Helpful Tips, Tricks & Techniques
This page will help you with a variety of writing and productivity techniques, including minute-taking, writing guides and time management. There are a wealth of useful tips, tricks, and techniques below. Please do check back to this page as we will add to them from time to time.
We also offer webinars on topics such as Storytelling and Presentation Skills, Personal and Professional Development and Artificial Intelligence.
On this page:
- Generative AI
- Learning Methods
- Tips for Drafting Business Documents
- Taking Minutes
- Walk and Talk
- Time Management – The Pomodoro Technique
- Priority Matrices
- Writing a STARE Account Guide
- Resources for Better Writing
- Perfect Your Writing Style
- Tips for Better Reading
- Critical Analysis
- Development Webinars & Events
Generative AI
Why has everyone suddenly gone wild for AI? The answer is twofold:
- Non-technical people can suddenly interact with this technology using normal language
- The birth of ‘generative AI’ – computers that can create human-like content
Heather Murray, Founder of AI for Non-Techies, runs a webinar series for JGA to help you better understand the potential, the uses and the limits of artificial intelligence technology. See upcoming webinar dates.
How do you keep up with it? Heather recommends that you dedicate time, follow experts and not just ‘creators’ and find 1 or 2 solid sources. See the list of her favourite people and companies to follow/listen to/watch/read.
What does it mean for your studies and assignments? See our AI page for do’s and don’ts to help you understand how you can and can’t use generative AI as part of your apprenticeship or course.
Learning Methods That Work
Whilst on your course you will engage in various learning activities both within your seminars and in your role. Learning activities can take many forms and will not always be in a classroom environment. Here are some of the things that you may come across. Try to recognise which of these you most enjoy and use them where possible when preparing and revising for your final assessment.
- Watching
- Listening
- Imitating
- Listening, transcribing and remembering
- Trial and error; experimentation or discovery
- Deliberate practice
- Drafting and sketching
- Assessment for learning
- Teaching and helping
- Conversation
- Reflecting
- Being coached and mentored
- Real-world problem solving
- Making
- Individual or collaborative enquiry
- Thinking critically and producing knowledge
- Competing and games
- Simulation and role play
- In virtual environments
Tips for Drafting Business Documents
Knowing how to draft effective business documents is crucial for various reasons. Firstly, it enhances communication within and outside the organisation, ensuring clarity of information and professionalism. Well-crafted documents, whether reports, proposals, or emails, contribute to a positive corporate image. Additionally, precision in language and structure minimises misunderstandings and supports informed decision-making. Competence in drafting business documents also reflects organisational professionalism and attention to detail. Ultimately, this skill is fundamental for building strong professional relationships, influencing stakeholders, and contributing to business operations’ overall efficiency and success.
Tips for Taking Minutes
Minute-taking is crucial in the professional setting as it provides a documented record of meetings, fostering clarity, accountability, and efficient communication among team members. These records serve as valuable references for future planning, making meticulous minute-taking integral to organized and successful business operations. Learning effective minute-taking is advantageous for anyone, as it enhances communication skills, demonstrates professionalism, and contributes to overall meeting efficiency.
Useful Guides
- https://guidebook.com/mobile-guides/how-to-take-minutes-for-a-meeting/
- https://cpdonline.co.uk/knowledge-base/business/meeting-minutes/
Online course
Walk & Talk
Conducting walking business meetings offers several benefits. It promotes physical activity, improving health and well-being, potentially boosting creativity and problem-solving. The change in environment can stimulate fresh perspectives, fostering innovation and reducing monotony. Walking meetings can also be less formal, encouraging open conversation and idea exchange. Moreover, the increased oxygen flow to the brain during physical activity may enhance cognitive function. Additionally, the informality of walking meetings can break down hierarchical barriers, encouraging a more collaborative and inclusive work environment. Overall, incorporating movement into meetings can lead to increased engagement, creativity, and overall well-being.
In her TED talk, Nilofer Merchant suggests a small idea that just might have a big impact on your life and health:
Next time you have a one-on-one meeting, make it into a “walking meeting” — and let ideas flow while you walk and talk.
