Tired of Rewriting Your Team’s Work? Read This!
Here we go again: you’ve spent a lot of money and time training your team in basic communication skills. You still find yourself endlessly reviewing and correcting their work. Your expenses on training had no effect on the bottom line.
Can a writing workshop actually deliver results?
Yes. Here’s how:
First, you need to define what the main writing challenges are. Are team members too wordy? Are documents poorly organized? Do they lack a clear purpose or go on too long?
Next, you need to find a communications company that delivers training that matches your needs. Let’s start with the first issue.
Figure out the problem
Pinpoint your team’s main writing challenges. Any writing workshop worth its name will help you target your team’s specific issues and deliver measurable results. Here is a quick and simple diagnostic exercise you can do:
Have team members review their latest important e-mail or other document. Ask them to evaluate the following:
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Is there a clear purpose? Is that purpose reflected in the subject line or title?
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Is there a clear action request? If so, is the deadline easy to find?
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Is this document well organized? Is there a clear structure, including headlines to guide readers?
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Does the document include all the necessary information the readers need—but not too much?
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What is the tone of this document? Does the writer sound angry? Effusive? Professional? Confused, due to poor structure and/or TMI?
This brings us to the second important issue:
Work with a company that is invested in evaluating its programs
Look beyond the glossy marketing and find a company that can share proven results. Look for the following:
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Does the training address the points listed above—resulting in writing of high quality that drives results?
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Does the company measure its training’s effectiveness? For example, can it provide statistics that show productivity gains or an effect on sales?
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Do the trainers use tools to help you coach and assess learners?
Clear and effective writing has a tremendous effect on the bottom line. Imagine what you could accomplish with the time you are now spending reviewing your team members’ documents! A workshop in effective written communication that delivers results with a money-back guarantee may just be the answer you are looking for.
