Business Writing For Busy People

Get better results from your business writing - UPDATED FOR 2022

Last updated 2022-01-10 | 4.5

- Work out what you want to say quickly and painlessly
- Craft clear
- concise
- compelling business documents - from emails to reports
- Grab and keep your readers' attention with powerful messages

What you'll learn

Work out what you want to say quickly and painlessly
Craft clear
concise
compelling business documents - from emails to reports
Grab and keep your readers' attention with powerful messages
Structure your writing for maximum impact
Achieve a professional tone of voice in your writing
Identify and eliminate tech talk and off-putting business jargon

* Requirements

* A willingness to roll up your sleeves and get writing!
* You'll need at least one piece of your own writing to complete several of the exercises
* It's not necessary
* but you might want to have a specific new writing project in mind

Description

Business Writing For Busy People is a short, sharp course you can complete at your desk in under 2 hours.

Completely updated for 2022, the course shows you how to grab the attention of busy readers - by writing in a way that’s clear, concise and compelling.

 

What you’ll learn in Business Writing for Busy People

Business Writing For Busy People, covers the key things you need to know if you want to get better results from your business writing.

This course is perfect for anyone who has to write anything at work. Whether you’re a new graduate who needs to adapt your writing style for the workplace. Or an experienced executive who wants to brush up your business writing skills.

By the end of this course, you’ll be armed with a slew of techniques for crafting more effective business documents, from day-to-day emails to persuasive pitches and proposals.

You’ll start by learning to identify the features of a ‘professional’ writing style. You’ll be introduced to a series of powerful (and free!) online writing tools you can use to analyse your own work. Tools that have been tried, tested and given the whole-hearted thumbs up by my own clients.

You’ll also learn about the cultural factors that can affect the degree of impact your writing will have - essential knowledge if English isn’t your first language or if you’re working as part of a global team.

Good writing isn’t primarily about the words you use - it’s about figuring out what you’re trying to say and why it matters.

So early on in the course, you’ll learn how to quickly identify your key message before you even sit down to write. And how to present your ideas effectively - in a way that meets the needs of busy readers.

Specifically, you'll learn more about the reading strategies people use to seek out the information that matters most to them - and how to adapt your writing accordingly.

The techniques you’ll learn for getting your ideas down on paper quickly and clearly will save you time as a writer - and save your audience time as readers.

You’ll also learn how to craft sentences that are clear, concise and jargon-free - so you can communicate your expertise without losing your reader. And how to add warmth to your words so you forge a deeper connection with people everytime you write.

Finally, you’ll learn simple techniques for proofing and polishing your work - so you can weed out embarrassing errors that could undermine your credibility as a writer.

 

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Identify and adopt the features of a ‘professional’ style

  • Save time when writing anything - from day-to-day emails to persuasive pitches

  • Delight your audience - by saving them time when reading your work

  • Quickly identify what you want to say - and how to say it

  • Structure your writing for maximum impact

  • Present your ideas so readers can instantly home in on your most important points

  • Apply a proven formula for crafting pitches and proposals that persuade

  • Communicate your expertise clearly and compellingly

  • Rid your writing of confusing tech talk and off-putting corpspeak

  • Engage your readers by making your writing warmer and more human

  • Establish credibility by proofing and polishing your work effectively

 

Hands-on practice

The only way to improve your writing is to roll up your sleeves and get writing. That’s why I’ve designed Business Writing For Busy People to be a highly practical course.

Throughout the course, you’ll get opportunities to put theory into practice with exercises and assignments drawn from real-life examples of business writing.

You’ll also be encouraged to reflect on your own business writing. You’ll find the course particularly useful if you’ve got an existing writing sample you’d like to critique and improve on - or a crucial upcoming writing project to complete.

 

Course resources

Business Writing For Busy People gives you a wealth of resources for crafting clearer, punchier, more persuasive business documents, including:

  • links to free online tools for analysing and improving your writing

  • 51-page downloadable course workbook featuring course exercises and assignments - including model answers - and summaries of the key points of each lecture

  • downloadable copy of instructor's e-book 'Catch Every Error: A Guide To Polishing Your Document Like A Pro - Complete With A Proofreading Checklist'

  • links to useful articles and other online sources to help you produce better business writing

 

Is Business Writing For Busy People the right course for you?

Business Writing For Busy People has been designed for time-pressed professionals who want to get maximum results from their writing - in minimum time.

