Create crisp, usable documents in half the time

Most work in organizations gets done through writing. Any inefficiency in the process affects how you do business.

We train people at any level of an organization to deliver clear content using a streamlined process, which has far-reaching effects. 

Give your staff what they need to succeed

Most staff find writing (and reviewing writing) a stress point. We change that. Our workshops teach practical tools so writers build skills and are more engaged and confident.

Business and financial training

  • We teach internationally established best practices for clarity, as well as a new staged process to help participants reduce writing and review time.

    We suggest taking the core course before our document- or skill-specific training because it covers foundational content.

    More on core courses

  • These courses teach writers how to:

    • work skillfully with key documents that businesses produce regularly

    • avoid the pitfalls for that document type

    • write clearly and quickly under pressure

    • use templates effectively

    • gain from others’ experience with these types of documents

    More on document-specific training

  • These courses focus on and strengthen certain skills your team may need, depending on what they write. These include:

    • editing and proofreading

    • delivering negative messages

    • writing complex documents with multiple drafters

    Ask us if you need a course you don’t see here.

    More on skill-specific training

  • If you prefer to work at your own pace, check out our online school. We offer:

    • a roughly 12-hour course called Briefing Note Fundamentals

    • coffee-break courses that are densely packed mini modules you can take in 40 to 60 minutes

    Our current coffee-break courses are:

    • Why workplace writing is difficult and often unclear (it’s not you)

    • How to structure documents for readability

    • The best style for modern workplace writing

    • More coming soon!

    See online courses

Choose training that fits your needs

We offer on-site training, live webinars, and online self-paced courses. Each workshop is customized to your organization and group.

Our workshops

Some of our clients

  • Adaptive Engineering Ltd

  • Alliance Pipeline

  • AMA Insurance

  • Associated Engineering

  • Bonavista Energy

  • Canadian Pacific Rail

  • CI Financial

  • Clow

  • Energy Insurance Group

  • Enmax

  • Foremost

  • Fortis Alberta

  • Great West Life & Canada Life

  • ISL Engineering

  • KPMG

  • MNP

  • Northern Industrial Construction

  • Scotiabank

  • TD Canada Trust

  • TransAlta

Core courses

  • Effective Business Writing

    Learn the core skills business writers need to create clearer, more readable documents faster.

  • Effective Business Writing <br/> Level 2

    Deepen principles from Effective Writing. Participants apply what they learned to more complex examples.

  • Effective Writing and Reviewing for Managers and Leaders

    A condensed version of Effective Writing with a focus on leaders’ needs and how to give clear, useful feedback to writers.

Ask for a course description

Courses for specific documents

  • Effective Memo and Recommendation Writing

    Deliver strong, concise analysis decision makers can trust

  • Effective Board Reporting

    Deliver the same analysis and evidence but in half the number of pages

  • Effective Policy and Procedure Writing

    Build coherent, easy-to-implement policies and procedures that improve compliance

  • Effective Investigation Writing

    Build reports that are concise, well-structured, supported by evidence, and readable

  • Effective Email Writing

    Write emails that are task-focused, easy to read, and get the results you want

Ask for a course description

Courses in specific skills

  • Effective Editing and Proofreading

    Understand the fundamentals of efficient reviewing (and reduce process time significantly)

  • Write to Persuade

    Learn to write in a powerful, compelling, and clear style and build a reputation for clarity

  • Deliver Negative Messages Skillfully

    Write professional and respectful messages when readers may not want to hear what you have to say

  • Build Strong Rationale

    Focus on creating strong, evidence-based analysis in any type of document

  • Write Effectively as a Team

    Make decisions early to create consistent, clear, well-ordered content when writing collaboratively

Ask for a course description

What we teach your people to do

  • Before

    33 words

  • After

    16 words

  • Before

    18 words

  • After

    11 words

  • Before

    19 words

  • After

    13 words

  • Before

    53 words

  • After

    32 words

  • "Best writing course I have ever taken."

    Benoît Clément, Director of Financial Innovation at Verra
    (5 star Google review)

  • “I spent all morning fielding calls, emails, and visits to my office saying how valuable this training was for us."

    Leader at Great-West Life Co.

  • "OBSI is on a journey to continually improve our writing. Wordsmith has equipped us with the knowledge, tools and energy for the road ahead."

    Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments

  • "The Wordsmith process is eye-opening to improve your writing at work. Loved my course. What did I learn? How to be clear in my messages, be concise, use plain language, focus on useability, review for structure and understanding, and much more!"

    Olga Kosteckyj, MEG
    (5 star Google review)

  • "I’ve been using their teachings about plain language and communication to help write emails and formal letters. Very helpful and straightforward!"

    Condo Corp
    (5 star Google review)