Meetings are a fact of life at every agency and business. Here’s how to get the most out of them before, during, and after the get-together.

In the Meetings workshop, you will learn how to:

• Come up with an agenda that makes people pay attention and involves all members
• Take notes that concentrate on what’s important and applicable
• Write minutes that condense the key points, use headlines and indexes effectively, and lead to an action plan.

All courses include a pre-seminar evaluation of actual documents from your agency or organization’s written communications. Handouts and presentation are custom-tailored to your needs.

Whether you are polishing your own work or someone else’s, revision is an art that can make the difference between a communication that confounds or one that leads to action and understanding. You will learn:

• The three levels of editing, and the difference between editing and proofreading
• When to re-write (Stephen King knows)
• “Reverse branching” as a way to provide logical progression and organize something that seems to be a complete mess
• Tricks of the pros for endings that get the reader involved
• The one most important question you need to ask before editing

The Editing and Proofreading workshop shows you how to:

• Substitute simple, straightforward language that has impact for convoluted phrases that weigh your message down
• Create a tone that is persuasive–polite, courteous and informational
• Apply the ancient principle of “ducle et utile” as a test of your finished piece
• Judge how the audience will respond
• Test readability, especially when presenting technical material to non-technical readers

Would you rather have someone else experienced do the editing for you? Editing and Proofreading are available as one-to-one consultation or as a service, where I will outright edit or proof your work for you. See the Services section of this website for details.

Are you getting the results you want from your written communications? Save money, save time, and eliminate confusion when you learn to write with power. This course gives you practical pointers to make what you write readable and persuasive. Good writing is a skill as well as an art, and it can be learned. Good writing grows out of respect for your reader—one human being talking to another human being.

In this course, you will learn how to:

• Organize your material before you write in a way that complements the way you think
• Write a first draft that captures your key ideas
• Make your writing smooth and professional
• Give your writing pizzazz to keep your reader interested
• Follow the 5 R’s of Whole-brained writing to get past writing hang-ups and make your writing flow
• Apply the “Criteria of the 3 C’s” to make sure your communication has the outcome you are aiming for
• Review punctuation and fix common grammatical errors
• Write endings that tie up your piece and put the ball in the court of your reader

Special section on e-mail etiquette: how to write with sense and sensitivity, and when verbal is better. Also includes writing memos that are easy to understand and get fast answers. Write with Power is a hands-on workshop that enables you to go back to your desk and apply your new skills immediately.