Commissioning and Reviewing Writing
1 day course for managers and senior leaders
What it’s about
Do you commission and review other people’s writing?
Does your minister, board, or senior exec need you to:
brief your team members so they can produce documents
review and sign off those documents?
This is the course for you.
You’ll learn what ‘good writing’ looks like
You’ll see how a reader-focused approach is different from traditional writing. Structure, language, and design can work together to make any text quicker and easier to read.
Clarify your roles in the production process
Writing at work is a team sport. This workshop helps you understand your part in the process so you can add real value.
Hone your commissioning and reviewing
You’ll learn how to make work easier by giving writers:
a clear brief before they write
early feedback about coherence, accuracy, and ease of understanding.
You’ll practise giving useful, actionable feedback
You’ll give feedback that’s easy to act on and builds the confidence and ability of your writers.
What the training covers
The three pillars of reader-focused writing
Top-heavy structure
Speakable language
Skimmable layout
The document production process
Where you fit in the big picture
What’s your job as a commissioner and reviewer – and what isn’t
Commissioning effectively
What effective commissioning looks like
Goal, readers, context, trigger, question, logistics
Guided practice commissioning an upcoming piece of work
Reviewing effectively
Track changes versus comments
What’s worth commenting on?
What can you let go?
A method for assessing the quality of writing
Get clear on the goal and readers
Do a quick visual scan
Assess overall flow and logic
Assess the writing itself
How to give useful feedback
Giving feedback that someone can act on
Giving positive feedback without sounding fake
The goldilocks zone – not too much feedback; not too little
The specifics
Who’s it for?
Anyone who commissions and reviews other people’s writing at work. Up to 14 participants.
How long?
1 full day at your venue
How much?
All trainings are $8,000 + gst per day plus travel
What format?
In person or online, but not a mix of both
Before the training
You can give me document samples to use in the training (optional)
To bring on the day
Laptops
A document to review
Download the full course outlines
Plus the ROI information you need to make a strong business case for this training!
Course descriptions
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Managers and senior leaders can make all the difference in their team’s writing process by upping their own skills in commissioning documents, and reviewing them against principles of clear communication.
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When you write regulations, or write to people about regulations, you walk a fine line between accuracy and clarity.
This day-long workshop explores the art of being clear and approachable at the same time.
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You know, you really should know how to write a report. (Read that in a whiny, snarky voice for full effect.)
Ahhhhmm, no, you shouldn’t. Because every report is different. There is no one right way. But I can give you the tools and the confidence to figure out how to write the right report, every time.
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This course helps anyone who writes at work to do it better, faster, and more effectively. We cover emails, reports, and literally any kind of writing from content-writing to legally-binding documents. Increase your confidence, learn the latest best ways to write, and save some time and sanity!
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Do you want to know the thing I’m constantly asked on workshops: How do I make my writing clear and concise? Here’s how.
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What if I told you a simple email formula could get you faster replies? Less to-ing and fro-ing? People doing what you ask for - quickly?
This stuff really is some kind of magic. (Well it’s actually neuroscience, but, you know…)
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Board members need clear information to help them make good decisions. It needs to be strategic, not operational, information.
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Do you recognise good writing when you see it? But are you not sure how to get people’s writing up to standard without rewriting it yourself?
This training’s for peer reviewers, managers, and senior leaders.
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What even is technical writing? Well, if you’re communicating complex information, you’re doing it. And most of us do technical writing without any guidance or qualification. Take a couple of days to find out what you should be doing. What’s current industry best practice? A few powerful tools will make all the difference!
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Although it would be nice to do a Jerry Maguire and scream SHOW ME THE MONEY at the top of your lungs, that doesn’t seem to get the best results in a business setting. So here’s a training to teach you the art and skill of persuading (so people will show you the money).
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If you want to write policies to tick a box and sit on a shelf, find another course! Our focus here is to write policies that both work for your business AND get used by the people who need them. We’ll cover all the good foundational stuff of clear, modern business writing, then we’ll focus on the requirements of policy and procedural writing at a specialist level.