Description

A keyboard may not commonly be considered a lethal weapon. Yet in just 10 seconds a company employee could utilise this piece of equipment to murder the credibility and professional image of your company. This is how long it takes to read the subject line and first paragarph of an e-mail or letter, and make a lasting impression on a reader. To a customer, client or colleague the person who wrote the correspondence IS the company, not the multi-million rand advertising campaign, the sophisticated website or huge PR department. An organisation's reputation is only as good as the person communicating on their behalf.

Most office staff compile countless e-mails, reports, business letters, faxes, memos or telephone messages in the course of a day. Ensure that your words are phrased in a professional business-like, yet approachable way, so that they are understood and acted upon. Learn how to gather , select, sequence and lay out information to create maximum impact in all transactional writing by :

• Taking the reader into account by using the right format and a reader-friendly layout
• Clarifying your purpose by being concise and choosing the appropriate words
• Creating a positive and friendly tone
• Sequencing information logically
• Editing to make sure that spelling, grammar and tense are correct and consistent
• Making sure that the final presentation is professional and elicits the right response

Duration

2 days

Unit standard

12153 - Using the writing process to compile texts used in the business environment. Level 4, credits 5

Pre-requisites

None