Short courses
Mike offers a number of short courses spread over three to six hours; most of these are based around a single learning module and include presentations, discussion and class exercises.
Working from home, productively and effectively
These days an increasing number of people are working from home and on a project basis. This trend will continue into the future as more work is outsourced by organisations keen to maintain lean management structures.
How can you work from home productively and effectively? In this learning session Mike will teach you the fundamentals of setting up and running a home office; the hardware and software you need; how to keep your system in good shape and how to anticipate and stay ahead of market trends.
You will also be introduced to a number of free online applications that you can use both for system maintenance and to harness the capabilities of your system.
Building your brand online through social media
Social networking has leveled the playing field and gives small business a new competitive edge. In this session Mike will show you how companies are using social media to build and maintain their brand and the tips and tricks you can apply to your own business to increase your customer base.
Blogging for business
If social networking improves your visibility, then blogging builds your credibility. Learn the basics of blogging and establish yourself as an expert in your chosen field. In this three hour session you will learn the characteristics of a good blogger, how to organize your blogging activities and how to choose a platform that is right for you.
Advanced word processing for the workplace
In this session, you will learn about some of the lesser-known features of MS Word. At the end of this course you will understand how to
- outline your documents for clarity and structure
- set preferences and paginate your document
- use styles, templates and themes to give your documents a professional look
- correctly format your document including lists, styles and themes
- revise your document using mark-up tools
- publish your work.
Crafting your workplace writing for maximum impact
This six-hour session concentrates on business writing as a specific genre. We teach you the fundamentals of audience centred writing and the need to focus on the outcome. This involves a clear definition of purpose and structure.
You will be shown the basics of benchmarking, pre-writing, development of a storyboard or outline and composition. You will also learn how to use material such as tables and charts, text boxes, footnotes and endnotes to support your main argument.
You will learn the difference between templates, themes and styles and how they can be applied to give your work a professional look; document and writing styles and the value of writing in plain English to maximise readability. You will also be shown how to use style guides and style sheets and be given the opportunity to develop your own style sheet.
In the second session you will be shown how to revise and edit documents as well as producing the necessary front and end material such as tables of contents, cover pages and bibliographies.
The merits of different publication formats is discussed including new emerging formats for reading material on hand-held devices. Finally, we look at options for structuring supporting correposndence such as covering letters, memorandums and meeting documents.
You will also be introduced to the differences between Australian, American and British English and how this affects both spelling and grammar
A primer in grammar, punctuation and spelling
This session digs into the micro aspects of writing and specifically looks at sentence structure, grammar and punctuation from the viewpoint of common errors made in workplace writing. Finally you will learn the most commonly confused words and terms and how to avoid pitfalls in writing by choosing the correct term.
