I recently had the opportunity to attend the Writing Strategic Documents workshop held by Paul McClure at the CEF. The course was a superb working and learning experience for me, as it covered the main issues of writing strategic documents through practical work on texts that I deal with on a daily basis. The CEF workshop also proved to be a valuable networking opportunity.

Paul McClure is a natural lecturer, engaging participants in work and promoting discussion where necessary, while offering his native-speaker experience and professional knowledge with ease. I found his writing/editing tips easy to remember and apply.

The workshop also reminded me that our writing is crucial to the way we communicate with other institutions and the public. At the time of ever-increasing speed and quantity, the challenges of efficient communication can be overcome through clear, cohesive and coherent writing, the most prominent feature being KISS – Keep it Short and Simple.

I plan to present the main points of the workshop to my colleagues at the Croatian National Bank. I hope this will reflect in our work and improve how we write strategic documents, both in English and Croatian.

Vesna Cruickshank​
Governor's Office
Croatian National Bank