education

IABC Business Writing Conference

Learn how to write clearly and persuasively.

15–16 May, Philadelphia Business Writing Conference Program

Browse the program below.

IABC/Philadelphia invites you to attend a special program, Putting social media to work: Seven practical ideas for taking your intranet to the next level, with Jerry Stevenson on 14 May from 6 - 8 p.m.

Schedule at a glance

Thursday, 15 May

Friday, 16 May

Conference Program

Thursday, 15 May

7:45 a.m.
Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m.–12 p.m.
Transparent writing: Learn to think clearly and write what you mean

Information is plentiful in business. But how you communicate that information is critical. Communication professionals at all levels and in every type of business must continually turn information into knowledge to help their colleagues and their clients make the right decisions.

In this energetic, hands-on presentation, you will learn:

• The most important goal in writing (it's not what you think)
• The No. 1 question on every reader's mind (you're thinking it right now)
• Why thinking about tomatoes will make you a better writer - guaranteed!

Whether you're a seasoned wordsmith or you struggle with every sentence you write, The Writing Workshop will give you the confidence and skills you need to communicate your ideas clearly and persuasively. Best of all, you'll walk out of The Writing Workshop with a fresh perspective and renewed enthusiasm for writing.

John Sturtevant has taught business people how to think clearly and write what they mean for over twenty years. He co-developed and taught a business writing curriculum at Harvard Business School for five years. Sturtevant was also a professor of business communication at The European School of Economics in Rome. Prior to this, Sturtevant was vice president of marketing for an Internet software company and co-founded SturtevantFishbourne, an award-winning, full-service advertising and marketing agency in Boston. In 1985, as senior producer at AVW, Houston's premier multimedia production company, he created programs designed to motivate employees and simplify complex ideas.

12:15–1:30 p.m.
Keynote Luncheon:

Practical tips for business blogs
Few communication tools inspire as much promise and as much fear as blogs. They offer the possibility of candid two-way communication that can inspire and motivate—and the potential of chaotic free-wheeling discussions that waste time or (worse) leak critical information. This session will teach you the art of connecting blogs and social media tools with real-world business situations. You'll come away with a better understanding of what blogs can do for your organization, when to utilize them, and how you can play an important role in making them successful.

You'll learn:

• Knowledge about what blogs do well - and what they do poorly
• Advice on how to overcome common objections to blogs
• Strategies for supporting and counseling a leader who wants to start a blog - including effective writing and editing tips
• Tips on how to turn a monologue into a dialogue - getting employees to productively participate
• Measurement approaches to prove the value of your work to management

Jerry Stevenson is a director in the global human resource technology practice of Buck Consultants, an ACS company. An early pioneer of developing company intranets, his background includes a unique combination of software engineering and corporate communication expertise. Consistently a top-ranked seminar leader at conferences around the world, Dallas/IABC named Stevenson 2004 Communicator of the Year.

1:45–3:15 p.m.
Select and attend one of two breakout sessions:

Workshop One / Writing for the web
Do visitors to your web site come away satisfied, quickly finding answers and frequently returning for more? Or are they frustrated, wandering from page to page, only to give up and look elsewhere? Effective web writing is one of the single most important elements in building a successful site. This session will teach you practical tips and techniques you can use right away to improve your online writing style—whether your goal is turning prospects into customers or informing and engaging employees.

You'll learn how to:

• Create pages that are easy for users to scan and find information
• Convert traditional blocks of copy into web-friendly "chunks"
• Write effective headlines, abstracts, and hyperlinks
• Alter your writing style for differing goals and formats, including Web 2.0 and social media

Jerry Stevenson is a director in the global human resource technology practice of Buck Consultants, an ACS company. An early pioneer of developing company intranets, his background includes a unique combination of software engineering and corporate communication expertise. Consistently a top-ranked seminar leader at conferences around the world, Dallas/IABC named Stevenson 2004 Communicator of the Year.

Workshop Two / Fine-tune your editing skills
All editors need some sharpening of their editing pencils from time to time, and that includes you. In this hands-on session, you'll do some micro- and macro-editing and review seven (and only seven) reasons to change copy.

