Training Bulletin Issue 9

Welcome to the ninth issue of The Training Bulletin. Spring is in the air, so we have a special Spring-time 2-4-1 offer on training courses. See below for details.

Pass me the brain, Igor

Our MD was feeling a bit harassed the other day and commented that in her role she has to wear so many hats that she couldn't remember which one she was supposed to be wearing today. That got me thinking about some of the techniques we can use to organise our day better.

The idea of having an extra brain is tempting, but you’d have to keep it in a jar, which is a bit less appealing. So you’d be better off trying to maximise the way you use your poor, lonely, single brain. And one of the tools that can help do this is the mind map.

Mind maps were invented in the 1960s by Tony Buzan, and are a way of organising information that uses all of your brain. Normally, the left hemisphere is the logical, sequential part that we use when we write lists. The right hemisphere is the one that organises information visually, helping us to see the whole and to spot patterns connecting different bits. Mind maps make it easier to see links between pieces of information because of the flexibility of the visual layout. This is important when writing because it makes sure you see the relevance of your content to every part of the problem you’re addressing.

Create well-structured documents using mind maps

Plain Words has a number of writing skills courses that show how to use mind maps to gather and organise data:

Effective Business Writing
“Information that can be used straight away”

Structuring and Writing Reports
“I now have the right set of tools to improve my reports…Thank you”

Writing a Compelling Business Case
“Will improve the overall quality of the business case and speed up the thought process to prepare – more structured”

Writing Winning Bids and Proposals
“I was very pleased with the course and think it went very well throughout.”

2-4-1 Spring offer!

To celebrate Spring we’re offering you two brains, sorry, delegates, for the price of one on all full price public courses in April and May. (Do let us know if that second brain will be in a jar though – it won’t be needing lunch.)

Conditions of offer

The offer is only open to subscribers to Plain Words’ Training Bulletin. The conditions of the offer are in addition to Plain Words’ standard Terms & Conditions of Business. The offer applies to new bookings only and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Both delegates must attend the same course on the same day(s). The offer is limited to a maximum of six delegates per organisation. No refunds will be made if only one of the two delegates attends.

New training venues

Is it too far for you to travel to Berkshire, Shropshire or London? We’re planning new training venues in other areas of the country and we’d love to know which of the ones listed below are best for you:
Leeds
Manchester
York
Newcastle
Bristol
Exeter

Just send us an email with your chosen venue in the subject line. Many thanks!

Editor recommends

Tony Buzan, Mind Maps at Work: How to Be the Best at Work and Still Have Time to Play. You can’t go past a subtitle like that.

This is easy to read and focuses on work-related issues like goal-setting, prioritising and multi-tasking. Find it at amazon.co.uk

If you still think that a brain in a jar would be pretty cool, you’ll probably enjoy Steve Martin’s The Man with Two Brains, or that great classic, Gene Wilder’s Young Frankenstein, both available on DVD from amazon.co.uk.

Kind Regards
The Plain Words Training Team

Public course schedule

• 05 April – Structuring & Writing Reports – London
• 19 Apr – Effective Business Writing – London
• 20 April – Writing for the Web – Shropshire
• 26 April – Writing a Compelling Business Case – London
• 03 May – How to Write Effective ITTs – London
• 09 May – Brush Up Your English! – London
• 10 & 11 May – Designing & Writing Technical Documents Workshop – Shropshire
• 17 & 18 May – Copywriting Essentials Workshop – London
• 18 May – Getting the Best Out of MS Word – London
• 23 & 24 May – Writing Winning Bids & Proposals – London

The price is £495 + VAT per person for a one-day intensive course and £850 + VAT for a two-day workshop. Most one-day courses are also available as two-day workshops.

We also offer private courses at your premises. Please call 01635 202013 or 0207 0960 749 for details.

To book, call Abi on 01635 202013 ext 28 or use the booking form.