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March 26, 2006

Writing for Busy People

Back when I was in University, many of the lecturers stressed time and time again the importance of succinct, well organized writing. They said over and over that this was the best way to have your thoughts read and understood by decision makers. In fact, they scared us by saying that 70% of us would become managers sooner or later!

Well, I can tell you that's sage advice. It's great when people make contributions in the form of ideas and proposals, but it's even better when they're written for busy people. Here are some examples:

Making important points up front
Clear taxonomy of headings, and lots of them
Writing clearly and succinctly
No long, unbroken paragraphs or tracts of text.
Preferring bulleted lists with clear points to paragraphs.
Use of emphasis in formatting to make important things clear

These days, I find I don't have a lot of time to read everything carefully, so the better structured a document is, the more I get out of it. I frequently find I miss entire subsections or points of documents, even when there's relatively little text, because of incomplete organization. My eyes definitely glaze over when i see a large block of unbroken text with few headings. At the very least, it'd be very helpful if folk would structure their thoughts into: "Problem" and "Proposed Solution".

Before you post, stop and think if you've written something in a way that'll allow others to get the most out of it. Communicating your ideas effectively means you may get a clearer and quicker response from other people.

Posted by ben at March 26, 2006 2:48 PM

Comments

I believe it is also important to note that this method - extremely valuable that it is - does not apply to all communications... I suspect you realize this but some people might not. For example, there are circumstances where stream of thought writing can be extremely valuable when trying to find solutions to problems. Other than that minor point I really appreciate this post.

Posted by: Robert Strong at March 26, 2006 3:28 PM

Rob, - I agree just writing things down can help develop an array of options quickly. I think that's a healthy first pass. When things develop into more of a proposal, it helps to organize those initial thoughts more. Is that what you meant?

Posted by: Ben at March 26, 2006 5:41 PM

Yes. One thing I have seen repeated over the years is the use of a specific method in situations where it isn't appropriate just because it works well in some other situation. For communication of the type you wrote about the method you described is an excellent method to use. I was just pointing out that like with all good tools it won't necessarily be the proper tool to use for all jobs.

Thanks for bringing this topic up... it is a good subject to be reminded of every so often.

Posted by: Robert Strong at March 26, 2006 8:39 PM

Something a former boss game me on writing for a busy people audience:

"Record of Decision content and style"

Be sure to answer the following 'questions:' what, why, what-if-not, who, when, cost, risk, and contingencies

On writing style: use newspaper style. That is, tell them what they need to know in the first sentence of the first paragraph. Tell them what you want them to do in the second sentence of the first paragraph. Use the third sentence to set up the body of the paper. Then every succeeding paragraph should be less important than the one preceding it. Deny your reader the opportunity to misunderstand. This is a difficult task but the reward is that reading the first few paragraphs will convey the essence of the case.

And this is the opposite of telling a story and leading up to a conclusion.

Busy people will not read that far or they will skip ahead and miss something important.

Posted by: ted at March 26, 2006 11:13 PM

Innovate don't vegetate, or if not, at least ...
Integrate existing features (aka Extensions)

Is that succinct enough?

Posted by: pd at March 27, 2006 3:29 AM

I teach English at a Vo/Tech school and find that I have to beat this point to a pulp to get students to listen.If you don't mind, I might pull this and use it in my classes.

Posted by: jovive at March 27, 2006 6:47 AM

1.)Thank you for the article
2.)Please go back to perfecting Firefox 2.0
3.) and please do not forget Sunbird!
That was exactly as mentione din your article i.e.
* Making important points up front
* Clear taxonomy of headings, and lots of them
* Writing clearly and succinctly
* No long unbroken paragraphs or tracts of text
* Preferring bulleted lists with clear points to paragraphs.
* Use of emphasis in formatting to make important things clear
:)

Posted by: Michael at March 27, 2006 6:48 AM

Also: Use verbs. Stay away from flowery adjectives and lengthy french-derived nouns. Nothing makes people stop reading faster then a long scrawl of academic babble.

Posted by: Jeff at March 27, 2006 6:54 AM

Humility is vital to informative, succinct writing. A writer makes a huge leap when he realizes that no one cares to hear him preach. Just the facts, ma'am.

