Developing report writing skills
INDUSTRY is awash with poorly written reports. No doubt you’ve read the bad ones before: they’re dull, ambiguous and unnecessarily wordy. You either don’t read them, or feel completely unmoved to take any action (wasting your time and that of the author). Just recently we held a workshop on Reporting Impact with some executives from a non-profit organisation, but report writing is an issue in any type of business - private or public enterprises. Writing clearly and persuasively is not an easy skill to master. e good news is that given the appropriate training and practice you can become the best in this endeavour. A well structured and well written report can be a very influential document.
A report will usually follow a simple format which can be identified over and over again as you look through the reports written by academics, agencies or individuals.
One of the key issues is to carefully provide signposts’ for the reader throughout the report.
Some writing imperatives
Reports are written for purposes of documentation. Documentation is important and relevant to all aspects of our work in order that we can capture what is happening; evaluate our own work; share our experiences with stakeholders and all concerned with the business. At times writers just assume that what they think is best. ere is also a misconception that reports are only written in response to requests, rather than as a part of the continuous system of business operation. In fact, report writing should be a separate activity that is carefully planned; more consultative; analytical; honest and self-critical; allocated more time; subject to routine and constructive criticism. Report writing should be framed within an organisational context.
Importance of feedback
Although it is usually a solitary activity, and one too often done under the pressure of deadlines, staff will not improve their skills unless they get help from their colleagues in the form of encouragement, criticism and support. For this reason, it is imperative that the tasks of documentation be accorded serious respect in the organisation, that adequate time is allowed for the work, and that it is brought out from its customary isolation.
What is good writing?
Good writing is not just a matter of setting down words in a formative, readable and stylish way. It is the end product of a process of investigation, observation, discussion, reflection and analysis. Writing is more than just an individual enterprise. Nor is it confined to the production of reports. ere are those other writing tasks that all of us engage in as members of the organisation, such as interviews, project diaries, minutes of meetings and so on.
Nuances of report writing
An appropriate style, tone and format of writing helps express your points coherently, and to consistently produce sharp, focused and concise reports. One should also have skills to vet common writing errors and to convincingly share these ideas with their peers. When writing a report, you should also be able to understand the characteristics of different report types and ensure that your writing is suitable for the format required by the nature of your business and subject of report. Remember reports are a strong base for planning and control in an organisation, that is, reports give information which can be utilised by the management team in an organisation for making plans and for solving complex issues in the organisation.
Importance of report writing
A report discusses a particular problem in detail. It brings significant and reliable information to the limelight of top management in an organisation. Hence, on the basis of such information, the management can make strong decisions. Reports are required for judging the performances of various departments in an organisation.
Effective writing for results
While writing to a friend, colleague, client, or a business partner, the content must be clear, concise, persuasive, accurate, and confident. Avoid being verbose: Choose shorter words and sentences. For example; “I wanted to bring to your notice that the meeting has been cancelled”. [10 words] is sentence could be rephrased as “Please note the meeting has been cancelled”. [7 words]
Use objective subject lines: e subject of the memo/letter/e-mail should be objective and should reflect the content of the message. For instance, “Tips on effective writing for business” conveys to the reader that the message content will be related to information on effective writing.
Decide your audience: It is advisable to write to one set of audience as writing to different professionals would require choosing correct verbiage which is understood by different professionals in the same way. Also, do not use words which are very technical and can be understood only by a specific audience.
Share companywide messages with a strategy: Do not overload employees with a lot of text heavy mails. Divide the message. For example, if a company has set up a video conference room, the corporate communication team should send out the first message announcing the launch, the second message on how to use the equipment, and the third message on how to block the conference room for client meetings and calls.
Execute with confidence: Do not be fearful while sending the communication. If a reminder needs to be sent, it should be sent. Do not try to send it to a group, rather send it to those who haven’t sent the reports so far. For example, In case you are following up on a report you asked for, address the audience as “ ank You X, Y, Z for sending the reports. We are still awaiting reports from A, B, and C. Request you to send them latest by 4:00 PM today.”
Mandeya is a certified executive leadership coach, corporate education trainer and management consultant and founder of Leadership Institute of Research and Development (LiRD). — robert@lird.co.zw/ or info@lird.co.zw, Facebook: @lirdzim and Mobile/WhatsApp: +263 719 466 925.