Writing reports and proposals, as well as adapting to your audience is very important in the fast passed ever changing world of business. And the reading backs the claim I just made up. In the reading we learn that the attitude is especially important with long or complex reports because they demand a lot from readers. In the book we also learn you can help your audience navigate through your reports by providing them with clear directions to critical information. Its also a relatively good to send your audience previews. Previews help readers prepare for upcoming information, and reviews help them verify and clarify what they've read. In short it gives readers a better understanding of the information your sending their way. The five main points that I took away from the reading is being sensitive to your audiences needs, number one. Number two is self explanatory but very important and it is building strong relationships with your audience. The third thing that many people don't know is controlling your style and tone. Number four is producing formal reports which I went over in some detail above. The fifth main point I took away from the reading is distributing reports and proposals. In the next few paragraphs I will go into more detail as well as provide real life examples of each of the main points.
Being sensitive to your audiences needs, and by this I don't just mean adapting to your audience. But helping them understand the purpose behind your writing as well as helping your readers navigate to the main points. As some of you may know todays readers often lack the time and or patience to plow through excessively long reports page by page or screen by screen, Todays reader typically want to browse quickly and the information they seek. If you want readers to understand and accept your message help them navigate your document by using headings as well as links to help the transaction flow more smoothly. I could not find any examples to show you on the internet. However, I can share with you some personal experiences I have experienced both good and bad. I went to write a proposal to my parents for a dirt bike when I was 11, the proposal did not work. And I fell it was pretty good for an 11 year old. It went something like this:
- Dear mom and dad
- I am writing you to ask for a new dirt bike I promise to clean my room more and help with chores around the house. You can write me a check ill be in my room.
As you can see it wasn't very good and I left out price and other critical information. I don't even think I munched my audiences needs. But as I got older my proposals got better.
In a proposal or a report it is important to build strong relationships with your audience. So I asked my self where does this start, then I just read the paragraph. I was shocked to learn that building strong relationships starts with planning. I was shocked so I kept reading, and learned you need to know how to adapt your style and language to meet their demands and expectations. Bear in mind that some reports in particular those that can be transmitted online, can take lives of their own.
Controlling your style and tone is a very important aspect of writing proposals and reports. For example if you know your readers fairly well then your report will likely take own a informal tone. And is more likely to meet with their approval. To make your tone less formal you can use words such as you and I or we, instead of names.
When producing formal reports and proposals its important to remember that formal reports and proposals can include a variety of features beyond just the original text and visuals. Most of these elements has the potential to provide additional information, a few tend to be more decorative and add a formal tone to the writing. One of the most important elements to consider is an introductory feature that helps time sensitive readers get a sense of what's going.
Distributing reports and proposals, a very complex and vexing problem. For physical distribution of important printed reports or proposals. You may want to use a professional courier or package delivery system according to the book this can add a more professional message to who your sending the report or proposal to.
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