Knight Train and Consult

Above: Steve Knight (left) with delegates on a communications foundation training course.

Training

Communications training for £400 a day plus VAT

Yes, it's true. Knight Train & Consult Ltd is offering a full range of communications training opportunities for just £400 a day (plus VAT) with courses run by renowned in-house publications specialists.

Our price of £400 + VAT per day means we come to you and ask your company to provide a private room where we can work. Today's price is a special website offer and is a saving of £100 on our usual daily rate. It applies for any course booked (but not necessarily completed) before December 2008.

AS A SPECIAL BONUS, UP TO NINE ADDITIONAL CANDIDATES CAN BE ADDED TO EACH COURSE FOR JUST £50 PER PERSON (plus VAT)

You name your area of interest and we'll put together a course at a time and a place to suit you. Recent training course clients include AXA Life, Rolls-Royce, Marks & Spencer, EDS.

Anyone attending one of our courses is asked to come armed with a sense of humour.

Our courses include (among others):

New! Headline writing
New! The two-day communications foundation course
Improve your writing skills
Proofreading
Sub editing
Editing
Dealing with the press
Other courses

Headline writing (half-day course - 4 hours)

Benefits
This course looks at the differences between writing headlines for news, features, people stories and for electronic publications. It examines different techniques involved and offers practical advice on what can and can't be improved.

Objectives

To understand the principles behind a good headline
To understand how headlines can be used to help (and hinder) publications
To understand how the reader views headlines and the wider page layout
To look at and understand reader psychology
To know what sort of different headlines are available and which to choose
To write headlines to fit a space and use character counting techniques

Outline
A practical workshop looking at what makes a good headline and how we write them. When to use labels, when to use standfirst and other journalistic techniques, when to play safe and when to create something special. The course also takes a wider look at caption writing, crossheads, sideheads, standfirsts and other journalistic techniques

Improve your writing skills

Details: Aimed at people who already have some writing experience but would like to sharpen their style to make even more impact.

Benefits: This course will help you develop your news writing style and interviewing technique, as well as your ability to write memorable lighter stories and features.

Objectives:

To explain how to grab the reader or listener's attention
To help you improve the impact of your words
To help you refine your outline structure
To sharpen your individual style
To help you deal competently with technical information.

Outline: Knowing your audience; appropriate language and style; news writing; feature writing; sources of news and information; interviewing techniques; case study - preparing and writing a feature; and more.

Feedback: "I really enjoyed the day. It was well-paced and always interesting and engaging.", "Thoroughly enjoyable programme", "Very good style, content and length."

Proofreading

Details: Aimed at people who have to read, correct and sign-off finished pages (printed and electronic).

Benefits: A practical workshop showing how to identify the difference between 'major' and 'minor' proofreading mistakes and to look at techniques used to cut down errors.

Objectives:

To help spot critical errors
To decide what needs changing and what you should leave
To understand how to mark up proofs for printers and/or designers
To see how to incorporate house style
To give people confidence in decision making

Outline: Everyone can read - but reading for pleasure is nothing like proofreading. This course uses practical examples to highlight the differences and explains how mistakes occur and what can be done to help prevent them. Please note that this is an intensive course needing considerable concentration.

Feedback: "Very informative, well structured and catered for all levels of experience", "Glad I came to this. Hit all the right notes",

"Has sharpened my outlook on the written word", "Steve was a wonderful tutor who made the day both enjoyable and instilled knowledge in a very effective manner."

"I thought this course was excellent. It gave me lots of really useful tips and key things to look out for. Steve was a great tutor - his experience brought the course alive."

"Gave me a realistic way of how I can improve what I'm doing while doing all the other things.

"I was expecting a rather dull day... so was delighted with Steve's informal and fun approach. Content was spot-on and the exercises were worth their while."

Sub editing

Details: Plenty of practical sessions in correcting copy, proofreading, editing and writing headlines to develop confidence in these skills.

Objectives:

To explain how to mark-up copy ready for layout
To help with understanding the different layouts for news and features
To improve your handling of pictures and headlines
To explain how to develop positive relationships with writers.

Outline: Story correcting (what to watch out for, practical session); rewriting (when to rewrite and how to do it); cutting to length (practical session - one of the sub's most vital skills); style points (newspaper and magazine conventions); the difference between news and features (discussion session); headlines (what size and fit is important, use of capitals); keeping control (tips to make sure you run the show); deadlines (how to work them out, and more importantly, stick to them); proofreading (practical session); and more.

Feedback: "An interesting and thought-provoking experience. The tutor expertly led us through some tricky exercises, hosted lively discussions and recounted some interesting anecdotes. Some good lessons learned quickly and effectively."

"Good use of exercises. Particularly valuable for those, like me, new to this and needing advice on how to get started."

"A good eye-opener into the pitfalls - many and varied - of sub-editing and proofreading."

"Very useful, fun, informative - when's the next course?"

Editing

Details: Particularly useful for inexperienced editors or for someone being asked to edit for the first time

Benefits: After a day's training people should come away with a much clearer idea of their role and responsibilities.

Objectives:

To understand how the reader fits in with the expectations of your management
To understand how to organize a regular workflow
To know how to commission writers, photographers, illustrators and agencies
To understand how to take and keep control
To enable you to keep to deadlines and plan for contingencies

Outline: What makes news - specific to the reader, deciding on angles and treatments, adding human interest; why editors edit - when to rewrite, how to deal with contributor expectations; remaining in control - dealing with management interference, organizing and sticking to deadlines; building relationships - handling freelancers and agency personnel; and more.

Dealing with the press

Details: Many company communications professionals have to deal with the press, either regularly, as part of a rota system, or on one-off occasions. However, as it is not always a main part of their role, training in these areas is often patchy or non-existent. This course aims to plug that gap.

Benefits: Gives more confidence to anyone who has to handle press queries or come into contact with the press as part of their role but doesn't necessarily do it on a daily basis.

Objectives:

To understand the press - different press, different needs including deadlines, circulation areas, news formats, etc;
To understand the different roles - an analysis of the role of the company communicator and the journalist;
To cater for journalists' needs - practical examples of where the company communicator can help or hinder the process;
To build a working relationship - who do you trust (or mistrust) and why;
To handle the press - tips on dos and don'ts when talking to journalists;
To organize press conferences - tips and hints to make them go well.

Other courses

We run a rich variety of other specialist courses including:
News and/or features writing; basic PR; news gathering; surviving as a freelance;
the technique of interviewing; newsletter, newspaper and magazine design; publications on a budget; introductory and advanced intranets; writing for the web; digital photography; better photographs; how to use your camera and many more.