COURSES > POLICY & PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS

Effective Briefings and Submissions

Read Once and Understood

Chaired by
Sue Calthorpe

The next date is full! Please join the waitlist or enquire for your team

All of our training courses can be tailored specifically for your team or organisation and presented at your offices, at another suitable location or virtually.


Overview

Succinct briefings and submissions can improve the ability to influence key decision-makers and stakeholders. However, distilling complex information in a short, well-structured document requires efficient writing.

Join expert communications trainer, Sue Calthorpe, on our Effective Briefing and Submissions course to gain confidence, skills and valuable tools to write more informative and compelling briefings.

Throughout the day, learn how to develop more effective planning structures; how to write accurate, clear and understandable text; perfect how you express different options and ask for decisions, and gain techniques to distil large volumes of information into clear and succinct summaries.


Media & Communications Specialist

Susan works with organisations and individuals to improve their
written communications skills.

She worked as a regional and national newspaper journalist before setting up a full-service communications company, now established for 30 years.

She works with public and private sector organisations to help with:

  • Effective emails

  • Report writing

  • Briefings and submissions

  • Persuasive and influential writing techniques

  • Promotional writing

  • Effective complaint handling

  • Communicating complex information for non-technical readers.

Sue Calthorpe

Learning Outcomes

  • Apply classroom examples to real life documents

  • Understand how to read quickly and identify crucial facts

  • Learn where to put key facts on a page to ensure they are noticed

  • Acquire a range of techniques to create concise, complete and consistent documents for a busy workplace

  • Construct key sentences, informative paragraphs and useful documents to create the kind of impact that public sector organisations and professionals require

All the Understanding ModernGov courses are Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
certified, with signed certificates available upon request for event.

Enquire About Bespoke Team Training

0800 542 9414
InHouse@moderngov.com

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly advanced in recent years, revolutionising how we create and edit content. Integrating AI into our writing courses has been crucial for helping public sector delegates stay informed, write with integrity and enhance their efficiency.

However, it is equally important to recognise that misuse of AI can lead to serious issues, such as plagiarism, copyright infringement and ethical breaches.

Agenda

09:00 - 09:30 Registration

09:30 - 10:00 Trainer's Welcome and Clarification of Learning Objectives

10:00 - 10:50 Effective Planning

  • Understand the importance of defining the purpose of, and audience for, your briefings and submissions

  • Discuss the time and space in which your briefings will be read, and learn to write documents that work

  • Think about sourcing, selecting, structuring and simplifying information

10:50 - 11:05 Morning Break

11:05 - 12:45 Writing Accurate, Brief, Clear and Deliverable Briefings

  • Understand how to identify and structure ‘must’, ‘should’ and ‘could’ know information

  • Create messages and lines to take

  • Discuss the style, tone and vocabulary you can use for maximum impact

  • Practical exercise: restructuring an existing piece of real-life writing to create understanding and traction with your readers

  • Practising feedback: how to give and receive clear feedback to ensure continuous improvement in your writing

12:45 - 13:30 Lunch

13:30 - 14:00 Deconstructing the Submission Template

  • Discuss the sections of a submission, what’s needed where, and why?

  • Evaluate options – how to produce impartial, practicable options

  • Influence with facts and evidence in a balanced way

14:00 - 15:30 Producing Clear Summaries

  • Ensure the text is engaging and informative

  • Learn how to produce a clear and succinct summary

  • Understand how to use tools to help the reader

  • Use rigorous editing and selection techniques to define and deliver the most important and relevant information

15:30 - 16:00 Feedback, Evaluation & Close

  • Effective Report Writing, Senior Engineering Specialist, Eastleigh Borough Council

    “This course provided an excellent understanding of how to write effectively and why it is important to do so.”

  • Effective Proofing and Editing Skills: Senior Events Officer, King's College London

    “I would really recommend the course. Sue is a fantastic trainer and the day passed by far too quickly. Lots of helpful resources to take away, also very impressed with the smooth transition to online learning. Thank you!

  • Effective Data Visualisation: Corporate Performance Management Officer, Carmarthenshire County Council

    “I have learned a great deal with many tips and ideas to enable to improve the authority’s reports”

  • Effective Business Process Mapping: Internal Quality and Improvement Officer, Social Work England

    “It was a fun course to take a part in. There was a lot of information given, and it was done in an engaging way with lots of interactivity, even over zoom. i really enjoyed the course and learned lots from it.”

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