Successful business writing. How to write business letters, emails, reports, minutes and for social media. Improve your English writing and grammar. Improve your writing skills. A Skills Training Course. Lots of exercises and free downloadable workbook. Dramatic changes in technology in the workplace mean we write so much more than we used to. It is vital to be able to express ourselves in a professional manner. This book enables you to plan, prepare and express your thoughts in a clear and persuasive way. This is the UK spelling version of this book. For the American spelling use ISBN 978-1-84937-074-5. The book is a course to help you practise the skills as you work through it. There is also a downloadable workbook available at http://www.uolearn.com . You will be able to achieve improved results through thinking about the purpose of the communication, get what you want by identifying the background and needs of your reader. You will be able to create successful text for emails, letters, minutes, reports, brochures, websites, tenders and social media. Ensure your organisation's good image by knowing how to proofread successfully and gain techniques to prepare thoroughly. You will learn how to write effective communications that persuade people to help you and create excellent impressions with well formatted documents. You will learn how to avoid common mistakes of business writing and there are plenty of exercises to help you improve. There are sample letters and emails and, of course, plenty of grammar and punctuation. Heather is passionate about the English language and its evolution in business. She is a keen supporter of the Plain English Campaign and wants to bring business writing into the 21st century whilst maintaining excellent standards. Praise for business writing success: 'The course gave me a boost of confidence that shows I am capable of drafting letters.' 'I learnt such a lot from the course, I take a bit longer over everything I write now, but it is amazing the difference if you change the 'tone' of the message.' 'I feel a lot more confident using punctuation. I found the course interesting and everything is explained clearly.' 'I learnt how to deliver bad news with a positive spin.' 'It is all great and adaptable for my role.' 'I particularly found the practising of email writing and feedback given was incredibly helpful.' 'I thought this was focussed and incredibly useful. The methods, hints and tips which I learned will enable me to improve the quality of my work.' I would certainly recommend it to others.' 'Extremely informative.' 'It is fantastic and has helped me improve my writing skills.' About the author: Heather Baker Heather had over twenty years' experience as a secretary and PA before setting up Baker Thompson Associates Limited in 2000. The company specialises in the training and development of secretarial and administrative staff (www.bakerthompsonassoc.co.uk). She now travels all over the UK working with large and small companies to enable their office staff and PAs to work more effectively and efficiently. She also delivers courses in the Middle and Far East. Heather is a Certified NLP Practitioner. She worked for ICI Pharmaceuticals (now AstraZeneca) and Hewlett Packard; she spent 5 years in France working for the Commercial Director of Cognac Hine and then 10 years with Granada Media working up to personal assistant to the managing director, commuting regularly between their offices in Manchester and London. Heather conceived the speedwriting system BakerWrite and wrote a best selling book based on this system (Speed Writing skills training course, http://www.UoLearn.com ) which is also available as a video training course (http://www.bakerthompsonassoc.co.uk ). She is the author of Successful Minute Taking.

Speed Writing Skills Training Course: Speedwriting, a guide to faster note taking, an easy to learn alternative to shorthand. Most people need a note taking system for work or study but few people have the time or inclination to spend a year or two learning shorthand. This is the UK spelling version of the bestselling book (for the US spelling version please use ISBN 9781849370110). BakerWrite Speed Writing enables you to learn a new system in a matter of hours and become proficient within weeks. This book is laid out in 6 easy to follow lessons, that take about an hour each. There are practical guided exercises, with full answers, in each chapter and each session is rounded off with a dictation passage (available from http://www.UoLearn.com). Save time and become more efficient taking dictation, in meetings, on the telephone, in lectures or interviews. No strange squiggles to learn - just different ways to use the letters you already know. Your notes will be easy to transcribe. Enhance your career with a new skill. Save time by reducing your written text by about 33% - often more. Adapt the system to suit your needs. Free downloadable dictionary and workbook. A terrific opportunity to save time and change your working practices - for the better! What do people think of this speed writing system? "The principles are very easy to follow, and I am already using it to take notes." "BakerWrite is the easiest shorthand system I have come across. Having studied all the major shorthand systems and even other speed writing courses, I find BakerWrite a sheer delight." "I will use this system all the time." "Your system is so easy to learn and use." "I will recommend this course to everyone who takes notes." About the author - Heather Baker Heather studied Pitman shorthand