Since starting The Elements of Writing almost a decade ago, people in business, education, publishing, and journalism ask me all kinds of questions.
You’ve got questions. I’ve got answers. Click the questions below that matter to you.
What everyone needs to know
- You say writing is a “secret super power”? How’s that?
- Do you have a comprehensive curriculum?
- What kind of investment is needed to make a difference?
- Sure, it would be better if people write better? But is it really a core need? And isn’t writing quality subjective?
Your needs
- We’re not writers—we’re engineers/doctors/sales people. So why do we need to know how to write?
- Does the rise of “remote” work make writing more or less important?
- What’s the difference between business writing and other writing?
- I hear a lot about the power of storytelling. Isn’t that fluff? I sell pools/paving/machine parts/data analytics/et cetera. What does storytelling have to do with anything?
- We really only have one problem—email. Can we just deal with that?
- Why can’t we just give training to our communications people, proposal writers, and report writers?
Topics
- Is there one skill—above all others—that makes writing bad or good?
- How many skills do I need to write well for business? Can I pick and choose which topics to teach our people?
- If we organize writing seminars, can get them customized?
Process
- We tried to improve people’s writing before—and it didn’t work. Why bother now?
- How do seminars and workshops work? What topics do we explore? Are they interactive or a lot of lecture?
- What kind of followup work do we need? Do managers need to oversee writing quality? (They’ve already got enough to do)
- Can we do writing training online?
Payoff
- What are the costs of bad writing? What’s the ROI for better writing?
- Will I see any difference in the quality of writing, “before and after”?
- Do you have any case studies?
