IN PERSON AND ONLINE

Writing training workshops

I run 3 half-day writing workshops to help government employees, corporate teams and individuals write clearly, consistently and accurately.

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you're in the right place

For anyone who writes anything

My writing workshops help people at all levels – graduates to middle managers to senior execs – write clearly and confidently.

My workshop participants are

Admin, policy, procurement and IT professionals
In comms, finance and secretariat
Teachers, nurses, doctors and vets
Lawyers, accountants and engineers
Police, rangers and firies
Aboriginal interpreters and ESL speakers
Graduates to executives
Tradies to academics
Experienced writers to first timers

These workshops will help you write clearly and confidently at work, whatever your work is. I'd love to have you join me.

Workshop 1 | 3.5 HOURS

Punctuation unpacked

It's or its?

And how do you decide where commas go?

In 3.5 hours, your team will learn (or refresh) the essential skills we need to write professionally.

How to use apostrophes correctly (including its vs it's and Chris' vs Chris's)
Where commas actually go (without thinking about breathing)
The difference between colons and semicolons (and the right punctuation around 'however')
When capital letters are needed (and not)
Writing numbers and formatting bulleted lists
10 commonly mixed-up words (affect/effect, practise/practice)
Including 2026 updates to Australian writing guidelines.

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Workshop 2 | 2.25 HOURS

How to write in plain English

Waffly, long sentences and confusing words are not cool. For any audience.

Learn how to strip out the clutter and write clear, succinct, professional documents your audience can understand quickly.

This is a 2.25-hour refresher on the mechanics of clear writing.

Write short, snappy sentences
Choose simple words over complex ones
3 tools to cut the waffle and get to the point
Write negative messages positively
Language, tone, jargon and acronyms
Make writing active and direct
Online tools to check your writing
Write clear emails, reports, policies and memos that people want to read.

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Workshop 3 | 2.5 HOURS

Email writing

Email is an essential communication tool. Many are poorly written and unprofessional.

A 2.5-hour workshop on the nuts and bolts of modern email etiquette at work. Works best as an add-on to the foundational courses above.

Email purpose and structure
The subject line
Greeting and sign off
Language and tone
Emojis, text speak and abbreviations
Being brief, positive and polite
CC, BCC and ‘reply all’
Government emails and FOI legislation
Overused words and phrases
Email tips and tricks
Common mistakes to avoid.

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I'VE WORKED WITH:

Here's how it works

I can come to your workplace in Darwin and run the workshops for your staff.
A minimum of 6 people is needed to book a workshop (no maximum).
Run one workshop or all 3.
Most clients run 2 workshops together as a full day of writing PD.
I also run regular ‘open’ workshops in Darwin (for teams without 6+). February, May and August programs now open for bookings.
I travel to Alice Springs and Katherine once a year, where I hold workshops for multiple agencies, councils, businesses and NGOs.
Regional staff can join your Darwin team's session online (via Teams, Skype or Zoom) so everyone's on the same page.
Not in the NT? No problem: we'll run your team's workshop online with plenty of interactive Q&A time built in.

Contact me below for a chat about a workshop for your team. You can also contact me on:

[email protected] or 0408 610 181

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From across-government teams in all sectors...

‘Jo consistently delivers high-quality, very engaging, enterprise-wide training. Feedback was consistently positive on delivery, experience and learning outcomes. The overall average satisfaction score for 2024–25 was 97.5%’.