at school and then at secretarial college in Salford, England where she also learnt Pitman shorthand in French; she later learned Teeline shorthand and now regularly teaches these. BakerWriteTM is based on her experience with these systems and 22 years as a secretary and PA - taking notes daily. She has been training and coaching secretaries, PAs and administrators since 2000. Please note there is an alternative edition of this book, Easy 4 Me 2 Learn Speed Writing. About the author: Heather Baker Heather had over twenty years' experience as a secretary and PA before setting up Baker Thompson Associates Limited in 2000. The company specialises in the training and development of secretarial and administrative staff, www.bakerthompsonassoc.co.uk. She now travels all over the UK working with large and small companies to enable their office staff and PAs to work more effectively and efficiently. She also delivers courses in the Middle and Far East. Heather is a Certified NLP Practitioner. She worked for ICI Pharmaceuticals (now AstraZeneca) and Hewlett Packard; she spent 5 years in France working for the Commercial Director of Cognac Hine and then 10 years with Granada Media working up to Personal Assistant to the Managing Director, commuting regularly between their offices in Manchester and London. She developed this speed writing system to fulfil a requirement by many companies for a quick and easy way for their employees to take notes. The course became very popular and she was often asked if there was a book with the basics of the system - so here it is! This system is a top best seller on Amazon. BakerWrite speedwriting is also available to learn online at www.BakerWrite.com. Heather is also the author of Successful Business Writing (9781849370714) and Successful Minute Taking (9781849370387), available to order from any bookshop and at www.uolearn.com Heather has been married to Ian since 1979 and they have two daughters, Ailsa and Erin. This book is dedicated to them with profound thanks for all their support over the years. I am 51 years old and have been a secretary more or less since I left school. I took the requisite Pitmans shorthand course whilst at school and have never been able to understand it, all those squiggles and lines. I have used my own speed writing version of words through the years and have managed to get by (as long as I dealt with the notes as soon as I had written them and the dictator wasn't too quick - so it was half memory and half being able to read my own shorthand version). But now, everything is so clear and makes complete sense. I take your book on the train every morning and even after the first reading it completely made sense and I could even remember most of what I had read in the first chapter and believe me my memory at retaining new info is not as it used to be. Even when I was reading your abbreviations I was able to see what they were in a lot of cases before I checked the meaning. I am thoroughly enjoying learning a new skill from a book that is so simple to understand and I have already started to implement my new dictionary of words when taking notes. A great big thank you for developing a system that is so easy to understand and completely workable and I looking forward to showing off my new skills when taking notes (which I will actually be able to understand) at the next board meeting. Ann

Successful Minute Taking and writing. How to prepare, write and organize agendas and minutes of meetings. Learn to take notes and write minutes of meetings. Your role as the minute taker and how you interact with the chair and other attendees. I'd rather throw myself downstairs - That was how I used to feel about minute taking; this book is for those among you who feel the same. It is aimed at secretaries, PAs and administrators and covers the issues that worry them. These are based on the things that worried me and that have worried my hundreds of delegates over the last 10 years. This book is easy to read and has lots of exercises to help you develop your skills. It has advice on note taking, summarizing, preparing agendas, becoming more confident in your role, working with the chair, writing skills, listening skills and the difference between making notes at the meeting and writing the minutes. There is a useful list of the order of tasks and a checklist with timings. There is a free downloadable booklet with all the exercises in it for you. The author, Heather, has experience not only of undertaking the role of secretary and PA but she also has 10 years' experience in training other people to use the skills she has and she shares all of this experience in this book. If you want to learn how to take minutes with ease then this is the book for you. What do people think? 'I had a real phobia about minute taking and was dreading today, but you've really taken away my fear. It's all fallen into place.' Beverley, Leeds 'One of the best facilitators ever - quite clearly Heather had an extensive knowledge of the skills needed and she wanted to share best practice. Everyone had a part to play and felt confident enough to ask and contribute whatever their level of expertise. Heather was very approachable.' 'This was excellent and clearly met all of its objectives. The course was well planned and the subject matter presented in a clear, logical and interesting way.' 'Heather had very good subject knowledge and is a very good trainer. She used a number of different teaching methods and was excellent at putting the group at ease; everyone joined in.' Committee servicing and minute taking for Leeds Metropolitan University 'I'm fairly comfortable with taking minutes, but find I write a lot of notes in the meeting which probably aren't necessary. I've learned how to condense effectively.' 