If you’re looking for a more comprehensive course that will take you from business writing beginner to the level of a copywriting pro, you might prefer to enrol in one of my other courses, Writing With Confidence.

Business Writing For Busy People covers some of the same ground as Writing With Confidence - albeit with all-new exercises.

However, Business Writing For Busy People focuses on just the most important writing techniques you need to get fast results.


Learn from an award-winning teacher and expert in business writing

I’m Dr Clare Lynch of Doris and Bertie, a London-based consultancy that works with anyone who needs to write as part of their job.

In my decades-long writing career, I’ve taught business writing skills to executives at global companies and international MBA students at the University of Cambridge.

So I know exactly what it takes to help professionals write well in the workplace. Especially if you’re a smart, educated graduate who is having to adapt from an academic style to a new way of writing.

As a Udemy instructor since March 2015, I’ve taught over 145,000 students how to communicate more effectively with the written word. What's more, in October 2019, Udemy bestowed their Student Success award on me for my dedication to my Udemy students.

As a writer myself, I understand the importance of grabbing your audience’s attention - and keeping things to the point. And, as you’ll discover, as an instructor, I practise what I preach. The words students use most often in reviews of my Udemy courses  are ‘clear’, ‘concise’ and ‘engaging’.

My goal with Business Writing For Busy People is to show you the writing techniques that will win you similar plaudits for your work.

Who this course is for:

  • Busy executives who want to write more effective business documents
  • New graduates in their first role
  • Experienced professionals who want a quick refresher of the principles of good business writing

Course content

6 sections • 23 lectures

Introduction: is this course for you? Preview 04:14

A quick overview of what to expect from Business Writing For Busy People.

How to adopt an appropriate tone of voice Preview 05:40

To be seen as professional, it's important your business writing has the right tone of voice - this lecture shows you how to achieve that.

Tone of voice: an example Preview 08:15

A vivid example of the difference tone of voice can make to a reader's impression of a piece of writing.

Writing in a global market: cultural factors that affect your writing style Preview 05:39

English not your first language? Working in a global organisation? This lecture will help you understand the different cultural attitudes about what constitutes 'good' writing.

How to achieve a professional writing style: summary Preview 00:21

A quick overview of what you've learned so far.

What is your point? The importance of knowing your "lede" Preview 07:49

Why it's so important to identify your key message - and foreground it in any piece of business writing.

The three questions you need to ask before writing Preview 08:47

How to identify your key message by asking three essential questions before you start writing: Who? What? Why?

How to order your ideas when writing to persuade Preview 05:42

A simple formula for structuring your work when writing pitches, proposals and other persuasive pieces.

How to signpost your writing to guide your reader to your main points Preview 05:46

How readers read - and what to do about it.

How to identify and foreground your key message: summary Preview 00:17

A quick overview of what you've learned in this section on identifying and foregrounding your key message.

Leave out the parts readers skip Preview 07:57

Win your reader over by leaving out the stuff that doesn't matter to them.

How to write more readable sentences Preview 06:22

Tips for keeping your readers reading - by making your sentences short and simple.

Clarity and concision: words and phrases Preview 07:10

How to make your writing clearer and more concise at the level of the phrase and the level of the word.

Communicating your expertise: how to spot and minimise tech talk Preview 09:05

How to keep your reader with you - by pitching your writing at the right level.

How to write clearly and concisely: summary Preview 00:10

A quick overview of what you've learned in this section on writing clearly and concisely.

How to make your writing more active and less passive - and why you should Preview 07:47

Understand the difference between active and passive sentences - and why avoiding the passive can make you appear more trustworthy.

How to add warmth to your words with power pronouns Preview 04:53

Know the little words that will help you establish a human connection with your reader.

Jargon: how to spot and minimise biz babble Preview 11:25

Why using cliched corpspeak could be preventing you from standing out from your competitors.

How to connect with your reader: summary Preview 00:09

A quick overview of what you've learned so far.

Polishing and proofreading like a pro! Preview 04:51

Proofreading processes to maximise your chances of catching embarrassing errors.

How to write more quickly and efficiently Preview 07:29

How to speed up the writing process.

Download your certificate for completingBusiness Writing for Busy People Preview 01:59

Here's how to get hold of your course certificate.

Special offers on all our other writing courses! Preview 00:52

Got the writing bug and want to dig deeper into the topic? Check out my other courses on Udemy.