Writing that works by K. Roman and J. Raphaelson - Book Summary
This is my summary of ‘Writing that works’ by Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson. My notes are informal and tailored to my own interests at the time of reading. They mostly contain quotes from the book as well as some of my own thoughts. I enjoyed this book and would recommend you read it yourself (check it out on Amazon).
Communication basics
“If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what ought to be done remains undone.” - Confucius
Send handwritten notes.
Praise and appreciation can be especially effective in handwriting. Since handwriting is personal, make sure whatever you write sounds personal.
Reading a lot will improve your writing.
Most people who write well read a lot. They may read many kinds of good writing, past and current. Good fiction, good essays, good history, good journalism. Reading gets the shapes and rhythms of good writing into your head.
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Making recommendations
The purpose is to persuade somebody - or more often a number of people - to approve a recommendation or proposal, and agree to put it into action.
Cut out all irrelevancies.
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 track makes approval less likely.
Stick to facts that relate to issues under consideration.
Your choice of facts should be rigorously selective.
A chain of facts is no stronger than its weakest link; the weak one will attract the attention of your critics in the audience (and distract your friends).
Never present facts on their own, like unstrung gems.
If your facts don’t link together you leave your reader with information that, like a Mexican pyramid, doesn’t come to a point (cf the pyramid principle).
State your recommendations clearly and up front.
Most recommendations involve a degree of pain - a new and expensive investment, or a difficult trade-off. Delaying the bad news is not going to help. Get it up front. Then lay out specific reasons in support. The rationale for your recommendation is the heart of your argument.
Consider alternatives and risks.
Include a candid list of pro’s and con’s.
Anticipate questions and answer them.
Don’t cover up problems - face them squarely.
Sometimes a question that may seem devastating doesn’t really strike at the heart of the matter. In such cases, reframe the question.
Example: “The question Ogilvy & Mather anticipated was ‘Does anybody read long copy?’ The recommendation reframed it so that the reply would reveal what the questioner actually needed to know: ‘Does long copy sell?’”
You have to bring people into your subject before you can persuade them.
Keep in mind that you have been living with the subject and your audience has not, or at least not with the same intensity.
If you have done an impressively thorough job in arriving at your recommendation, it pays to spell that out in the background. Demonstrate that no stone has been left unturned.
Example: To persuade the board of managers of the New York Botanical Garden that its recommendations were soundly based, a management consulting firm summarized its wide-ranging activities: “Reviews with the staff of major programs and functions; analysis of financial records; interviews with Board members; visits to three other botanical gardens; comparison of the Board structure and fund-raising activities with those of comparable NY institutions; preliminary interviews with foundations, corporations and government officials to gauge the outlook of future funding.”
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Writing process
Write first, format later.
It’s a good idea to work from an outline. Do just enough formatting at the outset to make your structure visible.
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.
When you edit: If it isn’t essential, cut it out.
Go through your draft once, asking only this question: What can I get rid of? Cut unnecessary words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs.
Mark Twain said that writers should strike out every third word on principle: “You have no idea what vigor it adds to style.”
Let time elapse between drafts.
Solicit the opinion of other people.
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Principles of effective writing
Don’t mumble.
Once you’ve decided what you want to say, come right out and say it.
Instead of this: “It is generally desirable to communicate your thoughts in a forthright manner. Toning your point down and tiptoeing around it may, in many circumstances, tempt the reader to tune out and allow their mind to wander.” say this: “Don’t mumble.”
Make the organization of your writing clear.
When you write anything longer than a few paragraphs, start by telling the reader where you are going.
Example: The committee proposes that the company invest $1mn in a library.
Use short paragraphs, short sentences, and short words.
Examples:
Now > Currently
Start > Initiate
Show > Indicate
Finish > Finalize
Speed up, move along > Expedite
Use > Utilize
Place, put > Position
Make your writing active and personal.
Choose the active voice over the passive voice whenever possible - and it’s possible most of the time.
Active verbs add energy to your writing. The passive voice hides who is speaking or taking action; the active voice reveals it.
Different ways to convert passive into active voice: “It is respectfully requested that you send a representative to our conference.”
All of us here hope that you’ll send a representative.
Won’t you please send a representative…
Somebody representing your company would add a lot…
Will you give serious thought to sending a representative?
