communicate / writing right in the age of AI

This team-based training programme is designed to help public sector teams strengthen their writing skills and work together to produce clear, consistent, human-centred written content in an era where AI tools are widely available.

In many organisations, time is wasted when one person uses AI to expand a piece of writing, only for another to shorten it again. This course tackles that inefficiency directly: focusing on writing to the right length, tone and structure from the start, according to the audience, context and purpose. AI is used where it adds value, but never at the expense of human judgment, empathy or inclusivity.

The programme is fully compatible with the UK Government AI Playbook guidance, ensuring that teams apply AI in a safe, ethical and proportionate way while retaining responsibility for the content they produce.

    • Strengthen your team’s ability to write with a common voice and shared standards.

    • Use AI in line with UK Government AI Playbook principles, ensuring safe and responsible application.

    • Build robust team-based writing processes that deliver clarity, quality, speed and cohesion.

    • Develop skills in structuring, editing and summarising content for maximum reader impact without unnecessary expansion or reduction.

    • Write with accessibility and cultural awareness, ensuring communications are relevant to diverse public audiences.

    • A unified, confident team that writes with one voice and shared purpose.

    • Clear understanding of team roles in drafting, editing and reviewing content.

    • Practical strategies for using AI as a support tool, without over-reliance or inefficiency.

    • Greater awareness of inclusivity, plain language and accessibility requirements.

    • A culture of peer feedback, process discipline and continuous improvement.

  • Full-day core workshop (in-person or virtual)

    Follow-up virtual meetup (3 hours, 2 months later)

    • Review commitments and progress

    • Share embedded practices and lessons learned

    • Identify any new support or development needs

  • 09:30 – 10:00
    Welcome, introductions and pre-course review
    Trainer welcome, overview of the day and review of pre-course questionnaire. Participants share expectations and team goals.

    10:00 – 10:45
    Knowing your audience – writing with purpose and empathy
    Identifying audience needs for public sector writing, including accessibility, cultural sensitivities and plain language.

    10:45 – 11:30
    AI as partner, not replacement
    Exploring when and how to use AI responsibly, in line with the UK Government AI Playbook. Comparison exercises showing how to avoid the expand–shrink cycle and write appropriately from the outset.

    11:30 – 11:45
    Break

    11:45 – 12:45
    Structuring for clarity
    Techniques for building clear, concise structures. Avoiding unnecessary expansion or over-compression while meeting purpose and word constraints.

    12:45 – 13:30
    Lunch

    13:30 – 14:15
    Tone, style and inclusivity
    Workshop on creating a unified team tone of voice. Practical exercises on inclusive language and avoiding jargon.

    14:15 – 15:00
    Collaborative writing processes
    Defining team roles, workflows and checkpoints for quality assurance. Applying AI and human review in a balanced and efficient way.

    15:00 – 15:15
    Break

    15:15 – 16:00
    Ruthless editing and peer review
    Hands-on editing exercises with real or simulated public sector content. Techniques for meeting word/character limits without losing meaning or accessibility.

    16:00 – 16:30
    Commitments and close
    Review team goals and learning. Set commitments for embedding. Outline the follow-up virtual meetup in 2 months.

Sue Calthorpe, Associate Trainer at Teamshaper
Communicate - a Teamshaper training module