23rd & 30th July (2 x morning sessions)
Overview
In this interactive online workshop, we cover the principles for preparing great media releases, communications materials, and general business content.
Our resident editing expert, Julie Shannon, will teach you how to craft engaging stories and convey these in a clear and convincing tone. You’ll also explore different topics and contexts with plenty of ‘before’ and ‘after’ examples from a range of industries.
Attendee numbers are strictly limited so you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and receive feedback on the examples you work on.
Please note, this online workshop is split across two morning sessions, one week apart.
Course overview
Session one
- Work out your story
- Work out what’s news – identify your story, main messages and the wider context
- Think like your reader – understanding your audience and writing for them
- Refine your messages
- Choose your angle – classic story angles that can capture an audience’s attention
- Write a great title – developing headlines and leads in media releases and promotional copy
- Tell me why to care – placing the focus on benefits, outcomes and highlights
- Craft the story
- Order your content – ordering your ideas to suit the message and format
- Break up the copy – using headings and layout in communications content and other formats
- Quote the bigger picture – writing appropriate quotes for senior figures and spokespeople
Session two
- Form the right tone
- Make your words count – simple tricks for reducing copy length while retaining meaning
- Use an active voice – using the active voice to sound clear and authentic
- Choose clear words – words and phrases for a clear and engaging tone
- Convey complex ideas clearly
- Understand readability – how readability supports your audience and messages
- A focus on technical terms – working with complex terms in different sectors
- Apply online style
- Frontload your sentences – keeping your copy search-friendly and easy to scan
- Apply seamless links – a few tips on writing effective hyperlinks
- Your style quiz – a refresh on print and online style, including capitals, acronyms and date formats
What to expect
- in-depth industry examples
- graded exercises to build skills and confidence
- group work in virtual breakout rooms
- live editing and feedback on your writing
- quizzes, games and tools for active learning
- handouts and worksheets to download
Your presenter is..
Julie Shannon
Senior editor and trainer
Julie believes all content can be interesting and engaging – as long as we present it well. In this 2-part workshop, she shares detailed techniques that will help you lift the quality of your content and how it speaks to your audiences.
She uses these techniques to help her clients create clear and engaging reports, business cases, media releases and communications content. And she loves sharing these skills with others, so far helping more than 4,000 people improve the quality of their written work.
Julie works with PR professionals across a range of sectors in Australia and New Zealand. She has expertise in planning, culture, health, and regional economic development. Her New Zealand clients include engineering consulting firms, international banks and tertiary education institutions.
