Enquire about a private course
Writing a Clear & Compelling Business Case – Training Course Outline
Creating effective business cases is more science than art. The ability to put together a clear and compelling business case is a core competency for most managers. If you want to produce business cases that sell your ideas, this business case course will give you a short cut to using the best techniques in writing a persuasive argument. It's packed with tips and ideas from experienced writers.
What you will learn on this course
By the end of the training course, you will know how to:
- Link your message to key corporate strategies
- Gather and structure the wide range of information that makes up a business case
- Write in a style that motivates your reader to ‘buy in’!
- Write a Management Summary
- Get the best out of writing tools and templates
How we deliver the Writing a Compelling Business Case course
It is available as a two-day tutor-led Virtual Classroom.
Course Contents
1. Basic principles
- The BASDELL Business Writing Model – an easy to remember overview of the writing process
- Ingredients of a good business case – focussing on the customer
- Identifying key messages – clarity and consistency
- Developing a clear objective to keep you on track
- Nine things you should know about your audience
- Meeting readers’ expectations – good planning makes your content relevant
Pre-Course Questionnaire
When you book we send you a questionnaire which we ask you to return to us before you attend the course. This enables our Trainers to assess your needs in advance.
2. Considering content for your business case
- Analysing the challenges and opportunities facing you
- How can these best be resolved or exploited?
- What investment will be needed? How can you best describe your degree of confidence in your estimates? Where could the money come from?
- What are the advantages you may expect?
3. Designing your structure
- Using mind maps and an outline to structure and sequence your material
- Discussing the different ways you can structure your business case
- Top tips for business case structures – what goes where
- Three possible outlines for your business case
- A Management Summary that will sell your case – considering your purpose, audience, style and length
4. Building a solid business case
- The four main sources for your data and the role of each
- Managing the process of gathering information
- The difference between features and benefits – organisation now saves time later
- Tying in to IT and business strategies – making your content relevant to different readers
- Return on investment – targeted statistics, multiple information sources, alternative scenarios
- A word on soft benefits
Want Something a Little Different?
Give us a call today and we will tailor a course to suit you!
5. Making your arguments persuasive
- What are the principles of persuasive writing?
- How can your overall structure support your arguments?
6. Improving your writing style
- Do your business cases contain these six common hazards?
- Eight principles of clear writing that have stood the test of time
- The best style for your business case and Management Summary
7. Drafting your business case
- The importance of the correct mindset for writing a winning business case
- How to avoid getting sidetracked when writing your draft
- Checking that you are maintaining the correct writing style
- How the right headings signpost your document
- How, when and where to use illustrations
8. Editing your business case
- Polishing your text the way the reader reads – from the top down
- Tips to help you achieve maximum impact
- Using headings, lists and tables for visual appeal
- Making it easy to read – how punctuation clarifies meaning
9. Exploiting the tools
- Getting the most out of spelling and grammar checkers
- Hiding the metadata in Word documents – you might be telling your reader more than you realise
- How to proof your own work and see what’s really there, not what you think is there
10. Avoiding rejections in the future
- What you can learn from good feedback
- Ideas you can bring to your next business case
11. Tips for making presentations
- Presenting your case effectively lets all your hard work come through
- Three of the worst presentation mistakes for you to avoid
- How to hold your audience and make the most of your opportunity
