Do you have an individual whose writing needs serious improvement? We have a long, successful history of working with such individuals two ways:  at a distance or in person.

The process is simple:

1. We assess the individual’s needs.
2. We mentor, providing tailored, positive feedback during our 1 hr webinar
   
3. We conclude, providing a map for future improvement.

We have provided this service for people in the widest range of roles: CEOs, IT managers, directors, attorneys, paralegals, sales representatives, those whose first language was not English, line managers, and customer service providers, to name a few.

When professionals lack strong writing skills, they may lessen their own effectiveness—and that  of their organizations. The coaching process enables individuals to upgrade and refine their writing skills – and often never have to leave their desk. After completing the process, individuals consistently report that they:

• Get their key points across more effectively.
• Win the business (receive more positive responses from clients and readers).
• Save time.

 The coaching process usually follows a sequence like this one.

1. The process begins with the individual’s manager and our writing coach talking by phone about appropriate needs and outcomes.
2. Next the individual collects and sends to the writing coach/consultant a representative sample of typical communications. These include emails.
3. Once these samples arrive, the consultant contacts the individual by email to schedule the web training—the assessment session.
4. At the assessment session, the consultant reviews the analysis of the individual’s writing strengths and limitations. Together, they then agree on the goals/objectives for the process, as well as the approximate time needed.
5. The number of web training and of email interchanges required to fulfill the goals varies by individual.  Between three and five sessions/interchanges—spread out over three to twelve months—are usually sufficient to complete the process.  All work is scheduled at mutual convenience.

At the end of this coaching process, individuals develop a clear action plan to eliminate writing weaknesses and capitalize on writing strengths.

Individuals and their coaches usually find benefit in a follow-up check-in about six months after the formal end of coaching.  Coaching graduates report that they have become clearly more successful in communicating their ideas and influencing readers.

Do you have talented individuals whose writing is holding them back as well hampering your organization?  They may work in any field, in any position including leadership.

You may have tried other solutions such as sending these individuals to classes. Or perhaps you or others have attempted doing the coaching internally.

Our expert writing coaches and trainers will focus on what matters most and carefully avoid the many traps that writing coaching can create.

Below are some of writing areas where we have successfully coached and trained individuals:

Leadership writing ♦ Reports ♦ Websites ♦ Proposals ♦ Emails, internal and external ♦ Presentations ♦ Business writing, from twitter and emails to white papers and reports  ♦ Technical writing, such as procedures or IT white papers ♦  Customer letters, emails, and instant messaging (IM)

Need # 1

Everyone in a large IT division knew that email problems were getting worse: abrupt, sloppy, or wordy emails were too common. Both performance and morale were affected.

“Didn't you read my email?” was a surefire way to get a rueful laugh at meetings. “Sorry” was the honest answer. Many key emails were getting ignored, disrupting or derailing critical projects.

Solution # 1

The solution was team training. After sampling the division’s email, we customized a half-day writing training. This workshop focused on the most up-to-date guidelines and etiquette for effective email.

After the training, at the division’s request, we analyzed the impact of the training and developed a yearly refresher workshop. In this way, key guidelines would be reinforced and participants would be updated on the latest word in email.
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Need # 2

In a customer service department, each representative had to write an average of ten letters and thirty emails to customers each day. Many of the templates they used were out of date. Sometimes the template used did not really fit the intricate, unique problems, annoying customers.

Working on complex problems, some representatives were three months behind in responding to customers; in addition, management was concerned about the poor quality of what they sent.

Solution # 2

This solution had three parts.

First, we designed a set of well-written form letters and emails. Representatives used these templated communications to resolve repetitive customer concerns.

Second, we trained the representatives, giving them the writing skills they needed to efficiently respond to odd or unusual situations.

Third, we trained supervisors and managers to work constructively with employee writing after the initial training.

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Need # 3

A technically gifted professional was promoted to a management position. For the first time in her career, her writing gaps were exposed. Her direct reports complained that her communications were hard to read and understand. She too was struggling, sometimes taking an entire morning to produce a four-paragraph memo.

Solution # 3

The solution was individual coaching. One of our consultants worked with this manager for five one-hour sessions, spread out over several months. She was able to develop her writing skills by building on her already-strong foundation of technical skills. The individual quickly—and permanently—learned to use writing as a powerful tool to get consistently positive reader responses.