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 Our Students
Our Business Writing Fundamentals has helped employees from a diverse list of organizations including AECOM, Saatchi & Saatchi X, Easter Seals, Ounce of Prevention, DePaul University, University of Chicago, IIT, Tawani Foundation, Sara Lee, Prudential Capital Group, Emmis Communications, and others.

Recent customized training programs have been developed for the following companies and organizations:

  • Mesirow Financial
  • SC Johnson
  • Colliers International
  • Yelp.com
  • Society for Marketing Professional Services/Chicago
  • Museum of Science and Industry
  • Macarthur Foundation
  • NAVTEQ
  • Collins Engineers

"The customized writing workshop at StoryStudio galvanized my team and pushed us to think about our communications in a new way. At the beginning of the session, I collected cellphones to make sure everyone paid attention. But I needn't have worried; the StoryStudio approach kept each and every team member engaged and involved in the training. By the end of the day, we were already using our new skills as we re-developed our weekly newsletter with input from everyone in the room. We are all much better prepared to tell the Colliers International story."
-Alain LeCoque, Principal, Colliers International

"Working closely with us beforehand, Jill and the Storystudio crew put together a great, interactive day for our team of varied backgrounds and job descriptions. We learned a lot, had fun doing it, and returned to work with a new perspective on our writing projects and plenty of tips and ideas to try out and put into practice."
-Sean Carr, Communications Manager, Museum of Science and Industry

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, marketing and public relations campaigns, websites, and print communications. 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.

Erin O’Neill has published more than 200 pieces in ELLE, The Washington Post, The Chicago Sun Times, The Red Eye, SPACE Magazine, Modern Home + Living, and Military.com. She holds a BA in English and Sociology from Georgetown University and an MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has worked as a staff Editor at SPACE Magazine in California, a trainer with the U.S. Marine Corps in Virginia and as a freelance journalist, writer and researcher all around the nation. She is an editor and proofreader for a number of corporate clients and e-learning companies. Erin is currently Interim Sr. Director of Marketing Communications at University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Kate Ancell holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia in England, where she studied under former poet laureate Andrew Motion. She has taught writing in preparatory schools and colleges in both England and America; she also spearheaded an English-as-a-Second-Language business writing program in Prague. As a journalist, she worked for Conde Nast for many years as a managing editor; her work has appeared in Tatler, Vogue, Brides, Food Illustrated, CS and many local, regional and national magazines and newspapers. Her cookbook, California Sol Food, won a Tabasco Award. She has written and edited many corporate publications, including advertisements, web content, B2B stories and non-profit annual reports and newsletters.

Jackie Loewe (networking and relationship building) is the founding partner of Sheridan Park Consulting, which provides networking training and business development consulting within the professional services arena. Jackie is a sales and marketing executive with over 25 years of experience. She is a recognized authority on marketing professional services and she has spoken nationally on matters related to marketing and communications. Jacqueline has served on numerous philanthropic and professional association boards. Currently, Ms. Loewe serves the following organizations: Friends of the Chicago River, Uptown United, Saint Joseph Hospital, and Lambda Alpha International – Ely Chapter. She is a member of StoryStudio Chicago’s Words at Work faculty.

Ellen Blum Barish (business writing coaching) 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 and The Chicago Tribune and Chicago Public Radio/WBEZ 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 transformed 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.