Catch Your Readers in San Diego

“Great step-by-step instructions on how to do it right.”

— Stacy Mayo, assistant account executive, Rhea + Kaiser

Think Like a Reader

Move readers to act

The secret to reaching readers is to position your messages in your audience’s best interests. (Most communicators position their messages in their organization’s best interests.)

In this session, you’ll learn a four-step process for making your message more relevant, valuable and rewarding to your audience. Specifically, you’ll learn:

• The formula people use to determine which messages to pay attention to
• Two rewards you can use to boost audience interest in your message
• The No. 1 question to answer on your reader’s behalf
• A two-minute perspective shift that focuses your message on the value to the audience
• A three-letter word to use to make your message more relevant to your audience

Go Beyond the Inverted Pyramid

Master the feature-style story structure

Our old friend the inverted pyramid hasn’t fared well in recent research.

According to new studies by such think tanks as The Readership Institute and The Poynter Institute, inverted pyramids: 1) Reduce readership and understanding; 2) Fail to make readers care about the information; and 3) Don’t draw readers across the jump. In short, researchers say, inverted pyramids “do not work well with readers.”

In this session, you’ll learn a structure that can increase readership, understanding and satisfaction with your message. Specifically, you’ll learn:

• How to organize your message to grab readers’ attention, keep it for the long haul and leave a lasting impression
• Three elements of a great lead — and five leads to avoid
• How to stop bewildering your readers by leaving out an essential paragraph. (Many communicators forget it)
• Five ways to avoid the “muddle in the middle”
• A three-step test for ending with a bang

Cut Through the Clutter

Make every piece you write easier to read & understand

Is your copy easy to read? According to communication experts, that’s one of the two key questions people ask to determine whether to read a piece — or toss it.

Fortunately, academics have tested and quantified what makes copy easy to read. Unfortunately, that research virtually never makes it out of the ivory tower and into the hands of writers who could actually apply it.

But you’ll leave this session with “the numbers” you need to measurably improve your copy’s readability. Specifically, you’ll learn:

• How long is too long: For your paragraphs? Your sentences? Your words?
• Three ways to shorten your copy — and which is the most effective way
• How to avoid causing your reader to skip your paragraphs
• A tool you can use (you already have it, but you might not know it) to quantifiably improve your copy’s readability
• A seven-step system for making your copy clearer and more concise

Lift Your Ideas Off the Page

Reach nonreaders and draw readers in with display copy

Sixty percent of your audience members aren’t reading your copy, according to estimates by professors at the University of Missouri. So how can you craft messages that reach nonreaders?

In this program, you’ll learn how to use your display copy — headlines, decks and subheads, for instance — to pull readers into your copy, make your piece more inviting and even communicate to flippers and skimmers.

Specifically, you’ll learn how to:

• Reach “readers” who spend only two minutes — or even just 10 seconds — with your piece
• Craft the piece of display copy that 95 percent of people read — but that many communicators drop
• Run a simple test on your copy to ensure that you lift your ideas off the page for flippers and skimmers
• Make your copy 47% more usable by adding a few simple elements
• Pass the Palm Test to make your copy more reader friendly

Transform Your Story From “Meh” to Masterpiece

Leave with a totally rewritten piece

In the crunch of writing headlines and meeting deadlines, it sometimes seems as if there’s not enough time to pause and consider how you’re doing. But in our practice sessions, you’ll get a great opportunity for reflection and improvement.

Bring your laptop and a story to work on. We’ll give you a chance to write and rewrite, get and give feedback, and leave with a totally rewritten piece. In these practice sessions, you’ll:

• Master the techniques you learn in the workshop by applying them immediately
• Get feedback with specific ideas you can use to improve your work immediately
• Gain valuable insights on your work from your peers and from Ann
• Learn to analyze and improve others’ writing — the best skill you can develop for improving your own work

“Other writing coaches tell you what to do.
Ann shows you how.”

— Roberta Laughlin, vice president, Mutual Funds Marketing, Northern Trust

About Ann Wylie

Hi! I’m Ann Wylie. So why should you learn to Catch Your Readers from me?

That’s easy. Because I’m a nerd.

I’m a nerd.

I was never happier than when I was in graduate school, gathering information for my journalism thesis. Today, my idea of a great Sunday afternoon is to curl up on the couch with a cat, a cup of tea and a great communication study.