'Heather was very practical and helpful; understood the reality of taking minutes and not just the theory!' Minute taking for RiverStone Management Limited 'I enjoyed the course and found it relevant to my needs. The trainer was helpful and able to answer questions.' 'I found the course really useful and the style very easy to understand.' Minute taking for Yorkshire Television About the author: Heather Baker Heather had over twenty years' experience as a secretary and PA before setting up Baker Thompson Associates Limited in 2000. The company specializes in the training and development of secretarial and administrative staff (www.bakerthompsonassoc.co.uk). She now travels all over the UK working with large and small companies to enable their office staff and PAs to work more effectively and efficiently. She also delivers courses in the Middle and Far East. Heather is a Certified NLP Practitioner. She worked for ICI Pharmaceuticals (now AstraZeneca) and Hewlett Packard; she spent 5 years in France working for the Commercial Director of Cognac Hine and then 10 years with Granada Media working up to personal assistant to the managing director, commuting regularly between their offices in Manchester and London. Heather conceived the speedwriting system BakerWrite and wrote the Amazon best selling book based on this system (Speed Writing skills training course, 9781849370110 http://www.UoLearn.com ) which is also available as an online training course (http://www.bakerthompsonassoc.co.uk ). She is also the author of Successful Business Writing, 9781849370745.

Successful business writing. How to write business letters, emails, reports, minutes and for social media. Improve your English writing and grammar. Improve your writing skills. A Skills Training Course. Lots of exercises and free downloadable workbook. Dramatic changes in technology in the workplace mean we write so much more than we used to. It is vital to be able to express ourselves in a professional manner. This book enables you to plan, prepare and express your thoughts in a clear and persuasive way. This is the American spelling version of this book. For the UK style spelling version please use the following ISBN to find it 978-1-84937-071-4. The book is a course to help you practice the skills as you work through it. There is also a downloadable workbook available at http: //www.uolearn.com . The book will help you to become skilled in a wide range of areas, including the following list. Achieve improved results through thinking about the purpose of the communication. Get what you want by identifying the background and needs of your reader. Create successful text for emails, letters, minutes, reports, brochures, websites, tenders and social media. Ensure your organization's good image through knowledge of proofreading. Gain techniques to prepare thoroughly for writing. Write effective communications that persuade people. Give excellent impressions with well formatted documents. Avoid common mistakes of business writing. Lots of exercises to help you improve your writing skills. The book shows example letters and emails. Learn how to write good English and correct grammar. Achieve success through excellent written communication. Praise for business writing success: 'The course gave me a boost of confidence that shows I am capable of drafting letters.' Manchester United Football Club 'I learnt such a lot from the course, I take a bit longer over everything I write now, but it is amazing the difference if you change the 'tone' of the message.' 'I found the course very useful and geared to the industry I am in.' 'I feel a lot more confident using punctuation. I found the course interesting and everything is explained clearly.' 'I learnt how to deliver bad news with a positive spin.' 'It is all great and adaptable for my role.' 'I particularly found the practicing of email writing and feedback given was incredibly helpful.' 'I thought this was focused and incredibly useful. The methods, hints and tips which I learned will enable me to improve the quality of my work.' I would certainly recommend it to others.' 'Extremely informative.' 'It is fantastic and has helped me improve my writing skills.' About the author: Heather Baker Heather had over twenty years' experience as a secretary and PA before setting up Baker Thompson Associates Limited in 2000. The company specializes in the training and development of secretarial and administrative staff (www.bakerthompsonassoc.co.uk). She now travels all over the UK working with large and small companies to enable their office staff and PAs to work more effectively and efficiently. She also delivers courses in the Middle and Far East. Heather is a Certified NLP Practitioner. She worked for ICI Pharmaceuticals (now AstraZeneca) and Hewlett Packard; she spent 5 years in France working for the Commercial Director of Cognac Hine and then 10 years with Granada Media working up to personal assistant to the managing director, commuting regularly between their offices in Manchester and London. Heather conceived the speedwriting system BakerWrite and wrote the Amazon top five selling book based on this system (Speed Writing skills training course, http: //www.UoLearn.com ) which is also available as a video training course (http: //www.bakerthompsonassoc.co.uk ). She is also the author of Successful Minute Taking.