You can see how much a representative from your company would contribute...
Examples:
We recommend > It is recommended
Get Alice to tell him > He should be told
We see people making sacrifices. How many people? We can’t say for sure. > Personal sacrifices are being made, although the degree of participation is not absolutely identifiable.
Avoid vague adjectives and adverbs.
Vague:
Very good
Awfully nice
Basically accurate
Great success
Richly deserved
Vitally important
Vigorous:
Instantly accepted
Rudely turned down
Short meeting
Crisp presentation
Baffling instructions
Tiny raise
Moist handshake
Tiresome speech
Black coffee
Lucid recommendation
Examples:
Overspent by $10,000 > Very overspent
One day late > Slightly behind schedule
Use down-to-earth language.
Avoid technical or business jargon. Use plain English even on technical subjects.
Don’t write like a lawyer or bureaucrat. Symptoms are long sentences, abbreviations, clauses within clauses, and jargon.
Don’t worry if the result is too casual. Once you’ve got the main idea down in plain English, you’ll find it easy to adjust the tone of voice to the appropriate level of formality.
If you’re writing to lay readers on a technical subject, test an early draft on a few of them.
Examples:
Discuss, meet, work with > to interface
To affect, to do to > to impact
Style, method > modality
Not enough people (or money) > resource constrained
Motivate > incent
Skills, abilities > skill set
Solutions > solution set
Effective, achieve results > resultful
Real, actual, tangible > meaningful
I think > judgmentally
Conclusion > net net
Less than ideal > suboptimal
Test the limits > push the envelope
Look at more closely > scope down (from microscope)
Take a long view > scope out (from telescope)
Trying out, working on > workshopping
Be specific.
A fatal weakness in much business writing is the overuse of generalities.
Make it perfect.
No typos, no misspellings, no errors in numbers or dates. A reader who spots your errors might justifiably question how much care and thought you have put into it.
Come to the point.
Take the time to boil down what you want to say, and express it confidently in simple, declarative sentences.
Write simply and naturally, the way you talk.
Use only those words and phrases that you might actually say to your reader if you were face-to-face.
Examples:
There are four reasons > The reasons are fourfold
The important point is > Importantly
Visit > Visitation
Strike out words you don’t need.
Examples:
Plan > Advance plan
Act > Take action
Equally > Equally as
Meet > Hold a meeting
Study > Study in depth
Innovations > New innovations
Consensus > Consensus of opinion
Now > At this point in time
Until > Until such time as
In most cases, usually > In the majority of instances
Locally > On a local basis
Did not know > Basically unaware of
The plan > The overall plan
Roughly > In the area of
About > With regard to
Because > In view of, on the basis of
If > In the event of
To > For the purpose of, in order to
Although > Despite the fact that
Since > Inasmuch as
Understate rather than overstate.
Never exaggerate, unless you do so overtly to achieve an effect, and not to deceive. It is more persuasive to understate than to overstate.
Always round out numbers conservatively. Don’t call 6.7 “nearly seven” - call it “over six and a half.”
Separate opinion from fact.
Facts are facts, regardless of who is reporting them: “It’s 24 degrees and the wind is from the northwest at fifteen miles an hour.”
Opinions vary depending on the observer: “It’s a pleasant winter day - brisk and bracing.”
Examples:
An opinion stated as a fact: “The information would be useful, but costs too much to obtain.” - stated as opinion: “We’d all like to lay our hands on that information, but none of us thinks it’s worth what it would cost.”
An opinion stated as a fact: “We can’t get started by May 1.” - stated as opinion: “To get started on May 1, I suspect we’ll have to go heavily into overtime.”
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Formatting
Be conservative in your choice of typefaces.
For anything longer than a paragraph or two, ordinary roman faces are more readable than italics, and serif faces are more readable than sans serif.
Keep your fingers off the boldface and underline keys.
Boldface and underlining are fine for headings but should be used only for occasional emphasis in text. The same goes for italics.
When you do want to emphasize a word or phrase, italics will do it most professionally.
To stress key ideas, put them into indented paragraphs. This emphasizes them by setting them apart. Italics can add even greater emphasis.
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Your goal when writing emails is how to get your email read by busy people, and acted on.
Make the subject heading clear and compelling.
Cut to the point.
Anything over once screen risks not being read (and is better sent as an attachment).
