Building with the Basics:  Grammar and Punctuation

You may be surprised to know that grammar rules have changed, some were only myths, and others have even been eliminated!  This course focuses on those rules that most impact your writing.  For example, did you know that of the approximately 100 grammar and punctuation rules, you need to know only about 25 of them to handle 90% of your writing, editing, and proofreading needs? 

For those who found grammar to be a confusing maze of illogical rules, you will be amazed at how this program builds from one principle to another. A variety of exercises helps clarify and further illustrate previously cloudy grammar and punctuation rules.

Building with the Basics was created around a building analogy anyone can relate to.  Starting with parts of speech as your bricks, you'll learn to construct the equivalent of a writing mansion.  Best of all, pre- and post-assessments prove you've mastered building basics and beyond.

Professional Writing Skills at a Glance: 

Time equals money in the work world, so creating clear documents quickly that can be understood easily is crucial.  Corporate communicators value this highly interactive workshop where they resolve two of their biggest written communication challenges:  writing more effective documents following a more efficient process.  Practical, lively exercises help you as a writer increase your skills in Paragraph Performance from introductions to conclusions, Sentence Sense, Word Wisdom, and Format Force.  Participants report that the quality of their work increases while the quantity of time needed to produce it decreases, often by 1/3.  Documents and messages look, sound, and feel more professional as you convey your image with style!

Speak Smart:  Oral Grammar: 

For those who are speaking over the phone, in meetings, or in person, correct grammar and proper pronunciation are vital to their image.   Why?  Listeners tend to generalize an overall lack of knowledge when hearing such mistakes.  Correct grammar and proper pronunciation add that extra aura of professionalism to those speaking as company representatives.  Employers and employees alike realize they need to speak right so they won't be left out in the business world.  This workshop helps you sound as smart as you are—on the phone or in meetings.

Taking the "Grr" out of Grammar:  

Surveys show that 80% of those in the business world tend to say, "Grr!" a lot when editing a document.  You will enjoy working with practical grammar and punctuation rules that help you do so more easily.
Some topics for avoiding grammar glitches include subject-verb agreement, verb tense, misplaced as well as dangling modifiers, parallel structure, sentence structure, and pronoun case.  Also included are the latest rules to help you eliminate punctuation pitfalls while mastering commas, semicolons, and colons.  Then, others won't be likely to say, "Grr!" about the written or edited documents they receive from you.

E-Mail Gems:

Do e-mail messages in your company resemble screen versions of the junk mail cluttering mailboxes today?  E-Mail Gems increases your Screen Savvy so you can create electronic messages readers view not as "junk" but "gems."  Since e-mail messages are only a keystroke away from deletion, you'll write messages more likely to be read instead by using the following gem qualities:

• Clarity:  Screen Sense - Organized, complete, accurate
• Carats:  Screen Streamlining - Concise, economical, simple
• Cut:  Screen Sensitivity - Courteous, caring, positive
• Color:  Screen Style - Conversational, creative, compelling
• Facets:  Screen Scannability - Easy to read, follow, understand

Developing Screen Savvy helps you adapt your writing to this powerful, ever-growing technology. 

The result is a Certificate of Authenticity in the form of a helpful checklist you can use to transfer your workshop skills back to the workplace.