Writing That Gets Read: A Professional Writing Skills Course for the Workplace
1Summary
A press release nobody reads, a business letter that buries its own point, an internal newsletter that gets deleted unopened, poor writing costs organisations attention, not just words. This Professional Writing Skills Training Course from the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy works from that practical reality: it builds the specific writing and interviewing skills employees need to get their message read, understood, and acted on.
Participants learn to research their market and audience before writing a single line, to structure a press release or report so its most important information lands first, and to conduct the kind of interviews that produce quotable, usable material. The course also covers the legal side of professional writing, copyright and plagiarism, and closes with the specialised skill of writing clearly under pressure, when a crisis or risk situation demands a fast, accurate press statement.
2Objectives and target group
Who Should Attend
- People new to business writing and press release drafting.
- Anyone who wants to sharpen the writing skills they use in their current role.
- Staff responsible for producing internal newsletters and organisational publications.
- Professionals who want to learn effective journalistic and media writing techniques.
What Participants Will Be Able to Do
- Research a target audience and market before writing, and structure documents that speak directly to that audience.
- Write clear, effective press releases and business letters that get read and acted on.
- Conduct interviews that produce strong, quotable material, and build working relationships with media contacts.
- Recognise the legal considerations in professional writing, including copyright and plagiarism.
- Write specialised press statements for crisis and risk situations under time pressure.
3Course Content
Module 1: Knowing Your Market and Your Reader
- Researching the market space before writing.
- Identifying readers and understanding what they actually expect from the text.
Module 2: Business Writing Styles and Fundamentals
- Different styles of business writing and when to use each one.
- Core writing fundamentals: newsworthiness, point of view, and clarity.
- Structuring content to match an organisation's own style and templates.
Module 3: Writing the Press Release
- How to write a press release that actually gets picked up.
- Working from a press release template and drafting key statements.
Module 4: Interviewing and Building Media Relationships
- Techniques for conducting interviews and drawing out strong questions.
- PR-specific interview techniques and staying in contact with sources.
- Building and maintaining working relationships with journalists and media contacts.
Module 5: Internal Communication and Business Correspondence
- Writing an internal organisational newsletter.
- How to write and present a business letter professionally.
Module 6: Legal Issues in Professional Writing
- Copyright and plagiarism: what writers need to know before publishing.
Module 7: Writing Under Pressure — Crisis and Risk Reporting
- Writing specialised press reports designed for crisis and risk situations in the workplace.