The Pomodoro Technique
The secret to effective time management is…thinking in tomatoes rather than hours. It may seem silly initially, but millions of people swear by the life-changing power of the Pomodoro Technique. (Pomodoro is Italian for tomato 🍅). This popular time management method asks you to alternate pomodoros — focused work sessions — with frequent short breaks to promote sustained concentration and stave off mental fatigue.
Guide to Using Priority Matrices
A priority matrix, also known as an Eisenhower matrix, is a time management tool that helps individuals categorise tasks based on urgency and importance. It helps individuals prioritize and manage their workload more effectively by focusing on tasks that align with their goals and deadlines. It consists of a four-quadrant grid, where tasks are classified into four categories:
How to Write a STARE Account
On some of our courses, learners are expected to collate a portfolio of evidence. A good way to do this is to produce a ‘STARE’ account to accompany a large piece, or collection of pieces, of evidence. This stands for:
Situation – set the scene. What was the context for this piece of work being developed? Is this part of an ongoing project, a one-off task, or something else?
Task – what were you asked to do?
Action – what did you do?
Result – what was produced? What changed because of what you did?
Evaluate – what did you learn from this work? How might you do things differently next time?
Make sure that all evidence submitted has sufficient context included either as part of the document itself, or as a separate attachment. The assessor may not be familiar with your organisation or your role. As such, providing context on what this example is, and how it fits in with your wider work is important to ensure your portfolio is assessed correctly.
A STARE account can be quite short (e.g. a sentence or two under each section) or longer. For some complex or long-lasting pieces of work, some learners have used the STARE format as a ‘frame’ in which they give a step-by-step walkthrough of the work they did, and include relevant work examples as attachments throughout that document.
That said, for many pieces of evidence, you will not need to write an accompanying STARE account as the evidence piece will provide sufficient context. For example, a detailed project plan will lay out what the project is aimed to do and timelines for tasks completion, so would give the assessor sufficient understanding of what this work was about.
If you’re unsure whether any specific piece or collection of evidence pieces would benefit from a STARE account, speak to your Skills Coach.
Resources for Better Writing
Writing Guides
The Plain English Campaign has a great set of guides to help your writing on all kinds of topics including how to use apostrophes.
See: https://www.plainenglish.co.uk/free-guides.html
If you work in government you might find the following helpful:
- https://civilservice.blog.gov.uk/2022/08/16/a-simple-guide-on-words-to-avoid-in-government/
- https://www.gov.uk/guidance/style-guide/a-to-z-of-gov-uk-style (‘W’ = words to avoid – particularly useful!)
Software
Grammarly is a useful software tool that can help you improve your writing skills. It provides real-time grammar and spelling checks, suggests improvements in sentence structure and offers vocabulary enhancements. It can help refine your writing style, ensuring clarity and assist with language and tone. The full features carry a cost but there is a free version available.
See: https://www.grammarly.com/
Getting software to read your documents back to you may be useful for proofing work and fixing errors. Microsoft Word has a built in ‘read aloud’ option (accessed from the review tab).
ClaroRead from TextHelp is text-to-speech software designed to neurodiverse students to achieve more with reading and writing. It can help you be more confident, independent and productive learners by providing an effective suite of reading, writing and study tools.
See: https://www.texthelp.com/en-gb/solutions/dsa/claroread/
Perfect Your Writing Style
If you find it difficult to begin writing or find it hard to understand which writing style to use, here are some helpful tips to get you started. First and foremost, take a moment to brainstorm and outline your ideas before diving into the actual writing process. This will give you a clear roadmap and structure for your piece. Additionally, consider your target audience and purpose for writing, as this will guide your choice of tone and language.
Experiment with different writing styles to discover what resonates best with your voice and the message you want to convey. Don’t be afraid to revise and edit your work; the first draft is just a starting point. Seek feedback from others to gain valuable perspectives and refine your writing further. Finally, remember that writing is a skill that improves with practice, so keep honing your craft by consistently engaging in the act of writing.
More information is available via the following articles/pages.
Tips for Better Reading
Get the most out of any reading activity by following Functional Skills coach, Sarah Taylor Cross’ hints and tips to reading success.
