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June 24 - July 13, 2021
Good results are even less likely if you flood the reader with information that isn’t organized to lead to an action or isn’t relevant to a grasp of the subject.
One executive suggests a discipline — putting down first what you want the reader to do, next the three most important things the reader needs to understand to take that action, then starting to write. When you’re done, he suggests asking yourself whether if you were the reader, would you take action on the basis of what is written.
To get action from busy people, your writing must cut through to the heart of the matter. It must require a minimum of time and effort on the reader’s part. The importance of this increases with the importance of your reader. At any level, readers are likely to be swamped either with paperwork or a twenty-four-hour-a-day stream of e-mail, or both. Junior executives may feel obliged to plow through everything that comes their way. The president doesn’t — and damned well won’t.
People are wrong when they say there are only twenty-four hours in a day, observes management guru Peter Drucker — there are actually only two, perhaps three, that you can use productively, and the difference between busy executives and effective ones is how they use that time. Effective means picking your spots, concentrating your energies on a major document or project or speech that will make a difference.
Implicit on every page is the idea — the truth — that the ultimate time-saver is effective communication.
When you write anything longer than a few paragraphs, start by telling the reader where you are going.
End with a summary. And keep in mind that a summary is not a conclusion. Your summary should introduce no new ideas; it should summarize, as briefly as possible, the most important points you have made.
Summary: Make an outline; use your outline to help your reader; number and underline section headings; summarize.
Short sentences and short paragraphs are easier to read than long ones. And easier to understand.
Passive, impersonal Active, personal It is recommended We recommend He should be told Get Alice to tell him Personal sacrifices are being made, although the degree of participation is not absolutely identifiable. We see people making sacrifices. How many people? We can’t say for sure.
another advantage of the active voice is that it tends to push you to decide precisely what you want to say, to be more specific.
Choose adjectives and adverbs that make your meaning more precise. Do not use them as mere exclamation points.
If you find yourself writing like that, try putting down what you want to say the way you would say it to your readers if you were talking to them face-to-face. Don’t worry if the result is too casual. Once you’ve got the main idea down in plain English, you’ll find it easy to adjust the tone of voice to the appropriate level of formality.
If you must use abbreviations, define them the first time they appear in your paper. “The cost per thousand (CPM) is a figure that we will keep an eye on throughout this proposal.”
Never exaggerate, unless you do so overtly to achieve an effect, and not to deceive. It is more persuasive to understate than to overstate. A single obvious exaggeration in an otherwise carefully written argument can arouse suspicion of your entire case.
Ambiguity often results from a single sentence carrying too much cargo. Breaking up your sentences can work wonders.
The authors learned in the advertising business that the best presentations soliciting new business started with research in the prospect’s market. Even small-scale studies riveted the audience from the start.
Present everything possible in terms of benefits to the audience.
Headings on charts should tell the audience how to think about the numbers: Use Instead of “Low price competition is gaining” “Trends” “Our edge is service” “Why Acme?” “Insurance ratings are a problem” “Constraints on business” “We have to improve service” “Conclusion” Use headings to establish your main points. Guide the audience by numbering them on charts or slides, telling people how many you have.
Read every word on the screen or chart to the audience. Don’t paraphrase. Some presenters think it is unnecessary, even childish, to read verbatim. But no matter what you do, your audience will read what’s in front of their eyes. If what they are hearing is something other than what they are seeing, they will be distracted and confused. Read everything up there, then comment or expand on it. You will no longer be competing with your slides or charts for your audience’s attention.
If your style is to ad-lib, put only key words or phrases on your charts or slides.
David Ogilvy was famous for adding drama to his presentations. To make his point about the importance of hiring the best people, he presented his directors sets of Russian dolls — those nesting dolls that come apart to reveal successively smaller dolls inside. Around the smallest doll was a slip of paper with this message: If we hire people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. If we hire people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants. “Hire people who are better than you are,” Ogilvy commanded, “and pay them more if necessary. That’s how
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communicate in order to persuade.
good speeches nearly always express a strongly held personal point of view.
“Stick to topics you care deeply about, and don’t keep your passion buttoned inside your vest. An audience’s biggest turn-on is the speaker’s obvious enthusiasm.”
As I think back over the years, I have been guided by four principles for decision making. First, the only certainty is that there is no certainty. Second, every decision, as a consequence, is a matter of weighing probabilities. Third, despite uncertainty we must decide and must act. And lastly, we need to judge decisions not only on results, but on how they are made.
You’re writing for someone who will either approve your plan, send it back for more work, or reject it. Anything that confuses that decision or throws the reader off the track makes approval less likely.
Never present facts on their own, like unstrung gems.
Your goal is to leave no shred of doubt as to where you stand, and to arouse enthusiastic support for the action you seek.
Purpose — why the reader should pay attention Summary — no surprise endings Findings — what facts can you marshal? Conclusions — what patterns do you see? Recommendations — what action do you propose? Next steps — costs, timing, issues to be resolved
Who are the people? “I’d rather invest in an A team with a B idea than the other way around.” Is there a real customer? “Markets are abstractions. There must be customers willing and able to pay.”
In pointing out where you’re going, it often helps to remind people where you’re coming from. Persuasive recommendations usually include a section on background — earlier decisions or familiar information into which this recommendation fits.
Most recommendations involve a degree of pain — a new and expensive investment, or a difficult trade-off. Delaying the bad news is not going to help. Get it up front. Then lay out specific reasons in support.
Specifics persuade. But they must be relevant and impressive — every one of them. A chain of specifics is no stronger than its weakest link; the weak one will attract the attention of your critics in the audience (and distract your friends).
Just put the point into the plural: “All novelists hope they will win the Pulitzer Prize.” Converting a subject from singular to plural works nicely in most instances. Another trick of the trade is to switch from the third person to the second person: instead of “when an employee receives a message addressed to him or her,” write “when you receive a message addressed to you.”
Edit to scrape off roughness. Edit to: Shorten Sharpen and clarify Simplify Check for accuracy and precision Improve order and logic Make sure nothing is left out Review tone Improve appearance Examine everything from the reader’s point of view
No matter how good an editor you are already, you will become better if you follow these two practices: Let time elapse between drafts. Solicit the opinion of other people.
Simply Speaking (HarperCollins), Peggy Noonan. Advice from a terrific speechwriter.
The Minto Pyramid Principle (Minto Publishing), Barbara Minto. The comprehensive guide to logic in writing, thinking, and problem solving.
