Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts & Associates

Facilitated Learning (Writing Workshops)
All workshops qualify for CEU credits.

These workshops are now available as engaging, interactive virtual classroom programs as well face-to-face programs.

Write It So They'll Read It^TM
Poorly written emails, proposals, progress reports, presentations, letters, and other documents often lead to miscommunication and lost business. Learn how you can communicate clearly and concisely…and do it in 30% to 50% less time than it now takes you.

What You Forgot From Ms. Grump’s English Class^TMRefresh your grammar and punctuation quickly and easily, without all the rules you learned and forgot.

Emails That Mean Business
Command of writing efficient and compelling emails is more important today than ever because of geographically disbursed teams and smartphones.

Laser Sharp Technical Writing^TM

Understand the needs of your readers and present information clearly and concisely in both the paper and electronic worlds.

Delivering Customer Service the "Write" Way
Respond to the concerns of customers with a grin, not a grunt.

Storyboarding: The Key to Preparing Influential Presentations
During this hands-on, interactive workshop, you learn to influence, persuade, and deliver presentations that can electrify your audiences by focusing on storyboarding, not on leading with PowerPoints.

I learned more in the first three hours of Sheryl's business writing workshop than I learned in the ten weeks I spent at a business writing program sponsored by [leading University] in Boston.

-Teresina Cardamone, Marketing Communications Specialist

IDG Corporate Communications

Thank you for the excellent writing workshop and follow-up individual meetings at EMC last week. Each of the participants praised the workshop and individual sessions. More importantly, they are putting what they learned into practice. They write faster and more clearly. They edit their own work more easily. They have a context to monitor their own improvement. I have recommended your workshop to several colleagues at EMC.

-Steve Bardige, Director of Analyst Relations, EMC Corporation

Write It So They'll Read It!™
Cut your writing time by 30 to 50% and get the results you want. No matter what you write—letters, memos, email messages, reports, proposals, or anything else—you can write with confidence and competence and actually enjoy the process! Learn to create documents your readers read first… documents that drive action…documents that affect your readers as you wish. This workshop is the foundation for my best seller, Business Writing For Dummies. Here are some of the hands-on experiences participants rave about:

Getting started (identifying your reader and key issues)
Creating dynamic subject lines and headlines
Writing the draft
Designing for visual impact
Honing the tone
Proofreading

Variations of this workshop:

Winning Proposals/Grants
Executive Business Writing
Savvy Sales and Marketing
Writing Policies and Procedures

We just devoted our weekly company-wide staff meeting to review your workshop. The bottom line is that folks were thrilled with your course... Several people indicated that they are now writing more efficiently. One person remarked that a typical document that used to take him four hours to write is now taking less than two hours... Thanks again for your time, enthusiasm, and humor.

- Mary Ellen Eagan, President
Harris Miller Miller & Hanson, Inc.

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What You Forgot From Ms. Grump’s English Class™
In just four hours you refresh the sticky wickets of grammar and punctuation. This isn’t a standard English program that drones on about "restrictive clauses" and "subjunctives." You forgot them from your high school English class, and you’d forget them again. Rather, this is a program that provides easy-to-remember clues that sink into your memory banks.

For example, do you get stuck on when to use who or whom? If so, here’s a quick way to differentiate them. When you can substitute he/she/they, use who. When you can substitute her/him/them, use whom. In brief, simply look for the "m" endings and you’ll never confuse them again.

Are you the person with whom I spoke yesterday? (I spoke with "him" yesterday.)
The company needs a person who knows the software. ("He" knows software.)

General Comments
- Why couldn't I have had someone like you when I was in public school?
- In just a few hours, you helped fine tune my English skills.
- You made punctuation and grammar fun and easy. I didn't think it could be done.

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Emails That Mean Business
Think how efficient it would be for the subject line column of your inbox to read like the "Newsline" column of USA Today. You read each subject line (as a headline) and get critical information at a glance. During this two-hour workshop, learn to write email messages with a subject line that shouts "Read Me!". . . Messages that have the impact you want to have on your readers. . . Messages that get results. Here’s just some of what you can expect to learn:

Write a compelling and descriptive subject line
Understand what constitutes a well-written message
Sequence the message for results
Use email etiquette like a pro

Case Study: Strategic Email Leads to Major Recognition for One of New England’s Leading Technology Companies

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Laser Sharp Technical Writing™
All technical people are called upon to write technical documents. No matter what you write—reports, presentations, proposals, spec sheets, articles, manuals, white papers, policies and procedures, or more—this workshop is a must. Your career depends on your ability to present your information clearly and distinctly in both the paper and electronic worlds. In this workshop you learn the ins and outs of writing technical documents, so the next time you’re tapped for a writing assignment, you’ll be able to…

Eliminate Writer’s Block
Get Started (identify your readers and key issue)
Create Compelling Headlines
Write the Draft
Design for Visual Impact
Hone the Tone
Proofread and Edit

This workshop is the foundation for Sheryl’s hot seller, Technical Writing for Dummies, published by Hungry Minds (currently John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

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Delivering Customer Service the "Write" Way
Despite a company’s best efforts, occasionally people need technical help or something goes awry. The smart and successful company values hearing about technical needs, mistakes, defects, disappointments, or dissatisfactions and sends correspondence with a grin, not a grunt. During this highly interactive two-hour workshop (often offered as a lunch 'n learn), participants learn to...

Write a message that's brief—yet personable, professional, and helpful
Compose a compelling subject line that says "read me"
Sequence for results and goodwill
Respect internal customers as well as external
Deal with frustration without passing it on to customers
Write in a positive and friendly tone, even when the customer is wrong or needy
Understand email etiquette (domestic and international)
Realize how PDAs have changed the way people read email

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Story Boarding: The Key to Preparing Influential Presentations

Audiences attend presentations to garner information from the speaker. Yet too many speakers prepare visuals that draw more attention than they do—visuals that are too abundant and have too much information. They also deliver presentations that focus on themselves, rather than on the audience. During this hands-on, interactive three-hour workshop, participants learn to influence, persuade, and deliver presentations that have the intended impact. Participants bring to the workshop a presentation they need to prepare or one they deliver an ongoing basis. This workshop isn’t about delivering the presentation or using technology. It’s about…

Assessing the audience
Determining the purpose
Fine tuning the key issue
Understanding what presentation method(s) to use
Developing a storyboard
Learning guidelines for creating text and graphics
Designing streamlined PowerPoint slides
Anticipating questions from the audience

Comments from workshop participants have included the following:

Very creative, very constructive, and wonderful.
Sheryl offered a very creative approach and always had an answer.
During the morning session, I cut my presentation from 12 slides to 3. What a difference!
Loved the exercise about the Martians. It really drove the point home.
I was dreading making the presentation and can't believe I'm now looking forward to it.

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