Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts & Associates
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Writing Workshops

Surgeon General's Warning: The results of these business writing workshops are habit forming.

Write It So They'll Read ItTM
Cut your writing time by 30% to 50% and write reader-focused documents that drive action.

What You Forgot From Ms. Grump’s English ClassTM
Refresh your grammar and punctuation quickly and easily, without all the rules you learned and forgot.

Emails That Mean Business
Learn to write compelling subject lines and use email etiquette like a pro.

Laser Sharp Technical WritingTM
Understand the needs of your readers and present information clearly and concisely in both the paper and electronic worlds.

Delivering Customer Service the "Write" Way
Respond to the concerns of customers with a grin, not a grunt.

Team Building the "Write" WayTM
This engaging and memorable team building event improves writing skills that apply to the team’s and the individual’s writing challenges. The benefits of team building that concentrate purely on fun and games tend to be short term. They fade when the event ends. When team building is coupled with substance and experiential learning that relate to the real world, however, the benefits to the teams and the individuals are long term.

I learned more in the first three hours of Sheryl's business writing workshop than I learned in the ten weeks I spent at a business writing program sponsored by [leading University] in Boston. 
 
-Teresina Cardamone,
Marketing Communications Specialist

 IDG Corporate Communications


Thank you for the excellent writing workshop and follow-up individual meetings at EMC last week. Each of the participants praised the workshop and individual sessions. More importantly, they are putting what they learned into practice. They write faster and more clearly. They edit their own work more easily. They have a context to monitor their own improvement. I have recommended your workshop to several colleagues at EMC.


-Steve Bardige, Director of Analyst Relations, EMC Corporation

Write It So They'll Read It!™
Cut your writing time by 30 to 50% and get the results you want. No matter what you write—letters, memos, email messages, reports, proposals, or anything else—you can write with confidence and competence and actually enjoy the process! Learn to create documents your readers read first… documents that drive action…documents that affect your readers as you wish. This workshop is the foundation for my best seller, Business Writing For Dummies. Here are some of the hands-on experiences participants rave about:

  1. Getting started (identifying your reader and key issues)
  2. Creating dynamic subject lines and headlines
  3. Writing the draft
  4. Designing for visual impact
  5. Honing the tone
  6. Proofreading
Variations of this workshop:
  • Winning Proposals/Grants
  • Executive Business Writing
  • Savvy Sales and Marketing
  • Writing Policies and Procedures
  • Persuasive Presentations

We just devoted our weekly company-wide staff meeting to review your workshop. The bottom line is that folks were thrilled with your course... Several people indicated that they are now writing more efficiently. One person remarked that a typical document that used to take him four hours to write is now taking less than two hours... Thanks again for your time, enthusiasm, and humor.

- Mary Ellen Eagan, President
Harris Miller Miller & Hanson, Inc.

What You Forgot From Ms. Grump’s English Class™
In just four hours you refresh the sticky wickets of grammar and punctuation. This isn’t a standard English program that drones on about "restrictive clauses" and "subjunctives." You forgot them from your high school English class, and you’d forget them again. Rather, this is a program that provides easy-to-remember clues that sink into your memory banks.

For example, do you get stuck on when to use who or whom? If so, here’s a quick way to differentiate them. When you can substitute he/she/they, use who. When you can substitute her/him/them, use whom. In brief, simply look for the "m" endings and you’ll never confuse them again.


  • Are you the person with whom I spoke yesterday? (I spoke with "him" yesterday.)
  • The company needs a person who knows the software. ("He" knows software.)

General Comments
- Why couldn't I have had someone like you when I was in public school?
- In just a few hours, you helped fine tune my English skills.
- You made punctuation and grammar fun and easy. I didn't think it could be done.

       

Emails That Mean Business
Think how efficient it would be for the subject line column of your inbox to read like the "Newsline" column of USA Today. You read each subject line (as a headline) and get critical information at a glance. During this two-hour workshop, learn to write email messages with a subject line that shouts "Read Me!". . . Messages that have the impact you want to have on your readers. . . Messages that get results. Here’s just some of what you can expect to learn:

Laser Sharp Technical Writing
All technical people are called upon to write technical documents. No matter what you write—reports, presentations, proposals, spec sheets, articles, manuals, white papers, policies and procedures, or more—this workshop is a must. Your career depends on your ability to present your information clearly and distinctly in both the paper and electronic worlds. In this workshop you learn the ins and outs of writing technical documents, so the next time you’re tapped for a writing assignment, you’ll be able to…

  1. Eliminate Writer’s Block
  2. Get Started (identify your readers and key issue)
  3. Create Compelling Headlines
  4. Write the Draft
  5. Design for Visual Impact
  6. Hone the Tone
  7. Proofread and Edit

This workshop is the foundation for Sheryl’s hot seller, Technical Writing for Dummies, published by Hungry Minds (currently John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

Delivering Customer Service the "Write" Way
Despite a company’s best efforts, occasionally something goes awry. The smart and successful company values hearing about mistakes, defects, disappointments, or dissatisfactions and sends correspondence with a grin, not a grunt. Learn to... 
  • Write a message that is brief—yet personable, professional, and helpful
  • Sequence for results and goodwill
  • Deal with frustration
  • Write in a positive and friendly tone, even when the customer is wrong
  • Understand email etiquette (domestic and international)

Team Building the "Write" Way™
During this engaging and memorable team building event, participants will

  • Develop heightened writing skills they can apply to all their team- and individual-writing challenges
  • Promote multi-tasking and verbal communications
  • Enthuse decision making and brainstorming
  • Draw on team and individual strengths.

The benefits of team building that concentrate purely on fun and games tend to be short term. They fade when the event ends. When team building is coupled with substance and experiential learning that relate to the real world, however, the benefits to the team and the individuals are long term.


This team building event is the outgrowth of Write It So They’ll Read It™, the highly acclaimed business writing workshop where participants learn to cut writing time by 30% to 50% and get results. It incorporates the “Six Step Process” of strategic business writing that are part of all Sheryl’s workshops and 20 books (including several in the Dummies series).