In approximately 20 hours of study time at Pitman Training, London (High Holborn or Notting Hill) or Manchester, you can learn to be much more effective in the written word, on the phone, face to face and in presentations.

This is a business English course aimed at secretarial, bookkeeping and administration staff, popular with both UK and overseas students.

Our students with English as a second language find this course particularly helpful.

Whatever your background, your confidence will grow as you understand how to make the most of your communication skills.

The course covers 8 key lessons:

• Lesson 1: Become familiar with the course content, know about different sorts of communication, construction of a sentence, sentence structure, subject and verb agreement, correct use of punctuation, know about common errors, including use of the apostrophe.
   
• Lesson 2: Use the appropriate tone for a letter, know to use positive words and phrases, using non-sexist language in writing, avoiding clichés and jargon, know about the plain English Campaign, better business letters.
   
• Lesson 3: Know about the style of writing including short words, sentences and paragraphs, know the correct layout for letters, writing letters from draft through to final copy, know how to proofread effectively, know about proofreading symbols.
   
• Lesson 4:Writing a letter of complaint, a letter of apology, a circular letter and a thank you letter.
   
• Lesson 5: Be familiar with the format of a curriculum vitae, know how to write a job application letter, learn how to write notes, notices, memos and fax forms, know how to design and about the use of leaflets, learn about envelope sizes and uses of different paper.
   
• Lesson 6: Learn about E-mail, learn about net acronyms, netiquette, how to set out a business email and how to format and present web pages.
   
• Lesson 7: Know how to communicate effectively on the telephone, about non-verbal communication such as body language and dress, learn about video conferencing and the advantages of personal networking.
   
• Lesson 8: Understand how to alleviate fears when doing a presentation, learn how to structure and prepare a presentation, know how to use your voice for effective communication and learn about non-verbal communication in a presentation.