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Description

Analytical Summarising: Selecting the Essentials, Structuring Your Message and Concluding

Turn a twenty-page file into one useful page without losing what enables a decision

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

A summary note that does not help someone decide wastes time twice over: once for the person writing it and once for the person reading it. The common instinct is to keep everything out of caution, follow the structure of the original document and place the conclusion at the end. The busy reader does not find what they are looking for and asks for the information all over again.

Two days to sort information according to the decision at hand, build a structure that holds in three parts, write sentences that carry the idea and deliver the message orally in a few minutes. The exercises are based on real business files and on the participants' own documents.

Learning objectives

  • Identify the question the summary must answer
  • Select useful information and set aside the rest without hesitation
  • Build a structure that states the message in the opening lines
  • Write short sentences carrying a single idea each
  • Deliver a summary orally in three minutes

What makes this programme different

A written summary produced in the session from a file brought by the participant
Timed practice in delivering the summary orally in three minutes
Peer reviews in which each participant tests the readability of someone else's note

Programme

1Summarising Means Deciding

Start from the reader and the decision to be made

  • What question must the summary answer
  • The reader: what they already know and what they need in order to decide
  • Abstract, minutes and summary: three different outputs
  • Set the format and the length before you start

2Sorting the Information

Read quickly and keep what is useful

  • Identify the structure of a document before reading it in full
  • Distinguish between fact, argument and opinion
  • Group information by idea rather than by source
  • Set aside information that is accurate but irrelevant to the decision

3Building the Message

The structure serves the reader, not the material

  • State the main message in a single sentence
  • Choose a suitable structure: findings, causes, solutions or benefits, limitations, decision
  • Place the essentials up front and the detail in appendices
  • Write section headings that speak for themselves

4Writing and Delivering

Sentences that land first time

  • Short sentences, precise verbs and removal of redundancies
  • Figures and examples: which ones to keep
  • Reread to cut part of the text without losing the meaning
  • Move from the written note to a three-minute oral delivery

Who is it for

Administrative assistants · project officers · managers and anyone producing notes · minutes or summaries of business files

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.