1. Think about the purpose of the reading task
2. Think about the most appropriate strategy for the reading task
3. To get the most out of the reading activity by becoming a more active reader
Guide for Reading Purpose
Video focus – Researching, revealing and revising new and/or specific knowledge information.
Guide for Reading Approach/Strategy
Video focus – Detailed reading, scan reading, skim reading.
Guide for Becoming an Active Reader
Video focus – Being involved, optimising reading outcomes- timing, taking and making notes.
Critical Analysis
Your ability to critically analyse theories, ideas, concepts and texts can help you do your best work and achieve great grades.
In the video below, you can learn how to supercharge your critical analytical skills with the DIE Method: describe, interpret, evaluate.
Development Webinars & Events
We’re delighted to bring you access to three four-part webinar series designed exclusively to complement your course and offer lots of practical advice and tips.
The webinars are designed to be live experiences and will take one hour. They are not recorded but the series are repeated. You are welcome to invite your line manager or close colleagues to participate.
Storytelling and Presentation Skills
Join ex-Accenture storytelling expert Hari Patience-Davies of 13 Times for a four part series designed to help improve your verbal communication skills and offers lots of practical advice and tips.
Personal and Professional Development
Join Liz Batalla, Executive Director of the Institute of Achievement & Excellence for a series of webinars about how to look professional, act impressively and better understand what makes both yourself and your colleagues tick.
Everything AI
Join Heather Murray, Founder of AI for Non-Techies and former Director of the Beesting Digital Creative Agency, for a webinar series to help you better understand the potential, the uses and the limits of artificial intelligence technology.
Upcoming Events
All webinars start at 4.30pm and last for one hour.
Mon 16th Dec 2024 – Life-Altering Habits for Aspiring Managers – learn habits & routines to optimise success & productivity, establish heart-mind connections and the importance of setting healthy workplace boundaries. Hosted by Liz.
Register now >
Tue 17th Dec 2024 – Creating Quality Content with AI – why AI-generated content is so poor – and what to do about it, creating written content that feels human, creating images and videos. Hosted by Heather.
Register now >
The full series will be repeated in the new year, starting in February. Registration links coming soon!
Mon 10 Feb 2025 – Great Analogies and Successful Explanations – discover how to craft a good analogy and a neat template for expressing a project or team vision. Hosted by Hari.
Mon 17 Feb 2025 – Building Workplace Relationships to Advance Your Career – unspoken rules, dealing with challenging colleagues and managers. Hosted by Liz.
Tues 25 Feb 2025 – Introduction to Generative AI – understand, in simple terms, exactly what is going on with Generative AI and how it can help you and your business optimise, innovate and grow. Hosted by Heather.
Mon 10 Mar 2025 – Effective Presentation Planning – templates, tools and techniques work for speeches, pitches and presentations. Hosted by Hari.
Mon 17 Mar 2025 – Crafting Your Image For Career Success – Decoding the Professional Dress Code, Meeting Etiquette (general and virtual) and Mastering The Social Scene (your social media persona). Hosted by Liz.
Weds 26 Mar 2025 – Prompt Engineering for Beginners – The difference between good and bad prompts; the 3C prompt framework; a few more advanced prompting techniques. Hosted by Heather.
Mon 14 Apr 2025 – Amazing Presentation and Pitch Delivery – using your voice, body language and eye contact, performing in person versus virtually, overcoming stage fright. Hosted by Hari.
Tues 22 Apr 2025 – From Stress to Smiles: Harnessing the 6S’s For Career Fulfilment – Learn to feel better about your professional and personal lives. Hosted by Liz.
Tue 29 Apr 2025 – Personal Productivity with AI – how the small, simple tools can make a big, game-changing difference. Hosted by Heather.
Mon 12 May 2025 – The Importance of What is Not Said – listen better, target the needs of your audience, practical and emotional objectives, how to read the room, engaging an audience through storytelling-based techniques. Hosted by Hari.
Mon 19 May 2025 – Life-Altering Habits for Aspiring Managers – learn habits & routines to optimise success & productivity, establish heart-mind connections and the importance of setting healthy workplace boundaries. Hosted by Liz.
Tues 27 May 2025 – Creating Quality Content with AI – why AI-generated content is so poor – and what to do about it, creating written content that feels human, creating images and videos. Hosted by Heather.