Workshops for Workplace Writers

We can deliver any of our workshops virtually or in person, and we can customize them for your organization or deliver them off-the-shelf.

If you don’t see the type or length of workshop you’re looking for, please ask. We’re always developing new workshops to meet our clients’ needs.

Getting the Message Across: Tips for Clear Workplace Writing

Our most popular offering for workplace writers, this workshop covers plain language techniques to make it easier for your readers to find, understand, and use the information in your documents. We’ll help you determine your readers’ needs, define your writing purpose, and use practical techniques to arrange ideas, highlight key messages, make ideas flow, and write clearly and concisely. Optional modules cover writing unified, coherent paragraphs, revising and proofreading effectively, and avoiding common grammatical and usage errors.

Length: 4 hours for core workshop, or up to 6 hours with optional modules (split across 2–3 days)

Writing with Respect

This workshop will help you think critically about language to create documents that are appropriate for your context and reader. Starting with an understanding of bias and how and why some words limit and harm audiences, we then look at why conscious language makes a difference. We will consider what assumptions you might be making about your readers, how content and context affect language, and how to make mindful choices about the words you use—including when to keep language neutral and when to champion equity, diversity, and inclusion. We’ll wrap up with tips and tools to respect individual preferences and stay up to date on current practices. Note: This workshop builds on, but does not duplicate, the content in our Getting the Message Across workshop.

Length: 1½ hours

Finding the Right Tone

This workshop will help you recognize how context, document structure, voice, word choice, sentence patterns, and design affect the way a document makes readers feel. You will learn how to adjust the tone of your documents to improve communication, save time, and build trust with clients, co-workers, and other key audiences. Note: This workshop builds on, but does not duplicate, the content in our Getting the Message Across workshop.

Length: 2 hours

Writing Effective Briefing Notes

This workshop will help you create or edit briefing notes to make them as effective as possible. We discuss the writing process, reader-centred writing, and clear writing in the context of briefing notes, and take a close look at the purpose and elements of effective briefing notes, focusing on decision notes and information notes. Using materials from your organization, you will analyze several briefing notes to identify the dos and don’ts of these documents. Note: This workshop builds on, but does not duplicate, the content in our Getting the Message Across workshop.

Length: 4 hours

Principles of Copy Editing for Workplace Writers

If you’re a workplace writer who finds yourself editing other people’s writing, this workshop is for you. We discuss what copy editing is and isn’t, an efficient copy editing process, tips for onscreen editing, the use of style guides and other reference materials, and effective querying. The workshop ends with tips on common mechanical and language issues to look out for.

Length: 3 hours

Principles of Proofreading for Workplace Writers

This workshop shows you how to proofread and polish your, or other people’s, writing effectively so readers can focus on the message, not the mistakes. We cover practical tips and tools to help you find and fix errors that can lead to misunderstandings, embarrassment, and other unintended consequences.