The Business Writing Center

(US) 800 827-3770
(Outside US) 309 452-2831
center@writingtrainers.com

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Explicit Business Writing Training

      Dr. Hogan presents workshops at company sites to train participants in the skills they need to write clearly, quickly, and correctly. The workshops teach the best practices presented in Dr. Hogan's book, Explicit Business Writing: Best Practices for the Twenty-First Century, provided to all participants at the workshops.

      If you are considering having Dr. Hogan present a workshop for your company or agency, we will provide you with a complimentary copy of the book so you can see the contents of the workshop. Send a request containing your mailing address to publications@businesswriting.com. You may keep the book regardless of whether you have Dr. Hogan do a workshop for you.

 

Certification in Explicit Business Writing

      Following the workshop, participants should practice the skills in their e-mail, memos, letters, and reports. When they are ready to demonstrate mastery of the skills, they e-mail a sample of their business writing to Dr. Hogan, who evaluates the sample and certifies their competence. If a trainee is deficient in a skill, Dr. Hogan coaches the trainee until he or she learns the skill.

      When Dr. Hogan certifies that each participant has demonstrated mastery of the skills, The Business Writing Center sends the participant a graduation certificate signed by Dr. Hogan, with our gold seal, suitable for framing.

 

Competencies Taught in the Workshop

Include everything readers want and need.

• Decide what you want from the reader.
• Include everything every intended reader needs to attain your objectives.
• Respond to requests with everything the reader wants, as the reader expects it.
• Organize your messages.

Partner with your readers.

• Use a cordial tone.
• Write a buffer before negative information.
• Use a tone and level of formality appropriate for the reader.
• Focus on what's in it for the reader.
• Write so you build partnerships and teams.

Prepare readers to understand, remember, and act.

• Use a meaningful, informative subject line.
• Open with the context.
• Write a clear statement of the contents.
• In the introduction, state actions to be performed and critical information.
• Write a conclusion if it will help you achieve your objectives.
• Include feedback loops to ensure that your message is successful.

Write in blocks readers can follow easily.

• Write in clearly defined information blocks.
• Introduce information blocks.
• Make lists with long items clear.
• Present lists with short items clearly and correctly.
• Make a clear visual blueprint of your information.

Write clear messages.

• Use key terms consistently.
• Use key terms to check for focus.
• Define new key terms.

Write clear paragraphs, sentences, and words.

• Write concisely.
• Write clear, focused, organized paragraphs.
• Write simple, straightforward sentences.
• Use words every reader will understand.
• Use only simple punctuation.

Know how to write special documents explicitly.

• Write clear descriptions of problems and issues.
• Write direct, unambiguous requests.
• Write clear procedures.

 

Workshop Fees

Workshops are taught by R. Craig Hogan, Ph.D., director of the Business Writing Center and author of Explicit Business Writing: Best Practices for the Twenty-First Century. The fee is $2,500 per day plus travel.

 

Explicit Business Writing: Best Practices for the Twenty-First Century

To read reviews of the book, Explicit Business Writing: Best Practices for the Twenty-First Century, click here.

Click here to purchase the book.

Human resources officers, corporate trainers, and professors who might use the book in their training may obtain review copies by sending your name, title, company name, and address to publications@businesswriting.com.

 

Evaluations of Past Workshops

These are statements taken from the "Additional comments" area of the workshop evaluations. Participants were being casual and conversational when they wrote these e-mails or letters. They didn't edit or proofread these notes. However, we didn't think it was our place to change their comments, so we left them unedited and casual, just as they sent them to us. When they're being careful writers, their writing looks different.

"The business writing workshop was helpful. I liked the hands-on part of the workshop; it helped to reinforce what was discussed. Also, the positive feedback by Dr. Hogan was very encouraging." "I would have liked the writing seminar to have been longer, maybe two or three days!" "If you want to know how to make yourself understood and get the action you need, this is a great writing workshop." "Although the writing workshop was different than I had originally expected, it proved to be more valuable than I anticipated. I expected a list of 'do' and 'don't' cases but received a broader understanding of addressing business issues instead." "I definitely feel that my writing will improve when I return to my client site. My organization and writing skills will be more effective for the reader." "The class was presented well. The format and duration were good. There was a lot of time to do the written exercises, which I found to be most helpful." "Dr. Hogan is very knowledgeable in the field of business writing. He was very interesting and made the class quite enjoyable." "Everything is online, so the course material will be very easily accessible. I will definitely go back to the website to use the information as a reference." "I will now be able to write letters, e-mails, etc. more clearly and concisely with much better organization." "Excellent! He was extremely knowledgeable and accredited in the subject of business writing." "This class provided me with some tools to write more clearly and effectively." "We covered a lot of ground in just a couple of days. The class flowed nicely." "Craig's presentation skills were very good; he kept my interest and is one of the few instructors able to do so. Because of this, he was able to convey his message, which helped me get a lot out of his class." "The workshop was helpful because I am not a good writer." "I liked Craig's presentation style. He kept my interest, which can be hard in an all-day class." "I feel that this will definitely help my writing become stronger and more effective."

"I feel Dr. Hogan did a very good job in delivering the content of the class." "Instructor intervention during class was very effective." "The workshop reestablished and provided new fundamentals of writing that I will benefit from in the future." "This workshop would be helpful to any individual working in a business environment in improving their written communication." "It did help me get my thoughts better organized." "For me, writing has always been intimidating. I found this class to be very helpful in getting over the taboos that were taught to me as a child." "I enjoyed this course. I feel that the activities after each lecture were very helpful in learning the concepts." "While I knew some of the information, it becomes more clear as you go through the process; it helps you realize that you could be writing better." "The workshop was very helpful to me. I learned a lot about composing concise, clear and efficient documents. It is also encouraging and helps remove any fears or hangups that people sometimes encounter with business writing. You come out of it feeling like you are prepared to write any document you may need: letter, memo, or email." "I have learned that writing can be fun and if I use it correctly, I can succeed." "I liked the fact that all the courseware is on the Internet. This way I can refer to it when ever I need it and I'll know the content is up to date." "I enjoyed the workshop and the one-on-one analysis that Craig offered as well as the group projects and the lectures." "I would recommend the class and would certainly take another class Craig would teach." "Dr. Hogan demonstrated that he is an expert in the area of business writing, or better yet, writing in general. I strongly recommend all our employees take this seminar." "The format of the class was good; it was presented very well. I found the written exercises to be very helpful. As a result, I feel more organized and concise with my writing."

Comments from a recent employer's association presentation

"Great presentation. I loved it."

"The book will be a great tool. I was sorry I had to leave early."

"Some excellent info and the book is an excellent resource. Thank you."

"Thank you for the terrific book!"

"Outstanding presentation. Very informative and thought provoking."

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e-mail the Center at center@writingtrainers.com

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