“Keep it short and sweet” is the first email principle at HBO.
We don’t recommend abbreviations.
Be specific.
“I’m available” should be “I’m available to speak at your meeting on the 14th”
“Did you get my message?” should be “Did you get my message regarding the meeting on the 14th? Can you come?”
Compose yourself, then compose your message.
If you’re writing an angry or irritable note, think twice before clicking “send.”
Instead, respond: “Let me think about it overnight. I’ll get back to you in the morning.”
List names of those receiving copies alphabetically.
Be specific about next steps.
If you want your email to lead to action, your last paragraph should make clear what you would like that action to be.
Examples:
Please let us know your decision by August 1 so we can meet your deadline > We’re hoping to hear from you soon.
Are you free for lunch on Friday, July 17? I’ll call that morning to confirm > I’m looking forward to getting together with you to talk more.
When you ask for something, first, ask what you want; second, state who you are and why you want it; and third, express appreciation for favors to come.
Don’t start by explaining why you want it:
Dear Mr Sullivan:
We are a new electronics firm and we need to set up a department to do some basic research. (our problem)
Accordingly, it occured to our president, Mr Gene Schultz, that it would be a good idea if we found out how some giant research departments such as Bell laboratories were organized in the early days. (our thinking - still hasn’t said what we want)
Don’t start by expressing your appreciation:
Dear Mr Sullivan
I would greatly appreciate your help on a matter in which the Bell laboratories may be uniquely well informed.
Instead:
Dear Mr Sullivan
Do you have any literature that spells out how the Bell laboratories organized in its formative days? If so, would you send it to me and bill me? (says what we want, and that we’ll pay)
We’re a small internet firm selling office equipment, and your early experience might help us figure out the best way to get going (explains why)
Your help would be invaluable to us (thanks)
You can tell how political a person is by the number of blind copies he sends out.
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How to say No
Never say no in anger.
No matter how angry the other party may be. You are in the position of power. Control yourself. Always appreciate the feelings of the person you are turning down.
Never belittle anybody.
Never make a request or a complaint sounds foolish or unreasonable. Always show consideration for points of view other than your own.
Never say no casually, in an offhand manner.
Always take the time to explain your reasons.
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Presentations
Think headlines, not labels.
Low price competition is gaining > Trends
Our edge is service > Why Acme?
Insurance ratings are a problem > Constraints on business
We have to improve service > Conclusion
Tip for preparation:
You start with trying to figure out what you want to say - Peggy Noonan. It is harder to decide what you want to say than it is to figure out how to say it.
In writing a speech, it helps to think about addressing one individual rather than a faceless audience. What you write should sound exactly like you talking to somebody.
Don’t accept to speak on a topic 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.
No speech was ever too short.
Most good talks take less than twenty minutes.
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Other interesting ideas
Career advice:
When Michael Capellas was elected CEO of Compaq, he noted that he had never written a resume in his career. The best way to get a better job is to do a great job where you are.
Cover letter tips:
Don’t start every paragraph with “I”.
Start with the needs of the reader rather than the virtues of the writer.
“According to press reports, your agency is under enormous pressure in staff and budgets, and it is obvious that you must have people who can move fast and carry a heavy load. Here are several reasons why my background should be helpful to EPA in exactly those ways.”
Ask yourself how you would feel saying what you write to a prospective employer.
If it would embarrass you in person, don’t put it in writing.
CV tips:
Shorten everything to the extent of writing in telegraphic style.
Cut out verbs, articles, or connectors.
Write in the third person.
Example: “Managed 64 person department” not “I managed…”
Decision making:
Four principles of decision making from Robert Rubin, ex treasury secretary:
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.
Fourth, we need to judge decisions not only on results, but on how they are made.
Henry Kissinger used to say that State Department memos commonly offer three options: the first leads to nuclear war, the second to unconditional surrender, and the third is what they want you to choose.
Product marketing:
It pays to test.
Whole books have been written about sales letters and fund-raising letters, identifying dozens of principles employed by the pros. There is only one that you can never ignore: test.
Many of the things you think you know, like “Nobody will read anything that long,” often go out the window when you test. Emotional appeals that you’re sure will pull responses, often don’t. If you have something that’s working, be careful about changing any element without testing. What turns out to be the crucial element sometimes surprises even experienced pros.
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