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Reva Daniel, of Dynamic Business Writing, offers a full range of communication services. Among these services are—
Training
Reva offers customized on-site training using your samples. Her training sessions involve participants in practical, hands-on writing exercises designed to relate to your workplace. Examples of the kinds of training that Reva can tailor to your needs include—
Business and Technical Writing—How to write effective documents that meet the needs of your intended readers. Participants learn research-based principles enabling them to make decisions on wording and layout to communicate the message clearly the first time.
In interactive sessions, participants work together to practice applying these principles to writing assignments based on samples provided by your organization.
Plain Language—How to write plain language documents that people can understand and will read (including legal language or complicated explanations of benefits).
Participants learn how to make choices that result in legally sufficient but clear writing. Writers learn to meet the needs of their intended readers by learning and applying research-based principles of the way people access, take in, and act on information.
No matter what the level of reading skill, everyone appreciates being able to read a document quickly and understand what it is saying. Interesting research has shown that plain language adds value to your organization by improving customer service and reducing customer support calls.
Participants learn how to know whether their writing is actually plain with classic reading formulas and with user testing of actual readers. They'll learn the strengths and weaknesses or each method.
For more information on the value added by plain language and specific data from research, see "Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please" by Professor Joseph Kimble.
Plain language and user advocate, Thom Haller, reports on a recent survey saying, "Congressional staff read plain language letters in one-third the time it took them to read the original, bureaucratic versions." ("Making Content Understandable: Inherent Usability in Plain Language,"Intercom, June 2009, page 8. Intercom is a publication of The Society for Technical Communication.)
Form Letters—How to write effective form letters that are warm, readable, and customer-friendly. Many organizations must depend on form letters to handle the volume of mail they must produce. Participants learn to write form letters that reflect well on the organization.
The Power and Peril of E-mail—How to deal with the overuse and abuse of e-mail as well as with the unique style, tone, privacy, copyright issues or e-mail.
Grammar and Punctuation Review—How to make grammar and punctuation work for you. Participants review the most common grammar and punctuation errors with an emphasis on practical usage rather than grammar theory.
They learn the latest styles in punctuation and usage and receive answers to their questions. The highly interactive course uses The Gregg Reference Manual as a style guide.
Presentation Skills—How to enliven and refine your presentation style and employ persuasive techniques. Participants practice techniques that teach them to relax and enjoy relating to the audience by forgetting themselves and concentrating on the needs of their audience.
They also learn how to choose and use appropriate visual aids to make their presentations more powerful and memorable.
PowerPoint Slide Production and Use—How to design, produce, and use PowerPoint slide shows or transparencies to enliven presentations, speed comprehension, and improve recall. Participants will also learn how to make useful handouts from the slide shows.
Specialized Training in Document Production—How to use the customized templates and forms Reva designs for your company. Participants learn how to get the most out of the customized templates. Because the templates automate much of the work, the necessary training is very brief.
Customized Microsoft Word® Templates
Reva will analyze your writing situation and prepare customized Word templates to automate your most common or most difficult chores so that many tasks can be completed by clicking on a menu item. These templates shorten training time for temporary workers and new employees. They also speed production for everyone and ensure a consistent quality because the computer does much of the work in background.
Download and use the handy job aid, which lists keyboard shortcuts for Word, Internet Explorer, and Firefox. Using these shortcuts will speed your work and help prevent repetitive action injuries caused by too much use of the mouse.
Information DesignReva designs readability and usability into forms and other hard copy documents, and web pages for easy readability and usability. By applying simple research-based design principles, Reva can make your message much clearer and more powerful.
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Free Lance Business Writing
Many clients find that it is easier and more efficient to have Reva write the copy herself. When they consider the cost of their staff time, they often find that having Reva write for them is also more cost effective.
Reva works with your subject-matter experts or with your writing groups to help you in any way you wish. She will gather the information and write the entire document herself or collaborate with your writers to produce the document.
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EditingReva offers two levels of editing:
On-the-Fly Edit—A quick review of one or more pages with suggested revisions given orally or by e-mail or fax. Unless out of the office or working on another customer's deadline, Reva reviews these documents when they come in. She gives you fast answers to enable you to keep the momentum going on your project.
Thorough Edit—A thorough review of your documents. Reva will give you specific and detailed instructions for revisions or make the revisions herself, as you wish. You can determine the depth of the edit based on your budget and your needs.
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Usability Testing
Reva has set up and conducted simple usability tests for documents and web screens all over the country. Her methods are based on the latest research in readability and usability.
Reva is known internationally for her usability studies conducted for the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the impact of this work on the federal government's plain language movement. The article by attorney and plain language advocate, Joe Kimble, Writing for Dollars; Writing to Please, tells of the value the VA writing project and comments on the validity of the VA work.
For more information about the services Reva offers, see frequently asked questions. You may contact Reva at Dynamic Business Writing to find out what she can do for you.
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