WORDS FOR WORK: Business Writing at StoryStudio Chicago

We all have to write at work. Memos, emails, proposals, websites, newsletters, even progress reports: regardless of who you are, or where you are on your career continuum, writing has an impact on your success at work.

Good writing - snappy, functional, informative, professional – can mean making the sale or getting the attention of a new audience. Bad writing, on the other hand, can leave you spinning your wheels in professional limbo.

Using techniques of fiction and creative non-fiction, StoryStudio teaches participants to be confident and creative, improving their efficiency and persuasiveness in written communications.

We offer unique training opportunities for businesses, individuals, non-profit organizations, sole proprietors, and freelance writers:

About the Instructors
StoryStudio founder and director Jill Pollack is an award-winning communications consultant, writer and editor. A published author with 15 years experience in corporate communications, Jill teaches creative writing and leads customized seminars for businesses and professionals.

Prior to founding StoryStudio Chicago, Jill specialized in digital communications, and strategic planning and development for large-scale online platforms. Representative clients include Motorola, McDonald's Corporation, Lands' End, Sears Roebuck and Co., Equity Office Properties, Lyondell Chemical Company, DePaul University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Her work has appeared on the Internet, in newspapers, magazines, trade periodicals and political journals. She has extensive experience developing communications campaigns, websites, print communications, public relations campaigns, marketing materials, and videos. Jill has authored three books for young adults: Shirley Chisholm, named a Best Book by Science and Film Magazine; Lesbian and Gay Families: Redefining Parenting in America; and Women on the Hill, a history of women in Congress.

Ellen Blum Barish is an award-winning writer, editor and project manager for magazines, newsletters, newspapers and the Web for corporations, non-profit organizations and foundations. She has contributed news and feature stories to Newsweek, Self, The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Public Radio/WBEZ and North Shore magazine and her monthly column on women and family issues led to syndication and a book.

Her corporate communications projects have included content and editorial direction for McCormick Tribune Foundation and St. Francis Hospital's annual reports; interactive online profiles of McDonald's Corporation employees and broadcast and web interviews with Northwestern University professors. She has also translated technical material into consumer-friendly content for Harvard Medical Letter and Premier Hospitals Alliance and edited articles for American Bar Association’s Law Practice Management, an American Medical Association book on diabetes and a National Textbook Corporation college text on play production. Currently, Ellen is a faculty member of StoryStudio Chicago, a university writing instructor, and writing coach for adult learners.