A request has been made for training middle/senior managers on correct use of grammar when writing reports, tender, sales documents etc. This will be a sensitive topic as, due to their rank, they will feel this is unnecessary and potentially patronising. I've plenty of material on, say, report writing, but it is not really pitched at their level. I feel the latter is the key to this training - pitching it at the right level, with the right material.
Any help?
nigel barnes
2 Responses
how about this
Nigel
You could:-
~ get a relevant piece of written work, for example a report, tender response or sales document, and amend it to have a series of “deliberate mistakes”, some purely spelling and grammar of a “quality” nature, and some that are errors of a spelling and grammatical nature that render the work ambiguous or inaccurate.
~ send this out as a piece of “pre-course reading” asking delegates to highlight the offending sections.
~ then when you get together for the actual training you can get them to
a)compare and contrast their discoveries,
b)discuss the effect the errors have on the efficacy of the document and
c) the delegates own reaction to the more basic errors.
~ This makes it appear to be more of a critiquing exercise than remedial training for them, thus hopefully removing/reducing the oppositional reflex.
~ you can generate a “marked version” at the event for disemination afterwards as an aid memoire or you could give them each a copy of “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” or similar.
I hope this helps
Rus.
http://www.coach-and-courses.com
Writing Skills
See the earlier thread at http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=164577
(Paul Molloy can now be contacted on molloy_paul@sky.com )
Graham