Some of you know I'm in the process of going from consultancy to company.
The website is still in the works, but here's some of the copy.
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Here's our top recommendation.
Two “Best Bet” foundational
workshops
• Two half-day workshops
• Cut across all types of writing
Attendees use their own content as
source material: bylined articles, media pitches, speaker abstracts, awards
submissions, complex emails, case studies, reports, etc.
First: "Creating Compelling
Content" -- 4 hours, limited to eight people at a time
1. Distill main point
2. Discover hidden news value
3. Structure for highest impact
4. Glue readers’ eyes to page
5. Build long-term trust relationships
6. Dramatically reduce word count
7. Think like a veteran professional
writer
Second: "Being Your Own Best
Editor" -- 4 hrs, limited to eight people at a time
(Unofficial nicknames: How to Have a
Calm Supervisor, How to Write Like *David Pogue)
1. Demystify process – what to do
when, with whom, how & why
2. Clarify writing standards for
digital business era
3. Clean & tighten – tips for
improving mechanics
4. Rev up verbs the real way, without
a thesaurus
5. Learn when to slow down to speed up
overall
6. Invite readers visually
7. Take responsibility
In both workshops, attendees make
discoveries about their own writing. Each person brings their own work, and
measures it against criteria, standards and examples in a workbook.
Attendees share ah-ha moments, and
learn as much from their peers’ reactions as from the workshop leader. The
outcome is not just illumination but motivation. Because they see it and feel
it for themselves, they find the changes easier to make.
***
*Apologies to David Pogue ;-) He
didn’t participate in the creation of this workshop, but his
writing appears in some of the examples.
David Pogue was the tech columnist for
the New York Times for 13 years before moving to Yahoo Tech. He’s a monthly
columnist for Scientific American and host of science shows on PBS’s “NOVA.”
He’s been a correspondent for “CBS Sunday Morning” since 2002. He’s won two
Emmy awards, two Webby awards, a Loeb award for journalism, and an honorary
doctorate in music.
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These two workshops above are the
place to start, no matter whether you are:
• rewarding a seasoned team with a
refresher
• shoring up a growing team receptive
to help
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Micro-training by topic
After completing the two “Best Bet”
workshops, teams can add micro-training on topics including “SAE
Transition,” “Award Submissions” and “Turn Survey Results into News.”
After
you’ve taken the foundational courses, you’re ready to add on. Please note
there may be additional prerequisites for a few of the courses below.
All classes below are shorter in
duration than the two “Best Bet” foundational workshops, so it’s possible to
combine multiple workshops within a single day.
1. “Make Your Pitch a Hit” (3 hours)
–- AAs to SAEs, mixed-level
2. “Get Faster Email Replies” (3 hrs)
-- interns to AMs
3. “*→Turn Survey
Results into News” (2.5 hours) -- AEs to AS/AMs, mixed
4. “*→Make Press
Releases Strategic” (3 hours) -- AEs to AS/AMs, mixed
5. “Grammar for PR Pros” (1.5 hours)
-- all levels, mixed-level
7. "Latest & Greatest AP
Style for Tech PR" -- AAs to SAEs
8. "Build a Narrative Arc"
(2 hours) -- AMs to VPs
9. "SAE Transition: Think
Strategically" -- SAEs and experienced AEs nearing promotion
10. “Up-Level Reports for Executive Eyes”
(2.5 hours) – interns to SAEs, by level
11. “Speaker Submissions” (2 hours) –
interns to SAEs, mixed
12. “Award Submissions” (2 hours) –
SAEs to VPs, mixed
13. “Interviews for Case Studies” (2.5
hours) – AAs to AS/AMs
14. “Think Like a Journalist” (times
vary) — all levels
*→ The workshops marked with
asterisk-and-arrow have prerequisites.
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Ask for info about:
1. “Blogging for Business”
2. “Journalism for Bloggers”
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Easy-to-add
standalone classes
Recommended next-steps after the two
“Best Bet” foundational workshops:
• “Brain Pack” – Develop a business
mindset (by job level).
• “AP Style for PR” — It’s the
industry standard, and our workshop is efficient.
• “Grammar for PR Pros” — Top mistakes
by educated professionals. Entertaining.
