June 22-24                    Corporate Publications - Sub Editing

This three-day course will teach journalists and editors working in corporate media how to edit copy to make it clearer and more interesting to its target audience.  The course will cover intro-writing, headlines and captions, common issues of language, style and grammar, story structures, editing for clarity and length, ethical issues, handling numbers, relating to writers and much else.  The programme is intensely practical and interactive, and participants will get ample opportunity to practice their skills and will get detailed feedback during the course.  It is aimed at the particular needs of corporate media, which often rely very heavily on very small staff complements.

July 2-3                Writing & Presenting Speeches that Grab

CANDIDATES: Media Liaison personnel tasked with writing speeches - from public/private sectors and civil society organizations - as well as executives who write and deliver their own speeches.

IN A NUTSHELL: this course will help you understand how listeners think. It will show you how to argue logically, analytically, effectively. And finally, discover the secrets of ‘spinning' your speech to the media.

OUTCOMES: by course end you will be able to:

• Understand audience psychology
• Identify a main message
• Use the speech to manage perceptions
• Hook the media
• Apply speech building techniques
• Use a template to architect your speech
• Help your speaker with delivery

July 6-7             Writing Opinion Pieces for Publications

Learn to write an opinion piece that grabs readers and makes them want to read on, even if it's not their topic. This 2-day workshop will show you how to lead your reader from point to point using anecdotes and evidence to reinforce your logical argument. Come along and acquire techniques that will move you away from that pedantic expression, into a lively style that respects tone.

IS THIS COURSE FOR YOU?

This course is for print as well as corporate journalists - and indeed anyone able to write reasonably, who wishes to get an opinion piece published    

COURSE OUTCOMES - by course end you will be able to

• Understand what is newsworthy, then choose an angle to take a stance
• Write logically giving supporting evidence
• Position yourself to challenge opinions where necessary
• Explore an area of reality in a balanced manner
• Use newspaper style to jab, hit, get the point across
• Research evidence to substantiate your statements
• Edit and tighten so that your writing flows
• Know how to submit your op ed for publication

July 9-10            Handling Media Interviews

In a nutshell: Has the media got your head spinning? Aimed at organizational spokespersons and even CEOs who need to get their message across, this 2-day executive workshop will equip you with techniques to handle even the stickiest media interview effectively.

COURSE OUTCOMES - by course end you'll be able to:

• Understand the journalistic process and deal with its twists and turns
• Pin point critical issues that need to be communicated to target media
• Identify your messages and package them in soundbites
• Meet the journalist's need for a ‘story' while promoting your corporate message
• Shape your responses to increase the likelihood of being quoted
• Acknowledge "questions from hell' and spin them to your advantage 
• Use body language and voice techniques to project a media-friendly personality

July 14-17             Strategic Planning

In a nutshell:  Help define the core value proposition for your organization. Have the ability to assess the internal and external environment, and be able to succinctly define and streamline internal business processes for increased efficiency and profitability as well as to define and identify multiple revenue sources for the organization.

Outcomes: by course end you will be able to:

• Develop organisational key positioning
• Organisational values
• 5 key strategic planning approach
• PASTELID analysis
• SWOT analysis
• Stakeholder analysis
• Business Environmental analysis

                                                                                                                              

July 27-31                Communication Strategy & Skills

CANDIDATES: Communicators, lobbyists as well as higher ranking employees from NGOs, CBOs and Government departments.

IN A NUTSHELL: Strategy is central in making communication a successful management process. Knowing what to include and omit is the most difficult part of the job. A successful communication strategy leads to an involved and satisfied audience.

OUTCOMES: by course end you'll be able to:

• Understand the need for communication at national, provincial and local levels;
• Craft and present models of communication strategies;
• Grasp the role of communicators and why they matter;
• Compare government and business communications;
• Identify tools of communicators and their effectiveness;
• Become aware of what is not obvious in the media.

UPCOMING COURSES:

Aug 3-5                         Setting up a Media Strategy         

Aug 13-14                      Writing Newsworthy Profiles

Aug 17-21                      Corporate Publications: Write, Edit, Manage them!!

Aug 31-Sep 4                 Communicating with clients  

 

Gugu Ndaba
Programme Coordinator
Corporate Media Training Unit (CMTU)
Institute for the Advancement of Journalism (IAJ)
Tel: 011 484 1765
Fax: 086 546 1487
cmtu@iaj.org.za
www.iaj.org.za