Posted by: LucasOman at March 27, 2006 6:55 AM

This is sound advice from Ben. Climbing the corporate ladder at an investment dealer, I was able to differentiate myself repeatedly by explaining complex material in lay language and putting emphasis on the "readability" of my reports to our executive committee. Highlighting and underlining the main points, the use of bullets, clear language, lots of white space and a logical flow made my communication skills stand out.

Posted by: Pauline at March 27, 2006 7:13 AM

Just because you are to lazy to read a document and pass over important points don't blame the writer. The tries to give you the information. This sounds like you took one of those magment classes where they cowtow to fools and have them make thier employees act stupid to boost the manager s ego. They do not have to dum things down just to appease you 1st grade attention span. Start reading or complaining, you decide! that said I can't belive I wasted my time reading this and writing a reply which is far longer than your mentality will allow you to read.

Posted by: Bradd at March 27, 2006 7:35 AM

One more bullet

Make the text readable by avoiding complex background images ;-)

Posted by: Ron Krauter at March 27, 2006 7:46 AM

Good points.

I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but typesetting and clarity are also important. I don't know if it's just my monitor, but your blog was written inh grey type over a busy (firefox) background. the message is a little bit obscured by the form...

Posted by: Andy at March 27, 2006 8:00 AM

I think it would be wise in the case of non-technical writing to include that one should be aware of critical thinking in their writing. If you write an argument for change that has holes in it, then those holes can be split open.

Good article!

-glych

Posted by: glych at March 27, 2006 8:03 AM

I can say your approach works with me at least; the first thing I read on this page was the bullet list, then body.

Posted by: Felix at March 27, 2006 8:15 AM

Andy wrote:
> typesetting and clarity are also important.
> I don't know if it's just my monitor, but
> your blog was written in grey type over
> a busy (firefox) background. the message
> is a little bit obscured by the form...

Thank you. Been wanting to tell Ben this for awhile now and you said it perfectly.

Please see http://www.wowwebdesigns.com/power_guides/ever_heard_of_contrast/

Posted by: Jeff at March 27, 2006 8:43 AM

Thanks for proving that your are a typical ADD-monkey.

Posted by: Name at March 27, 2006 9:04 AM

I am linking to this from my blog cesartorres.net, because I think young writers could certainly use your advice to be clear and concise and upfront, especially when dealing with professional agents and editors. I think anyone who generates a lot of query letters could use its tips. Thanks for writing this!

Posted by: Cesar Torres at March 27, 2006 9:12 AM

Great advise. The shorter an article is, the higher likelihood that someone will read it.

Posted by: Blake at March 27, 2006 9:37 AM

Thanks for the heads up on the typesetting here. I'm going to make some style tweaks to this blog in the next few weeks, I'll try to come up with a solution.

Posted by: Ben at March 27, 2006 9:43 AM

Please add to the list proof reading. Not trying to pick on these people, but Michael, ted, Andy, and glych could have avoided losing my attention with a quick once-over.

Posted by: me at March 27, 2006 10:07 AM

Do not post in haste! Nothing is so important that you cannot stop for a cup of coffee or a breathe of fresh air and come back and re-read your work. That second look has saved me from making some really stupid mistakes.

Where possible, I write one day, proof read and post it the next. That 24 hours lets me think about things again and make some good changes.

Cheers,
David

Posted by: DavidFedoruk at March 27, 2006 10:09 AM

The problem with this article simple. It (once again) removes elegance and soulfulness from society. What we need is not more business oriented garbage, we need some poetry restored to our lives.

Posted by: Traverse Davies at March 27, 2006 10:24 AM

Eschew obfuscation.

Posted by: Judd at March 27, 2006 10:38 AM

your are defenetly right, you captured my imagination straight up and because i knew the article was short i was kept interested till the end. People who multitask also read in little bits and then get side tracked, short and to the point lets them get the most out of what you are offering in the time they are prepared to spend on it.

Posted by: Kris at March 27, 2006 10:42 AM

That is such good advice. So true. I remember in High School in Novato (this was a long time ago (1987! (Remember then? Love and Rockets! (Or was that later????)))) and I had this teacher Mr. Lester who is dead now, no that�s Mr. Clark, Mr. Lester it turned out was gay. I know they�re not the same thing. I just heard gossip about both and got them mixed up. That it was important to make sure you knew what you were writing about before you did it because otherwise and he was a hard-ass he would grade you down. Later I told that to my boyfriend who is not with me anymore and he said something really funny which I forget now.

