The only two reasons people read anything are because they need to or because they want to. And even when they need to they often wonât, if itâs a chore to do so. Think of those terms and conditions so boring we click âAcceptâ without reading them: for all we know, weâve unwittingly agreed to sell Google or Amazon our kidneys.
Our job as writers, then, is to understand what our readers need and want. And whatâs the best way to do that? Ask them â and listen. The book Mindwise, by psychologist Nicholas Epley, gives plenty of compelling evidence that people wildly overestimate their skill at knowing others, even their spouses. In short, if you guess what people are thinking youâre likely to be wrong. You need to ask and verify.
Talk to your readers
When communicating with readers, ask yourself the following questions.
Am I hearing my readersâ needs first-hand?
Unless you communicate directly with your readers, be they internal or external, itâs easy to misconstrue or lose sight of their needs: especially when intermediaries with their own agendas get in the way, such as project managers pushing hard to meet delivery dates, account managers chasing revenue, or department heads wanting to cut costs.
Best of all are face-to-face discussions with your readers. If your readers are colleagues in the same office, go and talk to them rather than emailing them. If theyâre colleagues in another office or external people try to meet them anyway, eg through site visits, training courses and seminars. Other options include user groups, surveys, questionnaires and suchlike: you can run an online survey quite easily using a web tool such as www.surveymonkey.com or www.smartsurvey.co.uk.
Am I communicating regularly?
Itâs important to stay on track by asking questions such as âDoes it cover everything you need?â and âIs this the right level of depth for you?â and âIs there anything you find confusing?â Avoid asking vague questions such as âDo you like it?â or âDoes it look OK?â because you risk distractions such as people bickering over the font or your writing style. The main thing at this stage is to ensure that readers âgetâ the content and that it meets their needs. And if itâs a document that requires approval, youâre much more likely to get sign-off first time round if youâve engaged your audience throughout.
Regular engagement also protects you as the writer. I know freelance writers whoâve been denied payment by unscrupulous clients claiming they didnât follow the brief, and itâs harder for a client to rip you off if you have an audit trail to prove you delivered exactly what they asked for.
When do people need this information?
Most people when having to write a document think to ask, âWhen does it need to be finished?â But a smarter question is, âWho needs what by when?â That way you can apply triage if timeâs short. For example:
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Different people may need the same information at different times. Say youâre writing a functional spec for new software: it makes sense to ensure that the design team get their information before the developers get theirs, since design comes before development.
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Or maybe the same readers need some information now and the rest later, in which case you can concentrate on perfecting the ânowâ information and ignore the âlaterâ information for a later release.
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Or maybe your readers need to get the big picture right now but arenât too fussed about the details, in which case you can give them a draft then continue editing while theyâre reviewing the draft.
Whatever the scenario, if youâre pressed for time the order of the steps in this guide will help you, as early steps (eg designing the structure and clarifying your meaning) are more fundamental than the later ones (eg trimming words).
Finally, always allow more time for delivering a document than you think you need. Why? Well, first you need to allow for contingencies such as holidays, uncooperative or tardy colleagues, and people being moved to other projects. Second, thereâs often a long chain of dependencies between writing and delivery, such as getting documents reviewed and approved.
Itâs especially important to plan well for documents with hard deadlines such as submissions to a regulator or bid responses to a prospect. In such cases, itâs wise to plan dates backwards. For example, âIf the regulator is to get the document by 30 November, the printers need at least a day, which means it needs to be signed off by the board no later than 28 November, and allowing a week for board review means the executive committee needs the document by 21 November âŠâ. And so on.
Which media do readers prefer?
Ask your audience how they want the information presented. For example, thereâs often an automatic assumption that board members want PowerPoint decks, but decks are usually a bad choice for anything other than animated slideshows (something weâll examine in more detail later).
Consider other media beyond Microsoft Word v PowerPoint, such as your companyâs intranet, a wiki or training videos, or even a blend of media. For this guide Iâm assuming youâre writing a document, but always bear in mind that other options are available and may be better.
Have I instilled trust and openness?
Have you ever seen the TV series Undercover Boss? The premise is simple: a senior executive is disguised and takes a low-level job in their own firm. Itâs only then, once theyâve gained the trust of their employees, that they discover what their employees really think, feel or even do. You need to build a similar level of trust: particularly if youâre senior or your role could be perceived as policing (such as internal audit); or if people feel threatened, eg if your companyâs planning layoffs. Otherwise, people are likely to tell you what you want to hear â or stonewall you.
For example, I once did a contract where the boss announced that several job roles would be offshored, and simultaneously expected people to start sharing more information about what they did. And guess what? Everyone clammed up.