"Best program ever. High energy facilitator."

Board Paper Brilliance graduate, Risk team, Big 4 bank

"Best program ever. High energy facilitator. Effective writing for influence and impact - how to get your point across and ensure audience engaged. Also useful for verbal communication delivery."

About this course

Executive writing

Drive business improvement

The quality of your board and committee papers directly impacts your thinking and decision-making. 

Business is ever more complex. Presenting your ideas clearly and concisely is critical but challenging. The technical expertise of many paper writers can impede this – brains more wired for numbers than words. This course boosts the strategic communication skills essential for executive teams.

Who is this course for? 

Board Paper Brilliance is for those who regularly write and contribute to board and committee papers. It lasers in on writing clear, concise, readable and actionable papers – tailored to your company style guide, board template, vision and values.

Learning outcomes 

  • Present ideas in a way that helps business leaders think through critical issues and make sound decisions based on well-researched logic. 
  • Confidently and efficiently write papers that cut through the noise, accommodate a range of thinking styles and drive business improvement. 
  • Apply a selection of powerful communication tools to ensure your board papers are clear, concise and easy to read.

What's included: 

  • Five hours of highly engaging video training (+ up to two hours of learning exercises) focused on boosting your results at work 
  • Comprehensive, full-colour reference manual rich with proven writing ideas, principles and techniques 
  • Ample practical, real-world exercises to apply your new skills.

Course curriculum

    1. TIME REQUIRED: 45 minutes

    2. YOUR DIGITAL WORKBOOK for 'Board Paper Brilliance'

    3. Welcome to 'Board Paper Brilliance'

    4. About us: Magneto Communications & Paul Jones (co-founder)

    5. Get ready! Have these handy during the training

    6. Quick checklist: How to maximise your learning

    7. Communication is critical: Here's why!

    8. Your learning goals

    9. Why your process matters (& you can't unfry an egg!)

    10. Your board-paper writing process: Prepare > Organise > Write

      FREE PREVIEW

    11. Tell us about you and what will help most

    12. Pencils poised? Ready to go?

    1. Quick-start guide to brilliant board papers

      FREE PREVIEW

    1. TIME REQUIRED: 1 hour

    2. Set your objective: Be clear on your writing goals

      FREE PREVIEW

    3. Common pain points: Sound familiar?

    4. Audience research: Understanding board members

    5. Project managing large writing projects (like board papers)

    6. Persuading by attitude

    1. TIME REQUIRED: 1.5 hours

    2. Are you telling or selling? Informing or Persuading?

    3. Think like a journo

    4. 'Big news first' work-related exercise: First go

    5. The Hourglass Structure

    6. Key-points list

    7. Minto's Pyramid Principle

    8. 'Big news first' work-related exercise: Second go

    9. Leadership through influence, not authority

    10. The ROPED Method for problem-solving writing

    11. Rhetorical Proofs

    12. Persuasion: Quick frameworks

    13. Persuasion: Six-step model

    14. The Art of Framing

    15. Six ways to frame your message

    16. Difficult messages

    17. Writing frames & templates: Your board-paper blueprint

    1. TIME REQUIRED: 2.5 hours

    2. Magneto Poker: Can you 'Beat the House'?

    3. The Curse of Cognitive Load

      FREE PREVIEW

    4. Complexity kills trust

    5. Cognitive load: Death by 1000 cuts

    6. Let 'Brother of the Watch and Fellow Kings Man' remind you of the Power Of Simplicity

      FREE PREVIEW

    7. RAZOR: Five ways to cut it at work

    8. Razor 1: Are you being too detailed?

    9. Razor 1: Are you too wordy?

    10. Razor 2: Active voice

    11. Razor 3: Zero nominalised verbs

    12. Razor 4: One idea per sentence

    13. Sins of the Flesch

    14. Razor 5: Regular, natural language

    15. Confusing to clear: What a transformation!

    16. Engaging Busy Readers: It's about time!

    17. Bring numbers to life

    18. Tables, charts & graphs

    19. Proofreading: Have no regerts

    1. TIME REQUIRED: 5-10 minutes

    2. Make it stick: Revise, Retain, Apply

    3. What next for you?

    4. Your feedback: Got a minute? We'd love to hear your thoughts

    5. The Big Six of Brilliant Board Papers: Infographic

About this course

  • $295.00
  • 60 lessons
  • 4.5 hours of video content