Notes on writing and speaking at work
Short, practical pieces from our instructors: openings, memos, editing passes and the questions students ask most.
5 min read
How to open a work email so it gets answered
Put the decision you need in the first line, the reason in the second, and everything else below. A before and after from our week 2 session.
7 min read
The one-page decision memo
The template we use in The decision memo: the ask, the options, the pick, the risk and the deadline, on one page.
4 min read
Why we cap every cohort at 40 people
Line edits do not scale past a few dozen drafts a week. Here is how we size cohorts, groups and sessions.
6 min read
What a line edit is, and why video courses skip it
A line edit is a sentence-by-sentence rewrite with a reason next to each change. It is the part of a writing course you cannot get from a video.
5 min read
Cut a third: the editing pass our students use most
Take any draft, set a word count one third lower, and cut until you hit it without losing a fact. What to cut first, in order.
3 min read
How to ask your manager to pay for a course
Most of our students expense their cohort. A short email template, and the three things managers want to know.
The next cohort of Writing that gets read starts October 20
Forty seats, a group of six, line edits on every draft. Applications take five minutes and most students expense it.
Live cohort courses in writing and speaking for people who do it at work. Small groups, line edits, six weeks at a time.
Taught live from Chicago, Austin, Portland and Seattle
Lyceum