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Receive immediate and constructive feedback during your training.
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Training delivered by current working journalists.
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Face to face or online training to meet your needs and timescales.
Business writing skills training
Effective business writing skills are more crucial than ever.
Emails, blogs, social media posts, online copy, press releases, speeches, branded content, marketing material, letters, business documents and white papers all require excellent business writing skills to reach and influence the intended audience.
That's a lot of writing.
So, isn't it time you invested in business writing skills training for your professionals?
Think about it.
Writing emails alone accounts for 10 per cent of our working lives, according to researchers.
But writing and capturing thoughts and intentions in words – and ensuring they are easy for others to follow - is hard, particularly with the time limits we all face.
In the words of American author Walter Zinsser, writing is "one of the hardest things people do”.
Perhaps your press releases are not grabbing the attention of journalists, or your internal communications are failing to motivate your workforce.
Are your speeches falling flat? Is the branded content you put so much effort into producing going unnoticed by your clients? Maybe you are fed up with reading confusing staff emails, unclear documents and encountering sloppy grammar.
Whatever your writing requirements, our current working journalist tutors and bespoke training packages will improve all your written communication. And help you produce more engaging, impactful, concise and quality content which will elicit the response you need.
What are my business writing skills training options?
Our business writing skills courses are flexible. We can train you and your team anywhere at any time - you don’t even need to leave home or work with our online course option.
Our courses work for individuals and groups.
Our traditional business writing course format remains popular.
We can host the course at our training studios in Reading, your offices or a hired room – whatever works best for you and those you want us to train.
You can expect an engaging and interactive course that guides your delegates through all the crucial theory and then let them put their learning to the test, with feedback from our expert tutors.
The same training course can also be delivered online through video conferencing software, such as Zoom and Teams.
This option means you can access all the brilliant training, tools and course content you would experience in a classroom without needing to leave your home.
It is ideal if you have delegates working across the country, in different time zones, or when lockdown restrictions are in place.
Like our face-to-face option, the training course is interactive, with plenty of opportunities for delegates to write and put their learning to the test.
And we'll send you all the course materials you would receive if the training was face-to-face.
If you are looking for a business writing skills course to help you produce more compelling content, that is available whenever you need it, we have the perfect option for you.
Our online course How to write engaging content course will guide you through everything you need to produce thumb-stoppingly good content.
It takes about an hour to complete and will show you how to structure your writing like a reporter.
The course will guide you through the language you should and shouldn’t use, the importance of simplicity, how to get your message across and how you can make your writing look more appealing.
There are also plenty of course materials for you to download to help you continue to develop your skills.
Because it is an online course, it is ready when you are, and you can access it whenever you want - 24/7.
And you can always revisit it if you need to remind yourself of what you have learnt.
We also have an option enabling you to spend time with one of our tutors.
This part of the course can take place on Zoom or face-to-face and could be used to review and provide feedback and practical advice on your content.
Why a business writing skills training course will help your company
Pause for a minute and think about how much of your job involves business writing and written communication.
Were you surprised by your answer?
Workplace communication has changed. And for many of us, writing fills a bigger part of our working lives than we realise.
Consider how much of your day you spend on email.
Typically, we spend 11 hours of the working week on email. But writing doesn’t stop there.
Many of us will also need to write presentations, clear business documents, reports, memos, letters and notes.
Others will need to draft social media posts, improve brand awareness and drive search engine rankings.
Media and communication teams will need to create messaging documents, press releases, media statements and briefing documents for spokespeople.
All need clear, concise writing that gets your message across.
The good news is that no matter how confident or unsure you and your team feel about your writing skills and writing process, you can improve them - with a little help and expertise from one of our courses.
As the advertising tycoon David Ogilvy once said: “Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well.”
What makes our business writing skills training different?
Our business writing skills courses are bespoke, devised by business professionals, copywriting experts and journalists.
We will spend time ahead of the training getting to know your business, the services you offer and your ideas.
We will then design a business writing course to meet your needs and requirements.
And it will be delivered by people who use the right words every day to inform, educate, entertain and grab attention – current working journalists.
Why do you use journalists in your business writing skills training courses?
Journalists are the ideal tutors for many of our communication skills courses.
And they are perfect for a business writing course.
Journalists write every day. They understand the power of the written word and know what it takes to grab attention, make the complex easy to understand and produce concise reports.
Learning from those who have mastered news writing will help you.
You'll learn how to get to the point quicker, use an active voice, showcase your expertise and knowledge, and bring your writing to life with examples and statistics.
Most journalists began their careers working for newspapers, where they honed their writing skills.
Those working in broadcast material still use their skills to compile their stories and write concise, cohesive online reports.
What could my business writing skills training course include?
All our courses are different, and the content will depend on the business objectives and the writing ability, knowledge and confidence of those taking part.
- Understanding email etiquette and how to write better emails
- Getting to the point quickly and being concise
- Techniques to help engage your reader
- Common grammar and punctuation mistakes and how to avoid them
- How to structure sentences and ensure the reader understands what you are saying
- Proven techniques and tools to improve all forms of writing
- Proofreading tips from professionals to cut out mistakes
- How to motivate readers and persuade them of your ideas
- Understanding your audiences and how to write for them
- How to write more quickly for business purposes
- How to make your message resonate
- How to create your brand's personality and writing style
- Avoiding passive voice
- Advanced grammar and punctuation
- Stripping out the jargon and industry-speak
- Professional proofreading techniques and tricks
- Polishing your grammar (and when you can ignore the rules)
- How to make your content stand out in a crowded marketplace
- How to plan your content and generate ideas
- Choosing the right structure
- Creating the right tone of voice for your brand
- Writing headlines that entice readers
- Tools and skills to improve the readability of your writing
- The value of headings, sub-headings, lists, white space and visuals in your content
- How to edit and tighten your copy
Who should take a business writing course?
All professionals need good business writing skills that go beyond an understanding of plain English, grammar and punctuation.
And every organisation needs people who can write with confidence and keep readers interested to get their message across.
Whether your job involves preparing proposals and reports, sending emails or letters, writing business documents or you need to produce social media content, PR and marketing material, the ability to write is a much sought-after skill.
We will tailor the training to your needs, experience and confidence levels.
How do I book a business writing skills training course?
If you like the sound of our bespoke business writing skills training and want to know more, get in touch for a chat.
Our account managers will answer any questions you may have, take you through all our training options in more detail, and help you start to build your bespoke course.
If our online option has grabbed your attention, you can book the course here and access the learning straight away. You'll also find all our other courses and online learning options on the page.
What others say about our training
We enjoyed the course very much and learned a lot from it. Simon was very good, he first took us through the steps of what points we needed to consider in order to get the information we needed from an interview. By making us participate in this process, drawing on our own personal stories it made it easier to remember. He also gave us good pointers on how to frame our story, where to start and how to catch the reader’s interest. Getting us to interview each other and write a short article helps us to realise that we could actually write something interesting.
Get in touch to discuss your training needs 0118 918 0530 or hello@mediafirst.co.uk or tell us how we can help…
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