Business Writing 101

           If language is not correct,
           then what is said is not what is meant;
           If what is said is not what is meant,
           then what ought to be done remains undone.
                                     --Confucius

Description: We all have to write at work (no matter how much some of us might wish it were not so!). Memos, emails, proposals, websites, newsletters, even progress reports: regardless of who you are, or where you are on your career continuum, writing impacts your daily life.

Good writing is about communicating clearly. Good writing - snappy, functional, informative, professional – gets you noticed. It may even get you promoted. Bad writing, on the other hand, can leave you spinning your wheels in professional limbo.

Help is at hand: StoryStudioChicago is happy to present a unique two-day seminar which just might change your life. While offered for individual students periodically throughout the year, this course is designed to be customized to your workplace. For more, call us at 773.477.7710 for details and pricing packages.

Program Basics
During these two days, we’ll help you to:

  • Face down the blank page and get started, using journalistic and fiction-writing techniques destined to unlock the writer within you
  • Slay the grammar dragon: we’ll provide a refresher on the basics (and a convenient, take-home cheat sheet to save you embarrassment later)
  • Take a project from sh##ty first draft to shiny, finished masterpiece
  • Learn how to identify bad writing (including your own) and how to avoid cliché, the passive voice, and other writing nightmares

This two-day seminar, unlike any other writing workshop, will use the unique lessons of fiction to help you tell your corporate story.

Although offered in a one-day format, Business Writing 101 is best delivered over two days. This allows for the added bonus of individual instructor attention and editing assistance on a current project brought straight from your desk at work. You’ll also have the opportunity to participate in an interactive presentation of your final draft to the whole group, helping to build confidence in a friendly, non-judgmental setting.

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Here’s what you get:
Day One
Features interactive exercises and discussion directly related to what you do at work. Exercises will include:

  • Grammar: Get it out of the Way!
  • Organizing Principles and Sh#tty First Drafts
  • Don’t Bury the Lead
  • Revising and Editing

Day Two

  • Recap of Grammar/Punctuation, Organizing Principles and Revising Strategies, including quizlets and competitions.
  • Is this really appropriate? A primer on considering your audience and choosing the medium to match.
  • Intensive workshop session focusing on your current work projects featuring:
    • private one-on-one review with instructor
    • peer review and feedback of second/third draft
    • presentation to group of finished project

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Why StoryStudio?
Small group instruction—StoryStudio Business Writing classes are limited to 15 students assuring you of personal attention and plenty of interaction.

Writers on writing- Our instructors are professional writers, editors and teachers, NOT sales reps stuffed with jargon and lingo.

We bring the lessons of fiction to the corporate world – We use storytelling techniques to unlock your inner writer, and we can show you how to tap into your own creative spirit (while still remaining true to corporate philosophy, of course).

We do lunch! We’ll provide a box lunch and break time within our creative space to let you recharge midday – and to help you connect with fellow students.

You’ll also receive a business writing text to keep on your desk for future reference.

PLUS: Have two or more employees sign up and receive $20 off each student fee.

Who Should Attend: This course is open to everyone who has to write while at work. Entry level employees as well as senior managers will benefit from learning how to write more clearly and persuasively.

About the Instructors:
Jill Pollack, founder of StoryStudio Chicago, is an award-winning communications consultant, writer and editor. A published author with 15 years experience in corporate communications, Jill teaches creative writing to individuals and leads customized seminars for businesses and professionals. Using techniques of fiction and non-fiction, Jill teaches participants to be more confident and creative, improving their efficiency and persuasiveness in written communications. Read more about Jill.

M. Molly Backes has taught students of all ages and abilities. As an English teacher in a struggling rural New Mexico school, she designed and taught curricula to a wide spectrum of students, with a close consideration of state and national standards and benchmarks. In honor of National Novel Writing Month, Molly got 150 middle schoolers to write their own novels. As a teacher, she developed classroom writing workshops, pushed for greater emphasis on interdisciplinary writing in core classes, ran trainings for educators in writing workshop implementation, led her school’s Educational Plan for Student Success Goal Team and served as English Department Chair in 2007. Read more about Molly.