I love researching best practices, formulating techniques and sharing those approaches with others. So I’ve built a career that allows me to do just that.

I’m a trainer.

I taught graduate writing classes at a university for 10 years in my “spare time” — in the evenings after I’d worked a full day as a business communicator and magazine editor. Since then, I’ve traveled from Hollywood to Helsinki to train tens of thousands of writers in more than 1,000 workshops at organizations like NASA, Nokia and Nike.

I’ve been designated an “IABC Recommended Speaker” for my top ratings at IABC International Conferences. And I serve as the Public Relations Society of America’s “national writing coach.”

I’m a writer.

And I’ve tested my tricks and techniques in the real world. During my tenure as editor of Hallmark’s employee magazine, for instance, CROWN was named the best publication of its kind in the world by the International Association of Business Communicators. Since then, my communications have earned more than 60 awards for excellence, including two IABC Gold Quills.

Today, one of the things that sets me apart from many writing trainers is that I practice what I preach. I actually write. In fact, half of my business is writing — newsletters, magazines, websites, brochures and the like — mostly for big, corporate clients. The other half is helping professional writers learn to write better.

Won’t you join me?

Frankly, you don’t have time to do a deep dive into writing tricks and techniques like I do. After all, you have a job. You have a life. You don’t have hundreds of hours to spend each year, digging into the research, finding ways to improve your writing.

Fortunately, all the years I’ve spent nerdishly analyzing, reading and researching writing techniques can cut hundreds of hours off your learning curve.

All you have to do in join me at my two-day Catch Your Readers Master Class. I look forward to seeing you there!

“Makes me want to go back and revise everything I’ve done in the past three years.”

— Blythe Campbell, director, Communications & Marketing, NANA Development Corp.

Meet me in San Diego

San Diego is so many things, it might be easier to ask what it isn’t. It’s a funky surf town. A sophisticated dining scene. An entertaining border city.

San Diego confidently calls itself “America’s Finest City,” and that sunny outlook permeates every part of this laid-back location, home to our summer Catch Your Readers Master Class.

You might plan on hitting the beach after our workshop. You have plenty to choose from: Mission Beach is a fine place to work on your tan. La Jolla has the waves. Coronado is perfect for a long walk.

Why not make a long weekend of it?

After our workshop ends, I’ll be heading to Balboa Park, where my favorite destination is not the celebrated San Diego Zoo, but the fascinating Mingei folk art museum. For hiking, I always head to Torrey Pines State Reserve — 2,000 acres of postcard views along the breathtaking La Jolla coast. And Mr. Catch Your Readers will surely rent a sailboat for a sunny spin around the bay. Then we’ll head for Juniper & Ivy, where we’ll sample Top Chef All-Stars winner Richard Blais’ mole ice cream and corn sorbet.

Maybe we’ll run into each other!

“Absolutely the best money I’ve ever spent. I learned more about writing for my audience from Ann in one day than I have in any other seminar.”

— Carie Behounek, marketing communications coordinator, COPIC Companies

“Fantastic! Within 90 minutes I was applying the ideas Ann presented.”

— Jennifer Uschold, senior manager, Internal Communications, Direct Energy

LSCC Driving & Parking Directions

“I learned more in this two-day class than I did in my two-year master’s program.”

— Rochelle Juette, communications specialist, Washington Closure Hanford

Hotels near the Master Class

• Homewood Suites San Diego Airport-Liberty Station
• Courtyard San Diego Airport/Liberty Station
• Holiday Inn San Diego – Bayside
• Consulate Hotel
• Best Western Yacht Harbor Hotel
• The Pearl Hotel
• Humphreys Half Moon Inn & Suites
• Bay Club Hotel & Marina
• Best Western Plus Island Palms Hotel & Marina
• Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina

You can also view these hotels on our Pinterest map.

Please contact hotels directly for room rates and booking.

“If I were to write a headline and deck for Ann’s workshop, it would go something like this … ‘West Point for Writers: How to win the war for readers’ minds.’”

— Jim Rink, media relations specialist, The Auto Club Group

Need more information?

How may we help?

Contact us via:

Email:

ann@wyliecomm.com

Social media:

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Mail:

Wylie Communications
949 NW Overton, Ste. 1102
Portland, OR 97209
USA