Overview

This workshop is designed for people who need to learn to use writing to effectively communicate information.  Delegates will learn through instructor led discussion, exercises and case studies.

Duration

1 day, 9.30am to 4.30pm

Objectives

After attending this workshop, delegates will know how to:

• Improve their writing skills by using the guideleines and following the writing process
• Write effective business emails, reports and proposals
• Focus their writing to their readers
• format & edit their writing

Content

• Writing skills: basic writing skills, the writing process, effective words,sentences & paragraphs
• Writing specific messages:  business letters, emails & reports, brief messages, apology & complaint letters, persuasive messages
• Understanding proposals:  proposal types, knowing your client, effective writing for proposals
• Writing proposals:  the opening, body & closing, visually appealing proposals
• Formal proposals: structuring formal proposals, what to indluce, cover letters
• Editing:  who, when, how?

Overview

This workshop is designed for people who wish to be able to deliver more effective meetings and bring out productive group discussions.  This workshop provides delegates with the skills required to facilitate, chair & participate at meetings, and the opportunity to practice these skills.  Delegates will learn through instructor led discussion, exercises and case studies.

Duration

1 day, 9.30am to 4.30pm

Objectives

At the end of this workshop the delegates will:

• Be able to demonstrate the process of faciliating/chairing a meeting
• Be able to demonstrate some meeting techniques
• Understand what skills to use & when

Content

• Effective & ineffective meetings: what makes a meeting effective?
• Meeting Process: the 4 step process, to do’s & not to do’s
• Meeting Skills: challenging people, skills to manage all challenges
• Techniques:  Analysis techniques, presentation techniques
• Group practice of conducting meetings on given scenarios

Background

This workshop has been designed to help accountancy students prepare for their Test of Professional Expertise (TPE) examination.  The workshop introduces writing skills & report writing theory and uses past paper case studies to practice what they’ve learnt.  The workshop particularly focuses on the afternoon part of the TPE exam, where planning your answer is critical and can contain a number of the marks you may receive.

Objectives:

By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

• Target your audience and analyse their needs
• Gather your data and select the relevant information for your audience
• Structure your writing to maintain your readers’ attention
• plan, analyse & structure TPE case study reports

Course Contents

1. Clarifying your purpose

• Do you have what it takes? The skills needed to write reports
• Why do you do it? What’s the purpose of a business or technical report?
• Why you won’t get anywhere without a clear objective

2. Analysing your audience

• Do you know who you’re writing for?
• What will they want out of your report? The first step to making sure you deliver!

3. Designing your structure

• Structuring before you start writing – you wouldn’t build without good foundations
• How to structure the beginning, middle and end of your report
• How to structure the Executive Summary
• Ideas for structuring sections
• How do you satisfy a mixed readership with multiple requirements?

4. Selecting your information

• Collecting and evaluating information – how to make it easy for people to help you
• Deciding what information is relevant – the payoff for having a clear objective
• Deciding the level of detail to include is easier when you’ve analysed your audience

5. Practicing your skills

• group work on a case study, following TPE guidelines
• reading, planning, analysing & drafting your answers

Duration

One-day, 9.30 am to 4.30 pm

Overview

This workshop is designed for people who need to improve their assertiveness skills at work, by showing more confidence or by showing less aggression in their communication.  Delegates will learn through instructor led discussion, exercises and case studies.

Duration

1 day, 9.30a to 4.30pm

Objectives

After attending this course, delegates will know how to:

• demonstrate assertiveness
• apply their skills to specific work situations

Content

• How assertive are you?
• What is assertiveness?  assertive vs aggressive vs passive behaviours, why choose to be assertive?
• Assertiveness Bill of Rights:  the rights of all people, how do they work in real life?
• Communication Methods:  assertive communication, non-verbal communication
• Assertive Techniques:  Stop, Think & React, Models for practicing assertiveness
• Scenarios for practicing assertiveness:  Saying “no”, case studies, your own situations