putting Your Research to Work
Many types of reports require technical evidence. This session will teach participants how to collect and organize your research to best suit your report.

Organizational and Persuasion Strategies
Participants learn how to organize their information according to the type and purpose of the document they are writing.   Learn the difference in layout and persuasion strategies for reports compared with proposals.

The Four Stages of Report Writing
Many people find writing business reports very difficult. This session will look at business reports in-depth using a lecture and a small group exercise.

Revising Your Report
The first draft is never perfect! This session will examine a checklist for revising your documents.

Visual Aids
This session discusses not only how to use Graphic Aids but also when to use them, and when not to.

Writing Proposals
A proposal is primarily a sophisticated sales piece that seeks to define problems or opportunities and to sell client or management support on your or some other department’s ability to provide solutions and strategies. This session explores the Ten Steps of Proposal Writing

Business Cases
Why should a business case be written? What are the three roles of a business case? Who should write the business case? When should the business case be written? All these questions are answered in this session.

Return on Investment
What is ROI analysis and when do I use one?

Workshop Wrap-Up
At the end of the day, participants will have an opportunity to ask final questions and create an action plan.