Getting started
  • Introduction – is this the right course for you?
  • Activity: Introduce yourself!
  • Three tips for overcoming writer's block
  • The #1 habit that sets great writers apart
  • Practice activity: four AMAZING tools to develop the #1 habit of great writers!
  • Section 1: summary
Knowing your reader
  • Introduction: Why knowing your reader is the starting point of all great writing
  • Don't write for readers!
  • Activity: Who is your reader?
  • How your reader really sees you
  • Reflect on how your reader really sees you
  • So what's your point, exactly?
  • Identify the ledes in these extracts
  • The three questions you need to ask before you even start to write
  • Practice activity: use this guide for your next writing project!
  • Does your writing pass the "so what" test?
  • Practice activity: apply the 'so what?' test
  • How readers read...
  • ...and what to do about it
  • The reason you've probably been starting in the wrong place
  • Can you make this email more compelling for the reader?
  • The one word no reader can resist
  • How would you respond?
  • Two real-life reader awareness FAILS - and how to fix them
  • A brilliant technique to get inside your reader's head
  • NEW practice activity: Build an in-depth profile of your reader
  • Section 2: summary
Write less, say more
  • Three reasons to write less
  • The writing habit that makes you sound like a liar
  • Trimming the fat: where to start
  • Ditch these unnecessary words
  • Flabby phrases to avoid
  • The lazy descriptors that will weigh your writing down
  • A brilliant online tool for making your writing leaner
  • Cut the lazy, unnecessary descriptors
  • Mind maps are evil - here's what to do instead!
  • Practice activity: Edit this text to make it shorter and more compelling!
  • Section 3: summary
How to get your message across to the widest possible audience
  • Why there's really no need to worry about dumbing down
  • How to get your message across to the widest possible audience
  • How to avoid the curse of knowledge
  • Practice activity: Try out this online tool for banishing the curse of knowledge
  • Choosing the best words for the job
  • Tips for choosing the best words
  • Section 4: summary
How to craft sentences that sing
  • The number one writing habit that's turning your readers off
  • Burn this figure into your brain!
  • Three quick ways to identify a sentence that will send your reader scuttling
  • How to tame a sentence that's out of control
  • How to structure your sentences to make them easy to read
  • NEW Jan 2019! More tips on structuring your sentences for maximum readability
  • Practice activity: turn these sentences into something beautiful!
  • NEW Jan 2019! How to knit your sentences together to make your writing flow
  • Now we're ready to put a little music into your writing
  • Practice activity: Use sentence length to tell a story with music and drama
  • Section 5: summary
Incorporating stories into your business and technical writing
  • What do we mean by storytelling anyway?
  • Show, don't tell
  • Your endless source of stories
  • Why you need to use concrete language
  • An unforgettable story
  • A brilliant tool for making your writing more vivid
  • Nounitis - how to spot abstract nouns
  • Practice activity: Identify the nouns and verbs in this extract
  • Nounitis - how nouns can make your writing lifeless
  • Cure these terrible cases of nounitis
  • The neuroscience of stories
  • How to get to the "why" with a metaphor
  • How to hit on the perfect metaphor
  • Practice activity: metaphor challenge #1!
  • How to use storytelling techniques to bring data to life
  • Practice activity: metaphor challenge #2!
  • Active writing: a storytelling tip from Hemingway, Orwell...and Beyonce!
  • Building trust: another reason to make your story active
  • Tackle these passives!
  • NEW! How to structure your story for maximum persuasiveness
  • The secret to making your story go viral
  • Section 6: summary
NEW OCT 2017: Rhetoric - advanced persuasion techniques
  • Introduction to rhetoric
  • Assignment: analyse this piece of business writing
  • The rising tricolon
  • Practice activity: the rising tricolon
  • Anaphora: the artful use of repetition to persuade
  • Practice activity: anaphora
  • Epiphora: another type of artful repetition
  • Practice activity: epiphora
  • Asyndeton: removing the 'ands' and the 'buts'
  • Practice activity: asyndeton
  • Polysyndeton: putting in extra 'ands' and 'buts'
  • Practice activity: polysyndeton
  • Chiasmus: the persuasive power of a criss-cross pattern
  • Practice activity: chiasmus
  • Antithesis: why opposites attract