This newsletter brings our warmest wishes for Christmas and the New Year.
Once again, we’re not sending out Christmas cards but instead donating to ‘Obumu’, an Abergavenny group which supports educational and training projects in Fort Portal, Western Uganda.
Thanks for all your feedback and encouraging comments. It’s good to know that Word Power is useful to at least some of you! Here’s an email from a Head of Staff Development at a London university:
“I thought your Guidelines on emails was excellent and something that we could offer new staff as part of our induction. It would seem a better option than trying to re-invent the wheel when there is already such a splendid wheel out there!”
We’ve included another article on writing emails in this newsletter (follow this link to read the previous article). This time, Jane explains how to engage with the reader and make sure that your email gets actioned.
Our
exciting new Grammar
on the Rocks™ training event is vital for anyone who wants to make sure
that the documents they write are clear and grammatically correct.
In this half-day workshop Jane Smith shows you how to recognise and steer clear of the ‘rocks’ of English grammar that can so easily scupper your credibility.
We are currently offering Grammar on the Rocks™ on an in-company basis: we will also be running it as an open course later in 2008.
Click here to view/download the course brochure.
Dealing effectively with information overload is one of the toughest challenges that face people today. Word Smiths’ public courses are an easy, enjoyable way to learn skills that will help you to keep your head above water.
In response to public demand, we are adding Manchester as a venue in 2008 for our open workshops in Speed Reading, Mind Mapping and Effective Business Writing. We will also continue to run a full programme of these open courses at the Bristol Conference Centre.
Bristol open courses
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Manchester open courses
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Click/right click on the course title to view/download a brochure setting out the full programme for the day.
Click here to book, or email us / call us on 01873 857556 if you’d like to discuss any aspects of the courses.
Did you know that you have less than five seconds to grab a reader’s attention when you email them? People are generally so overwhelmed with emails that they are likely to skip over or delete a message without reading it if the main point isn’t clear right at the beginning.
To make sure your email is read, get straight to the point. But first, spend a little time thinking about the subject of your email. It will be a great help to your reader if your subject is a short phrase that covers every important point in the message. Don’t – as many people do – just reply to a earlier message leaving the previous subject unaltered.
Next, don’t be afraid to write an actual ‘topic sentence’ that clarifies a) what this is about, and b) what response or action you require of the recipient. Making your first sentence strong and clear is easily the best way to interest your recipient in the second sentence and beyond. The rest of the email should outline all the supporting information: who/when/what/where/why/how.
Building a pyramidStructuring a document in this way is like building a pyramid. At the top is the message and below it are the key points that support the message. The further down the pyramid you go, the less important the information.
What you are doing is creating an hypothetical conversation between you and your reader. Imagine your core message generating a question in the reader’s mind, and then structure the supporting information as a response to that question. Your answer may then provoke another question – so carry on giving answers until you imagine the questions stopping. If there is more than one answer to the question, write them in order of priority.
Example: We are hoping to reschedule the team meeting to Wednesday 4 October at 10.00. Please let me know by Monday at 12.00 if you can attend. Where is the meeting going to be held? The meeting will be in room 3.3 in the Webster Building How long will it last? We anticipate a finish time of 12.00 at the latest. Why does the meeting have to be rescheduled? The change is unavoidable because John won’t be back from Paris till Tuesday afternoon and Martine has an urgent meeting with a client on Tuesday morning. |
This gives us: Susan Subject: Rescheduled team meeting We are hoping to reschedule the team meeting to Wednesday 4 October at 10.00. Please let me know by Monday at 12.00 if you can attend. The meeting will be in room 3.3 in the Webster Building and we anticipate a finish time of 12.00 at the latest. The change is unavoidable because John won’t be back from Paris till Tuesday afternoon and Martine has an urgent meeting with a client on that morning. Please let me know by Monday at 12.00 if the new time is convenient for you. Best regards Jane |
Talking to your readers, getting straight to the point and answering their questions in this way is a good way to engage them and to make sure that your message gets read. It saves your time and theirs too, so everyone benefits.
Free word gameTry this word game - Free Rice - in an idle moment during the holiday. It’s a great way of learning new vocabulary while helping to feed hungry people around the world. It’s also quite fun – and a bit addictive.
Each time a word appears on your screen you have to select the one in a list of four that means the same thing. If you get it right, you get a harder word. If wrong, you get an easier word.
Your score goes up for correct answers and drops back if you get any wrong.
For each word you get right, 20 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Program. It’s a great Christmas gift that only costs a little of your time.
Please get in touch with Nick if you would like to advertise your courses or events in this newsletter. We are happy to do this - in return for a small space in your own email newsletter.
Word Smiths is an independent partnership specialising in the creation and delivery of learning materials and training packages. We are also copywriters/editors, audio book publishers and typesetters/designers.
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Speed Reading
Mind Mapping
Effective Business Writing
Grammar on the Rocks™
Speed Reading
Mind Mapping
Effective Business Writing
Making the Most of your Memory