Writing to engage – for learning and development leaders [webinar recording]

As a learning and development professional, you’ll know only too well the wide range of documents, updates, posts and messages you have to write in the course of your work. And you know that each one plays a part in the success of your learning programmes.

So how do you ensure everything you create is working as hard as it can to engage the reader and lead them to take action?

Engaging employees and stakeholders in learning remains a key challenge for L&D leaders, according to research by the Learning and Performance Institute (LPI).

Earlier this year, we ran a webinar for LPI members to address this fundamental topic. Through a lively conversation between Emphasis business-writing specialist Gary Woodward and our commercial director Luke Orme (and over 230 attendees), the session explores:

• how to speak to your readers’ hearts and minds, and why the acronym KFC is critical for engaging writing
• the crucial difference between features and benefits – and why you need to understand this in order to write persuasively
• why stories are so important when you’re demonstrating the impact of learning programmes (and the question of whether you should use ‘negative’ stories)
• the number one thing you can do to improve engagement and communications across all channels.

 
Now you can access the recording of the webinar. When you do, you’ll also receive the stakeholder-profile questionnaire – key to the all-important ‘structured empathy’ approach Gary explains in the video – and our writing guide, The Write Stuff.
 

 

More resources for effective, engaging writing 

As you’ll see, there’s more to discuss than we could possibly cover in one webinar. There’ll be more to come. But in the meantime, we have content to help with some of the kinds of communication that the webinar attendees told us they’re involved in writing. You may find these articles useful as you’re tackling the varied range of challenges that come with the many hats you have to wear at work. 

• How to create a no-stress social media strategy
• Create a sustainable social media plan for your business (with free template)
• Make technical writing work for non-technical audiences  
• Three rules for clear international emails 
• The importance of storytelling in business writing and how to do it well 

The definitive guide to transforming the writing of individuals and teams

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Author: Catie Holdridge

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Catie joined Emphasis with an English literature and creative writing degree and a keen interest in what makes language work. Having researched, written, commissioned and edited dozens of articles for the Emphasis blog, she now knows more about the intricacies of effective professional writing than she ever thought possible.

She produced and co-wrote our online training programme, The Complete Business Writer, and these days oversees all the Emphasis marketing efforts. And she keeps office repartee at a suitably literary level.