Easy 4 Me 2 Learn Writing Meeting Minutes and Agendas. I'd rather throw myself downstairs - That was how I used to feel about minute taking; this book is for those among you who feel the same. It is aimed at secretaries, PAs and administrators and covers the issues that worry them. These are based on the things that worried me and that have worried my hundreds of delegates over the last 10 years. This book is easy to read and has lots of exercises to help you develop your skills. It has advice on note taking, summarising, preparing agendas, becoming more confident in your role, working with the chair, writing skills, listening skills and the difference between making notes at the meeting and writing the minutes. There is a useful list of the order of tasks and a checklist with timings. There is a free downloadable booklet with all the exercises in it for you. The author, Heather, has experience not only of undertaking the role of secretary and PA but she also has 10 years' experience in training other people to use the skills she has and she shares all of this experience in this book. If you want to learn how to take minutes with ease then this is the book for you. About the author - Heather Baker Heather had over twenty years' experience as a secretary and PA before setting up Baker Thompson Associates Limited in 2000. The company specialises in the training and development of secretarial and administrative staff (www.bakerthompsonassoc.co.uk). She now travels all over the UK working with large and small companies to enable their office staff and PAs to work more effectively and efficiently. She also delivers courses in the Middle and Far East. Heather is a Certified NLP Practitioner. She worked for ICI Pharmaceuticals (now AstraZeneca) and Hewlett Packard; she spent 5 years in France working for the Commercial Director of Cognac Hine and then 10 years with Granada Media working up to Personal Assistant to the Managing Director, commuting regularly between their offices in Manchester and London. Heather conceived the speedwriting system BakerWrite and wrote the text book based on this system, see www.uolearn.com She has trained hundreds of people all over the world in how to take minutes and she has converted her extensive knowledge into this book. Heather has been married to Ian since 1979 and they have two daughters, Ailsa and Erin. This book is dedicated to them with profound thanks for all their support over the years. What do people think? "I had a real phobia about minute taking and was dreading today, but you've really taken away my fear. It's all fallen into place." Beverley, Leeds "One of the best facilitators ever - quite clearly Heather had an extensive knowledge of the skills needed and she wanted to share best practice. Everyone had a part to play and felt confident enough to ask and contribute whatever their level of expertise. Heather was very approachable." "This was excellent and clearly met all of its objectives. The course was well planned and the subject matter presented in a clear, logical and interesting way." "Heather had very good subject knowledge and is a very good trainer. She used a number of different teaching methods and was excellent at putting the group at ease; everyone joined in." Committee servicing and minute taking for Leeds Metropolitan University "I'm fairly comfortable with taking minutes, but find I write a lot of notes in the meeting which probably aren't necessary. I've learnt how to condense effectively." "Heather was very practical and helpful; understood the reality of taking minutes and not just the theory!" Minute taking for RiverStone Management Limited "I enjoyed the course and found it relevant to my needs. The trainer was helpful and able to answer questions. She obviously enjoys her work and conveys her enthusiasm to delegates." "I found the course really useful and the style/delivery very easy to follow/understand." Minute taking for Yorkshire Television

Successful Minute Taking - Meeting the Challenge I'd rather throw myself downstairs - That was how I used to feel about minute taking; this book is for those among you who feel the same. It is aimed at secretaries, PAs and administrators and covers the issues that worry them. These are based on the things that worried me and that have worried my hundreds of delegates over the last 10 years. This book is easy to read and has lots of exercises to help you develop your skills. It has advice on note taking, summarising, preparing agendas, becoming more confident in your role, working with the chair, writing skills, listening skills and the difference between making notes at the meeting and writing the minutes. There is a useful list of the order of tasks and a checklist with timings. There is a free downloadable booklet with all the exercises in it for you. The author, Heather, has experience not only of undertaking the role of secretary and PA but she also has 10 years' experience in training other people to use the skills she has and she shares all of this experience in this book. If you want to learn how to take minutes with ease then this is the book for you. About the author - Heather Baker Heather had over twenty years' experience as a secretary and PA before setting up Baker Thompson Associates Limited in 2000. The company specialises in the training and development of secretarial and administrative staff (www.bakerthompsonassoc.co.uk). She now travels all over the UK working with large and small companies to enable their office staff and PAs to