Нотатки:
Replacing paper with a PC screen doesn’t change the need for clear, precise communication. And replacing a formal memo with a bullet-pointed presentation deck doesn’t justify loose thinking.
One executive suggests a discipline — putting down first what you want the reader to do, next the three most important things the reader needs to understand to take that action, then starting to write. When you’re done, he suggests asking yourself whether if you were the reader, would you take action on the basis of what is written.
If I want him to read the memo himself, I’d better get right to the point and I’d better be clear, or he’ll just pass it along to somebody else, with a testy little note asking for a translation.
Bad writing slows things down; good writing speeds them up.
Readers who don’t know you judge you from the evidence in your writing.
The biggest time waster is shuffling things from one pile to another while you drown in a sea of indecision.
If you have distilled your thinking to its essence, you will probably be able to express it in simple words.
Yat another advantage of the active voice is that it tends to push you to decide precisely what you want to say, to be more specific.
Choose adjectives and adverbs that make your meaning more precise. Do not use them as mere exclamation points.
We might even have said, without raising eyebrows in trendy circles, that we “reengineered” this book. What we did say — that we expanded the book and updated it — may stir you less but tells you more.
It’s a good idea to do your proofreading on a hard copy rather than on your computer screen. We’re not sure why, but when you face a piece of paper like the one your reader is going to see, you become more alert to errors.
Careful writers try not to be fooled by appearances.
Try to take out 50 percent of what you’ve written. You’ll be amazed how your points leap out.
Make it brief, but make it complete — “meaty, concise, and to the point”.
Compose yourself, then compose your message.
Seasoned e-mailers admit to sending hot messages and regretting they hadn’t slept on them.
[…] With such developments, the fight to stand out in the clutter can only intensify.
If you want your letter to lead to action, your last paragraph should make clear what you would like that action to be.
Say what you want, right away. Don’t start by explaining why you want it. Your reader won’t be interested in your reasons before you reveal what you’re asking for.
That’s the correct order for letters of inquiry; first, what you want; second, who you are and why you want it; third, an expression of appreciation for favors to come.
“We regret to inform you that …” is the standard opening of millions of “no” letters. It is hard to imagine anybody ever saying, “I regret to inform you that. …” You’d say “I know how disappointed you’re going to be, but there just isn’t any way I can do that” or “No, I don’t think that will be possible — but how about this as an alternative?”
Always appreciate the feelings of the person you are turning down.
“How do I know what I think,” asked novelist E. M. Forster, “until I see what I write?”
Do everything that’s been asked — and a little more.
Remember you’re in business, not show business.
Edit — to shorten. Reorganize — to make sure your message is clear. Revise — to make it sound like you, speaking naturally.
Another trick that often works: Cross out the first several paragraphs. You’ll often find your opening line halfway down the first page. Most of us have a tendency to warm up too long before throwing the pitch.
Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence, advises not to accept any topic that you don’t feel strongly about: “Stick to topics you care deeply about, and don’t keep your passion buttoned inside your vest. An audience’s biggest turn-on is the speaker’s obvious enthusiasm.”
First, the only certainty is that there is no certainty. Second, every decision, as a consequence, is a matter of weighing probabilities. Third, despite uncertainty we must decide and must act. And lastly, we need to judge decisions not only on results, but on how they are made.
Making things happen depends on clear communication. The consequences of faulty organization and careless writing are severe. Unpersuasive plans go straight to the files, unacted on. Sloppy reports land in wastebaskets, unread. Problems go unrecognized or unsolved. Opportunities are missed. Things that should happen don’t.
You’re writing for someone who will either approve your plan, send it back for more work, or reject it. Anything that confuses that decision or throws the reader off the track makes approval less likely.
“The horror of that moment,” the King went on, “I shall never, never forget!” “You will, though,” the Queen said, “if you don’t make a memorandum of it.” — ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
When even the numbers are easy to read and digest, we will really have made progress.
Credibility is crucial — it pays to be candid; it’s good to understate rather than exaggerate; it’s vital to be clear.
Keep in mind that you have been living with the subject and your audience has not, or at least not with the same intensity.
You must marshal both logic and passion behind your facts. Anticipate your audience’s reservations and face them squarely. Instill confidence that you have thought hard about potential pitfalls, and are fully prepared to guide the venture around them safely and successfully.
Specifics persuade. But they must be relevant and impressive — every one of them.
Never fail to answer the main question your audience is asking, however silently: “What’s in it for me?”
Everything relevant, nothing extraneous — that should be your goal in writing your proposal.
Determine the single most important benefit your product or service offers. Most have several benefits, but one must be more important to your prospects than the others.
People procrastinate. You must create a reason for your prospect to act now.
You would be wise to be alert to the power of words to distress and infuriate people, and to do your best not to wield that power recklessly.
Then show [your resume] to someone who will bring a fresh perspective and who knows you well enough to ask “Is this really what you wanted to say?” “Is this relevant?” or “So what?”
Try to single out a benefit to the organization that will accrue from your joining it.
Better straight to the point, however trite, than roundabout, however ingenious.
Never send out the first draft of anything important. Good writers consider editing an essential part of the writing process, not just a final perfectionist polishing.
Examine everything from the reader’s point of view.
Don’t expect your reader to leap from point to point like a goat on a rocky hillside. Make sure your trail is clear, smooth, and well marked.
Let time elapse between drafts. Solicit the opinion of other people.