DON'T LET SIMPLE MISTAKES RUIN YOUR CAREER

When someone sends out a report, memo or e-mail filled with errors, don’t you begin to question the professionalism (and maybe even the intelligence) of the author? And if you’re questioning it, don’t you think readers up and down the corporate ladder are thinking the same thing? You bet they are!

If you’ve ever written anything that you later looked at and thought, “What was I thinking?” then you need to attend these two powerful half-day seminars.

In our morning session, Perfect Proofreading Techniques, you’ll discover how easy it is to master the art of proofreading. We’ll show you simple strategies proofreading professionals use to make their documents perfect every time. Whether you’re proofing a two-line note or an extensive manuscript, there are some basic strategies that can dramatically shorten the time you spend proofing and increase your accuracy for finding mistakes. We’ll also cover important topics such as:

• Proofreading vs. editing — the critical difference that you NEED to know
• How to make corrections WITHOUT changing the meaning of the document
• An easy-to-use checklist that helps you catch the most common errors

But don’t worry, this is not a rehash of your seventh grade English class ... this is a fun, interactive look at the different ways people hang themselves and their credibility through the misuse of proper grammar. Register for the afternoon workshop and you’ll:

• Learn why using improper grammar sends the signal that you aren’t a true professional!
• Discover when you can — and can’t — bend the grammar rules a little to get your point across
• Get a refresher on proper grammar and find out where most people go astray
• Review the most common grammar goofs so you’ll be sure to avoid these costly mistakes

Can you spot the the ERRORS?

The following paragraph was lifted from an actual memo passed along to us at one of our writing seminars. See how many errors you can spot.

To: All Associates
From : (Name Withheld In Order To Not Embarrass)

RE: The Company Holiday Party

This is to enform you of a change in the location ot our company holday party on on Friday. Because of the painting going on at the warhouse, all assoiciates are invited to join us at 2 o’clock in the multi-purpuse room fer food and beverages. Your going to have an exceptionable time because your mangers are all planning a holiday treat! We hope this change won’t affect your plans to attend.

How many mistakes did you spot?

If you found one mistake, then you did better than this poor soul whose mistakes went out to the entire company. If you found fewer than 12 in this short paragraph, then maybe you should register for our fun and informative seminars and give your skills a boost!

(P.S. Did you spot the word duplication in the title of this section?)

Business Grammar Made Easy

Avoiding Punctuation Pratfalls That Doom Your Writing

• Learn how the misuse of punctuation can affect the clarity of your writing
• How the correct punctuation can make your reader actually “hear” your words and give it more power
• A quick and easy guide to properly using the “Big Bad 3” of punctuation ... the comma, colon and semicolon
• The rules regarding hyphens, slashes, dashes and ellipses that can give your writing more pizzazz
• How to properly use pronouns and make your writing much clearer to the reader

Successful Spelling Strategies

• How to use your spell-check as a tool and NOT as your safety net
• The most common spelling mistakes you’ll see (and make) when writing
• When to capitalize/when NOT to capitalize
• Why you should NEVER write a business document the same way you write online
• BONUS: A list of problem words that can trip up even the most polished writers

Cultivating Your Personal Style ... Grammatically-Speaking

• Avoiding wordiness, clumsiness and poor organization
• Why it’s so important to develop your own “style”
• How to eliminate sleep-inducing “passive” writing that seems to go on forever
• Knowing when and where you can bend the rules to make your writing more powerful
• Jargon vs. slang: When, where and why to use them

Structure Guidelines That Make All Your Communications Flow

• Elements for creating a memo or e-mail that gets read right away every time
• The secret to writing effective subject lines that won’t get your e-mails deleted like spam
• What your readers want in any piece of business correspondence
• Letting go: How to not get trapped into rewriting and editing your things to death

(The above agenda is for the afternoon course only. Attend its morning companion, Perfect Proofreading Techniques, and save!)

Perfect Proofreading Techniques

Proofreading Vs. Editing: The Critical Difference
Are you proofreading or editing? Why it’s important to know the difference before you start reading

• How to correct without changing the meaning
• How to tactfully change someone else’s document without stepping on their toes — especially when it’s your boss’s toes!
• How to turn yourself into an objective reader without wasting your precious time

Common Proofreading Pitfalls

• The #1 mistake many proofreaders make that kills any chance for 100% accuracy
• When it’s OK to overlook some things — and when you need to get real nit-picky
• How to shut out phones, voices and other office distractions to give the document your full concentration
• Eliminate confusion by using the correct proofreading marks each and every time you proof
• Tricks on how to proofread something that you’ve written yourself or something that you’ve seen a hundred times before

The Nuts and Bolts of Perfect Proofreading
A quick look at how to perfectly proofread each of these problem areas:

• Capitalizations and abbreviations
• Spellchecker oversights
• Omissions, transpositions and repetitions
• Names and addresses, phone numbers
• Numbers: 50 or fifty?
• Grammar flaws
• Important tips to help you proofread off of the computer screen

Take Your Proofreading Skills to the Next Level

• How to quickly identify error hot spots in the documents you read
• Learn to overcome the proofreading blues
• Beat the tediousness that sometimes comes with being the “proofer”
• Visual tricks that help catch hard-to-find errors
• Different skills you can use when proofreading something “dry”
• BONUS: Proofreading exercises and assessments you can take back to work to turn yourself into the “Perfect Proofreader”!