work more effectively and efficiently. She also delivers courses in the Middle and Far East. Heather is a Certified NLP Practitioner. She worked for ICI Pharmaceuticals (now AstraZeneca) and Hewlett Packard; she spent 5 years in France working for the Commercial Director of Cognac Hine and then 10 years with Granada Media working up to Personal Assistant to the Managing Director, commuting regularly between their offices in Manchester and London. Heather conceived the speedwriting system BakerWrite and wrote the text book based on this system, see www.uolearn.com She has trained hundreds of people all over the world in how to take minutes and she has converted her extensive knowledge into this book. Heather has been married to Ian since 1979 and they have two daughters, Ailsa and Erin. This book is dedicated to them with profound thanks for all their support over the years. What do people think? "I had a real phobia about minute taking and was dreading today, but you've really taken away my fear. It's all fallen into place." Beverley, Leeds "One of the best facilitators ever - quite clearly Heather had an extensive knowledge of the skills needed and she wanted to share best practice. Everyone had a part to play and felt confident enough to ask and contribute whatever their level of expertise. Heather was very approachable." "This was excellent and clearly met all of its objectives. The course was well planned and the subject matter presented in a clear, logical and interesting way." "Heather had very good subject knowledge and is a very good trainer. She used a number of different teaching methods and was excellent at putting the group at ease; everyone joined in." Committee servicing and minute taking for Leeds Metropolitan University "I'm fairly comfortable with taking minutes, but find I write a lot of notes in the meeting which probably aren't necessary. I've learnt how to condense effectively." "Heather was very practical and helpful; understood the reality of taking minutes and not just the theory!" Minute taking for RiverStone Management Limited "I enjoyed the course and found it relevant to my needs. The trainer was helpful and able to answer questions. She obviously enjoys her work and conveys her enthusiasm to delegates." "I found the course really useful and the style/delivery very easy to follow/understand." Minute taking for Yorkshire Television

Speed Writing Skills Training Course: Speedwriting, a guide to faster note taking, an easy to learn alternative to shorthand Most people need a note taking system for work or study but few people have the time or inclination to spend a year or two learning shorthand. BakerWrite Speed Writing enables you to learn a new system in a matter of hours and become proficient within weeks. This book is laid out in 6 easy to follow lessons, that take about an hour each. Practical guided exercises, with full answers, in each chapter and each session is rounded off with a dictation passage (available from http: //www.UoLearn.com) Save time and become more efficient taking dictation, in meetings, on the telephone, in lectures or interviews. No strange squiggles to learn - just different ways to use the letters you already know. Your notes will be easy to transcribe. A terrific opportunity to save time and change your working practices - for the better What do people think of this speed writing system? "The principles are very easy to follow, and I am already using it to take notes." "BakerWrite is the easiest shorthand system I have come across. Having studied all the major shorthand systems and even other speed writing courses, I find BakerWrite a sheer delight." "I will use this system all the time." "Your system is so easy to learn and use." Heather studied Pitman shorthand at school and then at secretarial college in England; she later learned Teeline shorthand and now regularly teaches these. BakerWriteTM is based on her experience with these systems and 22 years as a secretary and PA - taking notes daily. She has been training and coaching secretaries, PAs and administrators since 2000. Please note there is an alternative edition of this book, Easy 4 Me 2 Learn Speed Writing. Heather had over twenty years' experience as a secretary and PA before setting up Baker Thompson Associates Limited in 2000. The company specializes in the training and development of secretarial and administrative staff, www.bakerthompsonassoc.co.uk She now travels all over the UK working with large and small companies to enable their office staff and PAs to work more effectively. She developed this speed writing system to fulfill a requirement by many companies for a quick and easy way for their employees to take notes. The course became very popular and she was often asked if there was a book with the basics of the system - so here it is To contact Heather please visit the speedwriting section of the publishers' website, http: //www.UoLearn.com I am 51 years old and have been a secretary more or less since I left school. I took the requisite Pitmans shorthand course whilst at school and have never been able to understand it, all those squiggles and lines. I have used my own speed writing version of words through the years and have managed to get by (as long as I dealt with the notes as soon as I had written them and the dictator wasn't too quick - so it was half memory and half being able to read my own shorthand version). But now, everything is so clear and makes complete sense. I take your book on the train every morning and even after the first reading it completely made sense and I could even remember most of what I had read in the first chapter and believe me my memory at retaining new info is not as it used to be. Even when I was reading your abbreviations I was able to see what they were in a lot of cases before I checked the meaning. I am thoroughly enjoying learning a new skill from a book that is so simple to understand and I have already started to implement my new dictionary of words when taking notes. A great big thank you for developing a system that is so easy to understand and completely workable and I looking forward to showing off my new skills when taking notes (which I will actually be able to understand) at the next board meeting. Ann

