Reinventing Your Writing for Government in a New World
Thursday, 9 February 2023 | 9:30 AM – 4:45 PM AEST | Online
Training Overview
Write clear, relevant content that connects with a diverse audience
For decades, the public sector was known for its formal, almost parental, tone. Government communication – from letters and forms to web content and emails – was often dense and jargon-heavy, with convoluted and ambiguous messaging. This was accepted as the norm.
But now we’re in a new world where a human-centred approach to written communication is expected. Your readers demand content that is clear, inclusive and highly targeted to their needs. So your writing needs to evolve as a result.
In this course, Reinventing Your Writing for Government in a New World, you’ll get all the advice you need to bring your writing up to best practice in 2023.
You will shape a more user-centric, modern government voice that is clear, concise and relevant, and connects with all the readers in your diverse community.
Who Should Attend
This course is designed for government leaders charged with driving, enabling and advocating modernisation including:
Heads of, Director, Managers, Leads and Specialists
Internal Communications, External Communications, Stakeholder
Engagement, Community Engagement
Website, Content, Communications, Marketing Communications, Community Development, Online Platforms
Learning Outcomes
Stay up to date with best practice and enhance your writing skills across different genres and platforms
Better identify, understand and connect with readers to get the results you need
Identify common writing pitfalls and how to avoid them for more effective communication
Adopt an inclusive voice to create a genuine connection between government and your diverse community
Meet Your Facilitator
Kylee Bristow
Owner
Lexi Communications
Kylee is an experienced communications specialist – writer, editor and trainer. Her passion is helping organisations produce content that truly speaks to, and solves problems for, their readers.
She believes that government writing is about human connection, not information distribution. Every Australian has the right to access and understand the information they need to make decisions and take action.
Since 2000, Kylee has run a communications business that delivers writing and editing services, as well as training, for government agencies and educational institutions. She has also worked in many government communications teams, specialising in developing effective content for government websites.
Kylee’s training helps organisational writers stay up to date with best practice, and closes the gap between what organisations want to say and what readers need to know.
Key Sessions
The who and why of modern government writing
- The evolution of government voice in Australia
- Knowing your reader: who are you talking to?
- How readers consume information
- How your government communication must adapt to be effective
- Identifying the purpose of your writing
- The importance of asking “why”
- Considering format and distribution
- How these factors will impact your writing
The art of writing for government today
- The foundations of structure and language
- How to structure content for ease of use
- Plain language in practice: what to keep and what to leave out
- Practical tips to avoid redundancy and repetition
- Enhancing your writing to connect with readers
- Making a persuasive argument
- Creating an impactful call to action
- The importance of effective content design
Refining your writing with editing and proofreading
- Fixing common writing problems
- The mechanics: common issues in writing
- Why consistency is key in communication
- How style guides solve most writing problems
- Mastering editing and proofreading
- The different levels of editing
- Proofreading: what it is and isn’t
- Tips for editing and proof reading under pressure
Applying the new rules to different genres and audiences
- Optimising your writing for digital channels
- How web writing differs from print
- Writing emails that people want to read
- Customising key messages for social media
- Tailoring your writing for diverse audiences
- Non-discriminatory and culturally appropriate language in government today
- Writing for culuturally and linguisitically diverse communities