513.413.2824 clarkt@xavier.edu www.communiskills.com
One-hour Business Communication Workshops
Session One: Mastering the Organizational and Design Principles that Allow Writers to Communicate Their Best Thinking on Paper
This introductory workshop focuses on the effective blend of visual design with a current best approach to organizing messages that are inviting to read, easily understood, logically argued, and effectively related to reader and company objectives. These principles, including techniques for winning the three moments of reader truth—skim, scan, and word for word–are applied to writing effective email and other short messages.
Session Two: Mutual Respect, Mutual Purpose: Answering Questions Concisely and Completely
This session addresses the importance of establishing respectful relationships with co-workers as a prerequisite to developing the trust that is essential to establishing mutual purpose. It applies these principles to answering questions effectively, including anticipating questions, using mental rehearsal to evaluate potential answers, and answering questions clearly and concisely, with an emphasis on goals, accomplishments, reasons, data and benefits.
Session Three: Using Structured Writing Tools and Graphic Aids as Communication Tools
This session demonstrates the use of structured writing tools, such as word charts, logic diagrams, and planning matrices, and graphic aids, such as tables and bar charts, as effective means of planning complex messages and communicating complex ideas.
Session Four: Writing Report and Action Messages
This workshop focuses on a section by section analysis of the success strategies needed to master each part of the complex message, including the executive summary, background, methods, body, other issues, and action paragraphs.
Session Five: Polishing Your Message: Editing For Conciseness, Correctness, and Positive Image
Mark Twain noted that the difference between using the right word and the wrong word is the difference between a fire and a firefly! This workshop covers three topics: 1) word choice, specifically communicating positively, authoritatively; and respectfully to a multicultural readership; 2) using a variety of editing and design tools to help fit a message on a single page or cell phone screen, and 3) quality control through effective proofreading.
Session Six: Positive Interpersonal Communication
Crucial to effectively motivating others is building trust by practicing positive communication behaviors in everyday face-to-face, e-mail, text, and telephone communication including creating positive first impressions, using effective listening skills, and recognizing the talents co-workers with meaningful praise statements.
Session Seven: Team Communication
This workshop focuses on criteria for 1) team task success: Agenda Preparation, Participant Preparation, Opening Statement, Success Criteria, and Follow up and 2) interpersonal success with an emphasis on Hospitality, Productivity; and Enthusiasm.