Speed Writing - the 21st century alternative to shorthand Most people need a note taking system for work or study but few people have the time or inclination to spend a year or two learning shorthand. BakerWrite Speed Writing enables you to learn a new system in a matter of hours and become proficient within weeks. This book is laid out in 6 easy to follow lessons, that take about an hour each. Practical guided exercises, with full answers, in each chapter and each session is rounded off with a dictation passage. Save time and become more efficient taking dictation, in meetings, on the telephone, in lectures or interviews. No strange squiggles to learn - just different ways to use the letters you already know. Your notes will be easy to transcribe. Enhance your career with a new skill. Save time by reducing your written text by an average of 33% - often more. Adapt the system to suit your needs. Free downloadable dictionary and workbook, available from http: //www.UoLearn.com A terrific opportunity to save time and change your working practises - for the better What do people think of this speed writing system? "BakerWrite is the easiest shorthand system I have come across. Having studied all the major shorthand systems and even other speed writing courses, I find BakerWrite a sheer delight." "I will use this system all the time." "Your system is so easy to learn and use." "I will recommend this course to everyone who takes notes." "I am 51 years old and have been a secretary more or less since I left school. I took the requisite Pitmans shorthand course whilst at school and have never been able to understand it, all those squiggles and lines. I have used my own speed writing version of words through the years and have managed to get by (as long as I dealt with the notes as soon as I had written them and the dictator wasn't too quick - so it was half memory and half being able to read my own shorthand version). But now, everything is so clear and makes complete sense. I take your book on the train every morning and even after the first reading it completely made sense and I could even remember most of what I had read in the first chapter and believe me my memory at retaining new info is not as it used to be. Even when I was reading your abbreviations I was able to see what they were in a lot of cases before I checked the meaning. I am thoroughly enjoying learning a new "skill" from a book that is so simple to understand and I have already started to implement my new dictionary of words when taking notes. A great big thank you for developing a system that is so easy to understand and completely workable and I looking forward to "showing off" my new skills when taking notes (which I will actually be able to understand) at the next board meeting." Ann, Knightsbridge, London About the author - Heather Baker Heather had over twenty years' experience as a secretary and PA before setting up Baker Thompson Associates Limited in 2000. The company specializes in the training and development of secretarial and administrative staff, www.bakerthompsonassoc.co.uk. She now travels all over the UK working with large and small companies to enable their office staff and PAs to work more effectively and efficiently. She also delivers courses in the Middle and Far East. She worked for ICI Pharmaceuticals (now AstraZeneca) and Hewlett Packard; she spent 5 years in France working for the Commercial Director of Cognac Hine and then 10 years with Granada Media working up to Personal Assistant to the Managing Director, commuting regularly between their offices in Manchester and London. She developed this speed writing system to fulfil a requirement by many companies for a quick and easy way for their employees to take notes.

For young professionals and entrepreneurs, there is no shortage of gurus, processes, and quick-fix formulas to chase in the quest to grow their business, lead their team, and find personal fulfillment. In fact, there are so many out there that it's exhausting. Wouldn't it be better to realize that the leadership lessons we need to learn are not out there somewhere, but in here, in our own lives? That instead of becoming a knock-off of someone else, we can be uniquely ourselves? That's exactly what Ron Kitchens learned, and it's what he wants to share with today's emerging leaders. Sharing his own journey of discovering what his life was trying to teach him through both trials and triumphs, Kitchens equips readers to mine their own stories for the relationships and life lessons that have made them into the unique individuals they are today. He then shows readers how to leverage those unique experiences into their own personal leadership style that is authentic, one-of-a-kind, and effective in building businesses and leading teams.