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Writing
Problems
Click on the Q
to scroll to the answers.
Q. I
don’t like writing, but my
job requires it. Can you help
me?
Q. I
don’t think I need a writing
course, but my manager told me to
take one. Why?
Q. I took
a course on mind mapping, but I
still have trouble organizing my
thoughts.
Can you help me?
Q. My
manager says that I include too
much detail. Do you offer any
guidelines to
help me determine
what is important and what
isn’t?
Q. I have
trouble getting my boss to accept
my ideas. Can you help?
Q. Can
you help a procrastinator like me
who always has trouble starting
a writing job?
Q. My
spelling is so bad that my spell
checker won’t even boot up
anymore.
Can you help?
Q. Why do
business people have such trouble
writing? I’m
intelligent; I learned
how to write in
school; but when I try to put
together a technical report or a
proposal, my brain
just shuts down.
Q. I have
to revise our lab’s 80-page
procedure manual, because everyone
says it is
confusing. I
have no idea how to approach such a
daunting job. Can you help?
Q. My
writing covers a very technical and
complex subject and goes to a wide
range of readers,
many of whom are customers who
don’t have a technical
background.
Wrestling with this problem
always frustrates me. Is
there a way
to explain highly
technical information so that our
customers will understand it?
Q. I
think my writing is fine, but my
readers complain that it is
unclear. What’s up?
Q. What
if I’m afraid of being
embarrassed in a writing class?
Q. People
say I am too direct and
insensitive, but all I'm trying to
do is be concise
and get to the point.
What am I supposed to do?
Q.
English is my second
language. Will your workshop
help me with writing
problems unique to
professionals whose native language
is not English?
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A. Yes. You
will use our easy-to-apply planning tips, our focused
drafting method,
and
our quick editing steps. You’ll learn how
to determine each reader’s needs.
You
will organize your thoughts quickly and present them
logically and clearly.
After
the workshop, you will spend less time writing.
A. Perhaps your
manager sees that your promotion potential is limited
only by writing
skills that need polishing. Our training will
help you analyze your own writing
strengths, avoid time-wasting patterns, and reduce the
number of messages you
must
return to clarify previous messages. Our training
will save you time.
Can
you help me?
A. Definitely.
Mind mapping is a good technique for
brainstorming ideas. Our easy
planning tool will take you beyond mind mapping to the
next logical step:
organizing all those great ideas.
help
me determine what is important and what isn’t?
A. Yes, we will show
you how to tailor your message to meet your
reader’s needs.
A. Yes. We
discuss persuasion strategies to help you sell your
ideas. A recent
registrant said, “Your brief course taught me
more about selling than my sales
courses did.”
a
writing job?
A. Yes. Our
planning tool will help you overcome procrastination
and organize
a
writing job within 15 minutes. No more
writer’s block.
Can
you help?
A. Yes. We
will show you spelling-pattern tricks to help avoid
common spelling errors.
A
special section of your workbook will serve as a handy
long-term “coach.”
how to
write in school; but when I try to put together a
technical report or a
proposal, my brain just shuts down.
A. To be a good
business writer, you have to make the transition from
academic writing
to
business writing. Business writing requires its
own skill set. You just need to
sharpen those skills.
confusing. I have no idea how to approach such a
daunting job. Can you help?
A. Absolutely.
Many of our past attendees had the same problem
and now use our
guidelines to create or rewrite procedures and manuals.
One Fortune 100 client
hired
us to train a national writing team to streamline the
company’s Standard
Operating Procedure manuals. After our workshop,
the client’s writing team then
reduced the manuals’ volume by 60%. The
field team’s response was a big
thank-you for the easy-to-read SOP guides.
range
of readers, many of whom are customers who don’t
have a technical
background. Wrestling with this problem always
frustrates me. Is there a way
to
explain highly technical information so that our
customers will understand it?
A. Yes. We
show you a fast way to summarize and interpret complex
technical data
for
nontechnical readers.
A. Clear writing
requires logical organization of sentences that focus
on a key message
delivered with precise words. So, something is
missing. Perhaps you are burying
your
main point in prepositional phrases. Maybe you
are using too much
passive voice. Bring samples of your writing to
our workshop, and we’ll help you
clarify your messages.
(No,
you won’t have to show your writing to other
registrants.)
A. Relax. We
respect the fact that writing is an extension of the
ego, and
we
have no desire to step on anyone’s ego.
and
get to the point. What am I supposed to do?
A. Concise writing
is good, but the tone of the writing matters, too.
Perhaps your
tone
is harsh. We can show you how to be concise and
diplomatic at the
same
time.
problems unique to professionals whose native language
is not English?
A. Yes. Our
research and experience have pinpointed the English
patterns that
frustrate foreign-born professionals. We
offer supplemental resources to help you
master the
most frustrating English patterns.
