Investor's Business Daily, March 30th, 2007
If you write a business memo solely to inform readers, your job is easy. Just present the facts in a concise, organized manner.
But if you want to persuade, the plot thickens. You must motivate people to act on what they read.
Win them over by appealing to their self-interest. In your first few sentences, explain what's at stake -- and what readers will gain.
"Get the meat on the table first and then explain how you got it there," said Kevin Ryan, president of the Executive Writer, a consulting firm in Sandy, Utah.
Author of "Write Up the Corporate Ladder," Ryan offers a three-step process to build a convincing case in writing:
1. Describe the results. Pinpoint 16 front how the reader will benefit from what you're about to propose. Capture positive outcomes in vivid terms.
If you're writing to personnel managers, for instance, cite the higher retention rate for star employees that will flow from your idea. If you're writing to a number-crunching chief executive, focus on expected cost savings, efficiency gains and waste cuts.
"Use the fewest words possible to help the reader understand what's to gain," Ryan said. "Resist the temptation to over-explain."
2. State the problem. After sparking excitement by dangling attainable rewards and results, summarize the existing challenge that your readers face. Don't sugarcoat the problem; describe it in stark, succinct language.
Even if you think readers know the problem, don't skip it. Beyond clarifying the need, gap or crisis that the reader is confronting, your reason in stating the problem is to offer reassurance that you see the situation the same way others do. The implicit message is, "Here's the difficulty you're up against. I'm with you."
3. Propose a solution. Use bold, confident wording to deliver problem-solving recommendations. Replace "One possible solution that may prove helpful" with "I recommend."
Weave supporting points into your solution, including facts, evidence or statistics to back your proposed action. Ryan says each piece of support must answer, "Why does this solution work best?"
Some writers mistakenly assume it's better to define the problem before discussing the results and the solution. But if you start with the problem, you risk alienating the reader who "already has lots of problems and 30 things to do," Ryan says.
Opening with the projected results compels people to read further. It's a positive, uplifting attention-grabber.
Say you want to write a memo suggesting that your board approve an initiative to launch a new product. Following Ryan's three-step model, you begin by stating the results: surging sales, brand expansion and regaining market share. Then you identify the current problem of stagnant sales and your solution of launching the new item.
Copyright 2007 Investor's Business Daily, Inc.
