Class Details
Business Report Writing Course: From Core Skills to AI Tools
Course summary
A business report is a powerful communication tool, and modern artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools are making it easier than ever for professionals to plan, write and edit impactful reports.
At this one-day course, you’ll learn how to pair generative AI tools with timeless writing principles to write any type of report.
Whether you write annual reports or board reports, thought leadership reports or marketing reports, operational reports or business submissions, your audience is pressed for time. The report must lead with its insights and recommendations first, followed by a logically structured sequence of supporting information.
This immersive course explains firstly how to use AI as a thought partner to ensure you have addressed audience needs and covered all necessary angles. You’ll then learn to craft each report around a concise high-level message, supported by logically ordered support points. You’ll learn how to decide how little or how much technical detail to include, what to do about business jargon, and what to do when new facts force you to change the report angle.
The course builds on the essential learnings of the Centre’s one-day Business Writing Essentials Course: From Core Skills to AI Tools and can be taken on its own or in conjunction with that course.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
- plan reports by first determining your high-level aims and audience needs
- use the hierarchy structure (also known as Pyramid Principle or Minto Structure) to organise ideas using either a top-down or bottom-up approach
- write a concise executive summary that guides the reader through the situation, complication and key question the report will address
- write the report body by planning each sub-section as the answer to a high-level question
- use compelling evidence to support your case
- review documents for plain English usage and correct style.
Content
AI overview
Introduction to effective AI usage, and the prompts, commands and modifiers to consider.
Planning
The main planning tools (objectives, audience, context and constraints); establishing the focus of your reports and briefing papers.
Organising
Brainstorming the support points; putting your ideas into order; creating content hierarchies that help readers navigate the document.
Writing executive summary
Writing an executive summary with the key components; setting up the body of the document; writing recommendations that align with report objectives.
Writing report body
General approaches for organising your content logically in the document sections; tips for reporting in PowerPoint; tips for slide design.
Troubleshooting
Refining various details of your work, including checking for persuasive proof-points, simplifying technical content, interpreting numbers and writing with tact.
Reviewing
The four stages of review: checking for plain English usage; proofreading for style, grammar and formatting.
Who this course is for
This business writing course is aimed at mid-career or senior professionals who need to write balanced and thorough reports – either to persuade, inform or request an outcome. If you write simple reports that are less than two pages long, you may want to take the Business Writing Essentials Course: From Core Skills to AI Tools first. If you are seeking writing skills that apply to a range of advanced settings and not just reports, consider our Business Writing Masterclass: From Core Skills to AI Tools.
Prerequisites
This course assumes good skills in written English, with an understanding of linguistic terms and business processes.
Delivery style
Learning methods include open discussions, group exercises and individual response to mini tests throughout the day. We will selectively use AI for some tasks.
Several of the exercises are intended for you to plan, organise and draft elements of an actual report you are working on (or a fictional exercise if you prefer). Bring a laptop, or be prepared to write a page or two of handwriting.
Delivery modes
- Face-to-face, presenter-taught workshop using your own device
- Online workshop via the platform Zoom
Materials
Course materials are distributed electronically using Dropbox.
What you need to do before the course
Please bring a laptop, with logins ready to access your preferred AI platform (we suggest Copilot, ChatGPT or Claude.ai).
You will have the opportunity to develop a report piece of writing from your organisation. Please bring along some simple notes or an outline of this work. If you do not have any work in progress, you may work on our fictional classroom scenario instead.
<a href="https://ish-oncourse-cce-main.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/23b3e748-ec25-4ee0-ae69-54e5ba513a4e" class="js-course-brochure u-display-none">Course Brochure</a>
Sessions
Location
Face-to-face (CCE Building, Sydney)
Public transport
As bus and train timetables regularly change, we suggest you visit the Transport for NSW trip planner before you set out.
The nearest train stations are Newtown Station and Macdonaldtown Station. Macdonaldtown Station is closer by distance than Newtown Station, however trains do not stop as frequently as at Newtown Station.
Other information
Parking
Nearby parking is available at Wilson Parking - RPA Medical Centre Car Park (entry via Elizabeth Street off Carillon Avenue).
A Flexi Saver Rate is available but must be booked in advance online and includes the booking fee. Bookings can be made via the Wilson website or by downloading the Wilson Parking App. Otherwise, hourly parking rates will apply, as advertised on the Wilson Parking website.
Meet the facilitators
Stephanie Oley
Stephanie is an experienced business writer and coach who has developed a sound method of teaching concise, jargon-free writing that tells the story and sets clear reader expectations. Her early career was in government and publishing, before she moved into business writing and coaching in 2006. She has led various writing workshops and programs throughout both the government and private sectors. Some of her notable clients include the Reserve Bank of Australia, NSW Health, Woolworths, Transport for NSW, Credit Corp Group, Law Society of NSW, NHVR, and various Local Councils. In 2013 Stephanie followed her business nose to become partner at Sydney creative agency, The Offices, where she oversees day-to-day proposal writing, content marketing and a range of corporate client writing projects.
Stephanie has a Bachelor of Arts from The University of Sydney, majoring in Linguistics and English Literature, and holds a Cert IV in Training and Assessment. She is a member of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce and volunteers her writing expertise for a number of not-for-profit organisations.
