Practical Business and Report Writing Short Course
Unit Standard
110023 (6 credits) and 12153 (5 credits) in the Business Administration Level 4 Qualification
Duration
2 days
Location
Classroom or Online
ABOUT THE COURSE
A well-written and well-structured report is an invaluable tool that decisionmakers rely on to make informed operational and strategic decisions. It conforms to various structural, punctuation and formatting conventions and more importantly, is clear, accurate, readable and useful!
The report writer therefore holds significant responsibility! Report writing is often seen as daunting – but it doesn’t need to be. It is simply another business skill that you can acquire and practice.
This 2-day Practical Business and Report Writing course will introduce you to the best technical and business report structures and show you how to lay out your writing in a clear, logical and well-structured way.
You will also gain exposure to proven methods on how to incorporate technical data into the report in a user-friendly manner, how to limit ambiguity and importantly to produce reports that decision makers can not only trust, but actively use to drive key business decisions.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
- Understanding the true purpose and key principles of effective report writing
- Organising and structuring a report logically and presenting different types of information appropriately
- Planning and organising your report to ensure it is logical and sequential
- Overcoming writer’s block and structuring your writing coherently
- Adopting fool proof editing, proof-reading and checking disciplines to ensure your report is flawless
- Applying a readability index to ensure your report aligns with your original purpose and intent and will be easily read by your intended audience
- Perfecting your report and applying winning final touches that will set it apart from others
A great course for anyone who wants to write clearly, concisely, persuasively — and FASTER!
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
Branch or Divisional Managers, Sales Managers, Executives, Engineers, Project Managers, Technical Specialists, Marketing Managers, Financial Managers and HR Managers. Clerical Support and Office Administration Staff are also encouraged to attend this training programme
COURSE PROGRAMME AGENDA
Always Utilising the Correct Business Writing Formats
- Understanding the 7 C’s of good writing: clear, concise, complete, conversational, correct, concrete and consistent
- Effective use of formats for the following organisational documentation:
– Letters and memos,
– E-mail correspondence,
– facsimiles and covering letters,
– meetings documentation including: notice, agenda and minutes, reports and proposals - Assessing a combination of document layouts and using standard formats
Ensuring that Your Business Writing is Simple and Professional
- Basic rules for summarising without losing clarity
- Avoiding pompous language and long winded, ambiguous sentences
- When to write the way you speak – and when not to!
- Using a different “writing voice” for different purposes and desired outcomes
- Clearly distinguishing opinions from facts
- Avoiding redundancies
Introduction to Report Writing
- Understand the principles of effective report writing
- Determine the purpose of writing the report
- Establish the frequency of producing the report
- Distinguish between different types of a report
- Identify the components of a good report
- Describe the structure of a report
- Explain the structure of “Items to Council”
- Define what makes a report user-friendly
Preparing for the Report
- List the steps in the reporting process
- Cultivate listening skills when attending committee meetings
- Enhance their note-taking skills during meetings
- Identify various sources of information
- Follow organisational procedures to obtain and distribute information
- Ensure that information used to compile the report is current
- Identify the recipients at which the report is targeted
- Overcome resistance to writing
Writing the Report
- Understand the process of mind mapping
- Analyse, sort and translate information into a logical sequence
- List the 6 C’s of report writing
- Develop an appropriate draft framework using templates
- Focus on what the reader needs to know
- Take the necessary steps to prepare the first draft
- Identify the components of persuasive writing
- List the requirements of an appealing layout
- Explore the importance of good document design, fonts and graphics
Perfecting the Report
- Choose the appropriate language, tone and style
- Explore the use of active and passive verbs
- Select formats for presenting financial and statistical detail
- Adopt editing, proof-reading and checking disciplines
- Distinguish between requirements for formal and informal reports
- Apply a report polishing checklist
- Developed skills in précis writing, summarising several reports into one
- List the ten principles for effective writing
- Identify deadlines and modes of distributing the reports
- Verify with relevant parties that the reported information is in accordance with requirements
- Explain the Gunning Readability Index
- Explore means to improve report writing continuously