EXPRESSTRAIN: Getting it Write
We all write at work: emails, reports, bids and meeting minutes. But are the documents produced at your place of work good enough? Are they concise, punchy messages that always lead to action, or are they rambling and incoherent? "The standard of writing here is terrible!" is a criticism heard at many workplaces. You could send a few people on the standard two-day Effective Writing skills course, and hope what they learn somehow spreads to everyone else...

In EXPRESSTRAIN 'Getting it Write', participants start by drafting a piece of writing, then reviewing a piece of writing, then discussing a manual full of short and simple tips for better writing. With these, they can redraft the pieces of writing and get feedback on them from a partner before identifying the highest-return improvement they can make in their written work.

Duration: 150 minutes. For up to 40 people. Room layout: 'horseshoe' or 'boardroom' work best as participants need tables as well as chairs. Equipment: a flipchart at the front of the room.

Participant comments:

• "Much better than a long course."
• "Immediately useful."
• "I doubt anybody could do this course and not learn one thing they could do better."
• "For such a massive subject it was targeted really well."
• "Probably the most useful course I have been on so far."
• "The way forward for training courses. You can be back at your desk and applying within minutes."