In this session, you will review:

• Eight "always" rules for commas
• The relationship of sentence structure to punctuation rules
• Three steps for cutting copy
• The fundamentals of coaching writers

Don Ranly, Ph.D., IABC Fellow, is professor emeritus of journalism at the Missouri School of Journalism where he taught for 32 years. An author of articles and books on writing and editing, he has conducted more than 950 seminars for individual newspapers and magazines, corporations, associations and organizations. He has led seminars at 25 IABC international conferences and for 36 IABC chapters.

3:15–3:45 p.m.
Coffee break

3:45–5 p.m.
Select and attend one of two breakout sessions:

Workshop One / Tap the power of story to bring business writing alive
A lot of business writing is “just the facts, ma’am,” as Sgt. Friday used to say. Okay, a lot of business writing has a human voice in our business casual environment. That’s just a start. But, is your writing propelled by a powerful initiating incident, suspense, maybe dialogue, and a dramatic climax? Or is your writing still driven by “Situation, Action, Result?” Or, full of Mr. Gates’ bullet points?

Learn how to ban the bullet points, and go full speed ahead with the power of narrative to compel readers or listeners to hang onto your every word. Learn the simple trick to make people wonder and demand to know “what happens next?” without fear of losing them.

Gerry Lantz, founder of STORIES THAT WORK®, will give you tips, tricks, and scenarios you can apply to the most mundane material to make it a compelling and captivating story. You will learn how to turn a routine case history into a “STORIES THAT WORK SuccessStory™.” You will borrow a fiction plot device that can record a strategy in as few as 9 words and express the entire plan. It’s called a “3X3 StrategicStory.” You will learn the single most important question you must ask and answer to tell a true story—it may not be what you think.

Gerry Lantz describes himself as a “creative guy in a business suit.” After 25 years of high-level advertising and marketing experience, he created STORIES THAT WORK®, INC. For his clients, Lantz applies storytelling and story structure to create compelling strategy, branding, leadership, corporate culture and organizational change. Lantz works with national and international corporations. While an officer at Ogilvy, DDB, and Ferrero USA, Lantz received three Effies and two David Ogilvy Awards—both awards for creativity and communications effectiveness—and the Toy Marketing Association’s Award for Best Marketing, Advertising, & Promotion.

Workshop Two / A prescription for employee publications: What you can learn from the pharmaceutical industry
Is your publication not feeling too well? Not sure what the problem can be? Are energy levels low? Attend this workshop and get some helpful advice. Find out what GlaxoSmithKline, a leading healthcare company, is doing to make their employee publication friendly and useful. This session will provide you with practical tips you can put to use immediately to rejuvenate your publication and turn it into a respected and valued communication vehicle.

In this session, you'll learn how to:

• Use the “Health Literacy” approach to publications
• Get your messages across clearly and succinctly
• Look at ways you can engage and inspire your readers

Paul Viggiano is HR communication specialist at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), where he has handled employee communications for 17 years. He is the managing editor of the GSK quarterly, dimensions, which reaches 25,000 employees across the U.S. Viggiano has won 15 IABC EPIC Awards for Excellence in Communications and 27 Communications Silver Quill Awards for publications. He also serves as adjunct faculty in communications at the University of the Sciences, Rowan University, Peirce College and Camden County College.

Friday, 16 May

7:30–8 a.m.
Continental Breakfast

8–9 a.m.
General Session:

Rev up readership
In the U.S. alone, 5,000 messages bombard people each day—totaling more than a million messages a year. For writers, editors and other communicators, the challenge lies in overcoming this information overload to reach your readers.

In this session, you'll learn how to:

• Utilize the formula readers use to determine what to read—and what to throw away—to increase your copy’s readership
• Shift focus and put yourself in your reader's head so you can write copy that gets read, not ignored
• Take a simple step to make your copy nearly half as fast to absorb, easy to remember and satisfying to read

Ann Wylie is the author of more than a dozen learning tools that help people improve their communication skills, including “Rev Up Readership,” “Think Like a Reader” and Planning Powerful Publications, published by IABC. As president of Wylie Communications, Wylie handles special writing and editing projects for Sprint, Readers Digest, The Mayo Clinic and dozens of other major clients. Before starting her firm, she was editor of Hallmark Cards’ employee magazine, Crown. Her work has earned 40 communication awards, including a Women In Communications (WIC) Clarion award and two IABC Gold Quill Awards.