Posted by: grayzip at March 27, 2006 11:35 AM

Posted by Ted
" 1. Innovate don't vegetate, or if not, at least ...
2. Integrate existing features (aka Extensions)

Is that succinct enough?"

Please don't do this, you'll just end up as bad as Microsoft with their monolithic everything.

A much better idea is to model the browser after Linux. A small kernel with all 'features' integrated as extensions. You can provide new 'integrated' features as pre-installed extensions.

Posted by: Scott at March 27, 2006 11:46 AM

Can anyone recommend a good book as a resource for a terrbile writer?

Posted by: Chris at March 27, 2006 11:59 AM

I thought the ADD-monkey comment was interesting.

As someone who struggles with reading because of ADD, I have a very low tolerance for the marketing types who go on and on and on about things that could be stated in a single sentence or two.

By the time they get to the point, I'm looking for the kitty under the porch.

Posted by: Patrick at March 27, 2006 2:28 PM

REPLY TO CHRIS:
If you like ben's advice, a good book to start with is Richard Lanham, _Revising Prose_ (now I think in its 4th edition).

If you like what you learn from Lanham, then you can graduate to the master class: Joseph Williams, _Style_. (Try the brief edition if the full one seems too expensive or long.)

I agree that the world needs more poetry--but it also needs better communication. When you want to follow the principle someone else mentioned, "Deny your reader the opportunity to misunderstand," then a poem may not be what you need. When it is, go for it.

Posted by: Roland at March 27, 2006 3:18 PM

The first twenty years
I spent the first twenty one years of my life being taught to write longer papers, culminating in a 30+ page research paper my senior year of college.

The next 20+
Since that time, I have been taught how to write more succinctly, effectively undoing all of the "education" I was given previously. I even attended a one week class on writing succinctly where we weren't allowed to write memos or letters longer than one page on very complex projects.

I think your post hits the topic well!

Posted by: Vicki A Davis at March 27, 2006 4:06 PM

great advice. as i write articles for my blogs, I try to do just that and make headings and bullets.

Posted by: hacker not cracker at March 27, 2006 5:55 PM

Nice article. Another good book about writing is the Elements of Style by E.B. White. The message of this book can be summarized as: "omit needless words".

Posted by: Jason Benwell at March 27, 2006 6:04 PM

^ I second "Elements of Style". It's perfect for anyone interested in this dicussion.

Posted by: ari at March 28, 2006 12:37 AM

Thanks.

However, some of your readers will think this is the way to go about essay writing. Which it isn't. Essays are about telling a story, not making a pitch, summarise for an exec or whatever, they're about telling a coherent story to an intelligent layman. Same with scientific papers, except the format is more constrained.

Posted by: kd at March 28, 2006 12:47 AM

Just because you are to lazy to read a document and pass over important points don't blame the writer. The tries to give you the information. This sounds like you took one of those magment classes where they cowtow to fools and have them make thier employees act stupid to boost the manager s ego. They do not have to dum things down just to appease you 1st grade attention span. Start reading or complaining, you decide! that said I can't belive I wasted my time reading this and writing a reply which is far longer than your mentality will allow you to read.

You are way off base. Jeff said it correctly having learned that lesson the hard way. My rule is called KISS. Keep it simple and straight. It works.

Thanks for the pointers Ben. We all need a reminder and a refresher, like Jeff said, who wants preachy.

Posted by: doll at March 28, 2006 1:03 AM

Chris: two good books: One, the previously mentioned classic, Elements of Style.

Two, On Writing Well, by William Zinsser.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060006641/

Posted by: Jeff at March 28, 2006 6:15 AM

Great posts, bullets are extremely important for blog writing. Thanks for the other info.

Brandon Hopkins

Posted by: Brandon Hopkins at March 28, 2006 9:22 AM

After reading the good article and the comments, two points:

- as said before: write so that you are understood. There are two sides to communication (we all know this one, right?) and it isn't important what A says but what B understands! So write clear and understandable.

- For more complex texts that require a decision the military (e.g. the German) use the following structure:
- situation
- assessment
- recommendation

All of this should fit on no more than 2 pages, ideally one page. And should the addressee feel like jumping directly to the recommendation then this should be selfexplanatory.

Ulf

Posted by: Ulf at March 29, 2006 9:31 AM

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