High Impact Business Communication

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Improve the effectiveness of your reports, proposals, emails, letters and other communication
• Develop more efficient writing processes, improving project and time management
• Meet the needs of your readerships/audiences enabling them achieve their own objectives
• Develop your presentational skills and the techniques to enhance impact and effectiveness
• Deploy the right techniques, tools and skills for a wide variety of communications challenges

COURSE CONTENT

Improving Business Communication & What Makes an Effective Report

• Barriers and pitfalls of business communication
• Differences between written and spoken communication and their implications
• Characteristics of an effective report
• Understanding the readers’ needs
• Report layout and design for clarity and impact
• Structure - the macrostructure and the microstructure

Readability, Writing Style and the Writing Process

• Sentences, paragraphs and readability
• Generating ideas – Mind mapping and brain storming
• Sources of information and research techniques
• Selecting and structuring the content – logical sequencing
• Proofreading, grammar and punctuation
• Tables, diagrams, figures and graphs

E-mails, Letters and Other Business Writing/What Makes an Effective Presentation

• Managing e-mails to be noticed
• Writing effective business letters
• Writing professional agendas and minutes
• Writing instructions and guidelines
• Characteristics of effective presentations
• Preparing a persuasive business presentation

Presentation Skills

• The pillars of effective presentations
• Setting and meeting objectives
• Meeting the audience’s needs
• Structuring the presentation and making a case
• Positive body language
• Using visuals effectively

Making a Case & Influencing Skills

• Choosing words for maximum impact
• Handling questions from your audience
• Team presentations to convince critics
• Supporting presentations with written documentation
• Making a persuasive business case
• Influencing Skills and getting support

TRAINING METHODOLOGY

The training methodology combines lectures, discussions, group exercises and illustrations. Participants will gain both theoretical and practical knowledge of the topics. The emphasis is on the practical application of the topics and as a result participant will go back to the workplace with both the ability and the confidence to apply the techniques learned to their duties.