If you suspect that your reports, proposals and email messages aren’t being read, you may well be right.

History Syndrome ensures people put your writing aside

Many business writers have what I call History Syndrome. They take forever to get to the point they’re making. The cover all the details of a bid, or a client relationship, or a sales campaign, before they get to the meat of the document.

This is fatal, because your readers put the material aside to read “later”.

Whatever you’re writing, put the point you want to make up front. Right within the first (or the second, if you’re writing email) paragraph.

This is your summary, in a paragraph or less. Sum up the situation and your position on it. Then you can include some history if you must – just enough so your readers can orient themselves.

Get to the point: if you don’t, your readers will never discover just what your point was.

[tags]business writing, documents, summary, reports, proposals, email[/tags]

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