9:15–10:30 a.m.
Select and attend one of two breakout sessions:

Workshop One / Writing the strategic communication plan
Strategic communication planning is necessary for any business, but the thought of going through the process, the research and the writing can make even the seasoned communicator shiver in their shoes—it shouldn’t. Learn the critical elements of a communication plan and be guided through the steps of creating one that integrates activities, focuses on goals and objectives, and aligns with the varied interests of your target audiences.

You’ll learn:

• The importance of research and how it can make communication planning easier
• The process to develop messages and tactics for your key target audience
• The tips to integrate measurement into your plan

Jeffrey Ory, ABC, APR, is vice president for Deveney Communication, an internationally-recognized public relations firm based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ory is recognized globally, working on projects that have earned the highest national and international honors in the profession, including two of the pinnacle recognitions in the communication profession: the IABC Gold Quill Award and Jake Wittmer Research Award. A long-time IABC member and volunteer, Ory currently serves as the chair of IABC’s Gold Quill Awards program.

Workshop Two / Writing the magazine feature article
Writing features does not mean writing fluff. What it does mean is writing copy of all kinds with a flair that readers find compelling and enjoyable. This session will push you to write more stories that readers read and remember. Through use of literary devices (similes, metaphors, examples, etc.), you'll have more fun and your copy will spring to life.

We'll discuss:

• Using narative style versus the inverted pyramid
• Discovering characters rather than sources
• Writing for story rather than merely reporting facts

Don Ranly, Ph.D., IABC Fellow, is professor emeritus of journalism at the Missouri School of Journalism where he taught for 32 years. An author of articles and books on writing and editing, he has conducted more than 950 seminars for individual newspapers and magazines, corporations, associations and organizations. He has led seminars at 25 IABC international conferences and for 36 IABC chapters..

10:45 a.m.–12 p.m.
Select and attend one of two breakout sessions:

Workshop One / How to write an effective speech
Speechwriting is the most lucrative writing specialty for business communicators. Whether you work on staff or freelance, strong speechwriting skills will boost your career.

Come to this lively, interactive session and learn how to:

• Focus your message for any audience
• Provide your speaker with interesting research
• Write for the ear (not the eye)

Joan Detz is the author of How to Write & Give a Speech (praised as “a how-to classic” by The Washington Post), Can You Say a Few Words? (noted in the business section of The New York Times) and It's Not What You Say, It's How You Say It. In addition to speechwriting seminars for basic, advanced and master levels, she offers “The Business of Six-Figure Speechwriting: How to Succeed…On Staff or Freelance” on her web site.

Workshop Two / Writing for the media
Breaking through cluttered inboxes to secure traditional media coverage requires writing that is smart, targeted and compelling. While having great contacts and strong relationships matter most, the message must be clear and newsworthy.

By combining case studies, insight and interaction, this session will teach attenders how to:

• Write pitches and releases that connect
• Craft the right message for the right time
• Resist bad habits that get in the way of great headlines

Shawn M. Kahle, APR, is managing director at Arment Dietrich Inc. With more than 25 years of senior-level public relations and communication expertise, Kahle’s media relations experience is extensive in multiple sectors including retail, nonprofit, telecommunications, real estate, trade shows, hospitality and consumer events. Kahle currently is on the public relations faculty at Loyola University in Chicago, and previously was a lecturer at Wayne State University in Detroit. Kahle serves as a board member of both IABC/Chicago and PRSA Chicago.

12–1:30 p.m.
Keynote Luncheon

C-Suite Sweet Spot: Finding Your Executive Voice
Whether ghostwriting an executive speech, a byline article, an all-employee letter, or a memorable quote for an earnings release, finding the right executive voice is critical for communicators far and wide. While not all CEOs are alike, there are techniques to distinguish C-suite communication. A series of talk-starting tips to help attenders discover their executive voice within will be explored through interactive exercises and audience conversation—likely with a few laughs along the way.

Shawn M. Kahle, APR, is managing director at Arment Dietrich Inc. With more than 25 years of senior-level public relations and communication expertise, Kahle’s media relations experience is extensive in multiple sectors including retail, nonprofit, telecommunications, real estate, trade shows, hospitality and consumer events. Kahle currently is on the public relations faculty at Loyola University in Chicago, and previously was a lecturer at Wayne State University in Detroit. Kahle serves as a board member of both IABC/Chicago and PRSA Chicago.

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