A paper to the board can be incredibly powerful. But you have to tell them what you want and make sure they actually read it.
The board want insights as well as facts
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Writing Matters
Welcome to the blog – advice, opinions and musings on how to make words work
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The report-writing secret that most of us miss
Organisations are full of documents that don't work. The CEO of a London bank recently told me that he'd spent 20 minutes of his last board meeting...
Use this structure for tricky emails
If you're putting off writing a tricky email or text right now, you're not alone. According to a recent poll by YouGov, almost one in three adults...
Are your reports grinding readers down?
Getting someone to read a document is often a bit like pushing a car that won't start. You have to overcome a ton of inertia at first. But it then...
This Netflix technique works for documents too
People read your documents until they can stop. Then they do. But that's not because we have limited attention spans. The truth is that we can focus...
Shorter is not always better
One of the biggest business-writing myths has to be that shorter is always better. 'Less is more,' say those who claim to be in the know. Keep it...
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Don’t let data drag down your documents
Imagine you've just got a text from a friend. Which of these two messages would you react to more strongly? A: 'The forecast doesn't look great...
Why people misread your messages
Have you ever written what you thought was a perfectly clear email, only to get a reply ten minutes later that left you scratching your head?...
Why you miss your biggest typos
Have you ever missed an obvious typo and wondered how? Maybe it was even in a title in bold, 24-point type. Or perhaps you overlooked a howler in a...
Even big topics need small words
Have you ever noticed how something strange happens whenever we sit down to write a document? In person, we might be able to explain even the most...
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More from the blog
Browse our previous posts
‘Blue-sky’ still appeals
Corporate jargon and management buzzwords are persistent pests. We train around two thousand people a year in business-writing skills. But we've yet...
The ugly, the bad and the good
Some sentences leave you gasping for breath. Try reading aloud this extract from the minutes of a recent meeting of West Lindsey District Council,...
Do not be alarmed
Imagine you've got to write a set of instructions for a total stranger; no, millions of total strangers. It's a huge audience, made up of people...
Give me the facts, not the excuses
We’re lucky here in Emphasis Towers. Five minutes from Brighton beach and five minutes from the station, we really have got the best of both...
Could Obama speech kickstart recovery?
The pressure on Barack Obama as he makes his inaugural speech later today will be almost unimaginable. As 'Dubya' dons his spurs and rides into the...
How to write to your clients – The Lawyer
Lawyers are not renowned for their punchy prose. But clients do not have time to be baffled by confusing terminology and verbosity; nor do they...
Business people are still lousy KISSers, Daily Telegraph
New research reveals that an inability or reluctance to use plain English – or to keep it short and simple (KISS) – is still the single...
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