Clear Policy, Process, and Procedure Writing
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Course Objectives:
- Differentiate between policies and procedures
- Prepare information before writing, including evaluating policy against three criteria: level in organization, risk associated with policy, and ability to audit
- Master a logical process for writing clear, direct, and succinct policies and procedures.
- Target policies and procedures to project topic, requirements and conditions, and audience needs.
- Apply key tips and techniques to achieve readability and retention of information.
- Increase awareness of how plain English, clear syntax, and use of the imperative can make procedures readable and direct.
- Differentiating among policies, processes, and procedures
- Targeting processes and procedures to project topic; requirements and conditions; and audience needs
- Understanding the process for developing policies and procedures
- Brainstorming and organizing your thoughts to write a policy or procedure
- Clustering to cut writing time, categorize items, and develop headings
- Using “to” phrases to stay directed
- Checking the five Ws to cover your bases
- Using a checklist to ensure quality in documentation
- Learning the best-practice format for policies and procedures
- Linking policies to procedure when managing documents
- Using plain English
- Capturing ideas without editing
- Checking for specific language, avoiding evasive vocabulary and corporate jargon
- Using Ten Tips for writing easily understood policies and procedures
- Using the imperative verb form for procedures to create direct, concise instructions
- Avoiding wordy phrases
- Incorporating parallel structure for easy reading
- Applying the Flesch-Kincaid index
- Improving readability with five font and formatting tips
- Punctuating for clarity
- - Business, technical, and email writing
- - Presentation skills
- - Meeting facilitation
- - Career development
Topics:
1. Knowing the particulars of policies and procedures
2. Steps to effective writing, revising, editing, and proofreading of policies and procedures:
3. Ordering your ideas for typical policy or procedure or workflow
4. Freewriting your ideas
5. Reviewing processes and procedures for clarity, usability, and conciseness
6. Proofreading for perfection—Two foolproof techniques
Instructors
JANET BAILEY is a highly rated speaker, coach and award-winning writer on productivity and communication. She has developed creative methods to help leaders focus on the right priorities and has trained hundreds of engineers, sales professionals and managers to communicate clearly and to handle tough, demanding workloads. Her presentations throughout the U.S. and U.K. offer practical, powerful techniques that participants use right away to save time and stay on message.
Her columns and articles on time management, life balance, psychology and career development have appeared in leading publications including Chief Executive, Bottom Line Personal, Robb Report, Health and Reader's Digest. Her entertaining history of San Francisco, The Great San Francisco Trivia & Fact Book, was an Amazon bestseller. As a corporate communications consultant, she has helped clients from a wide variety of industries reach their audiences effectively.
Janet has a degree in journalism and psychology from Stanford University, was an adjunct faculty member at New York University, and has served in leadership roles for the National Speakers Association and the American Society of Journalists and Authors
BARRY MOHN has 15 years of experience in management, business consulting, and training. His dynamic and practical training programs focus on these topics:
Barry is a seasoned trainer with international experience. As a business consultant for Principa, a global consulting firm based in Brisbane, Australia, he developed and presented training programs for over 60 clients in the accounting industry. The programs included: Strategic Planning, Customer-Service Strategy, Monitoring Key Performance Indicators, Strategic Marketing, and Analysis of Business Financial Statements. Barry also designed and delivered writing-skills training for software and hardware engineers in China, Taiwan, and Korea; and taught English language skills in Akita and Hiroshima, Japan.
In Barry's programs, he (1) focuses on understanding the training needs of participants and (2) builds on concepts and develops customized tools to meet those needs. He maintains an easy rapport with participants to create an atmosphere of working together to overcome performance challenges. His approach ensures that the training material applies to each participant's day-to-day work.
Onsite Delivery
Contact: info@effectivetraining.com