Business and Report Writing skills, best practice principles, process and format

1. BUSINESS AND REPORT WRITING –
BEST PRACTICE WRITING PRINCIPLES
AND PROCESS
CHARLES COTTER
FOCUS ROOMS, SUNNINGHILL
28-29 MAY 2015

2. PRESENTATION OVERVIEW – DAY 1
• www.slideshare.net/CharlesCotter
• 20 FUNDAMENTAL, BEST PRACTICE BUSINESS
WRITING PRINCIPLES
• THE “LOOK AND FEEL” COMPONENTS OF AN
EFFECTIVE BUSINESS REPORT
• THE 6-STEP, REPORT WRITING PROCESS

3. CAKE-BAKING ANALOGY
• BEST PRACTICE BUSINESS WRITING PRINCIPLES -
INGREDIENTS
• THE “LOOK AND FEEL” COMPONENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE
BUSINESS REPORT – PICTURE OF THE CAKE
• THE 6-STEP, REPORT WRITING PROCESS - RECIPE

4. DOES THIS LOOK FAMILIAR?

5. LEARNING ACTIVITY 1
• From your experience and perspective, as
both a writer and a reader, identify ten (10)
common errors that you’ve observed with
Business Reports.
• Match each of these 10 errors with a set of
10 best practice criteria/guidelines to
counteract/improve these errors, thereby
promoting effective business report writing.

6. 20 FUNDAMENTAL, BEST PRACTICE WRITING
PRINCIPLES
• A – B – C (ACCURACY – BREVITY – CLARITY) – “BE ON POINT AND TO THE
POINT”
• A – I – D –A (ATTENTION – INTEREST – DESIRE – ACTION) – “TELL THE
READER WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO TELL THEM; TELL THEM AND THEN
TELL THEM WHAT YOU TOLD THEM.”
• “THINK BEFORE YOU INK” – USE 80 (THINKING)/20 (INKING) PRINCIPLE
• HARMONIZATION OF THE BEST FIT METHODS – FIT FOR
PURPOSE/MESSAGE/READER
• BE STRATEGIC AND SELECTIVE - PROVIDE ONLY VALUE ADDING AND
RELEVANT INFORMATION

7. 20 FUNDAMENTAL, BEST PRACTICE
WRITING PRINCIPLES
• “LESS IS MORE” – HAVE AN EFFICIENT AND ECONOMICAL WRITING STYLE
• EMPATHIZE - “CUSTOMIZATION IS KING/QUEEN” – CONDUCT A
READERSHIP ANALYSIS TO ACCOMMODATE THEM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
– “SPEAK THE LANGUAGE THAT YOUR READER UNDERSTANDS”
• INTEGRATE RATIONAL (LEFT BRAIN) AND CREATIVE (RIGHT BRAIN)
THOUGHT PROCESSES
• MARRY BEING METICULOUS (“EYE FOR DETAIL”) WITH FINDING CREATIVE
WRITING SPACE (PSYCHOLOGICAL, EMOTIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL)
• USE OF VISUAL STIMULI AND TECHNIQUES TO COMPLEMENT, SUPPORT
AND PROMOTE A HIGHER LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING

8. 20 FUNDAMENTAL, BEST PRACTICE
WRITING PRINCIPLES
• ENSURE QUALITY ASSURANCE E.G. PROOF-READING; EDITING; SPELL
CHECKING AND VERIFICATION OF INFORMATION
• USE THE PURPOSE AS YOUR WRITING “GPS” – TO CONCENTRATE/DIRECT
FOCUS TO THE ACHIEVEMENT OF OUTCOMES/OBJECTIVES
• “DON’T WRITE TO IMPRESS, WRITE TO PROMOTE A HIGHER LEVEL OF
UNDERSTANDING.” – BE A AGENT OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
• EMPLOY A “COMMUNITY OF WRITERS” APPROACH – THE VALUE OF
CONSULTATION AND ENGAGEMENT
• PROPER STRUCTURE - USE THE PYRAMID (CASCADING) METHOD –
INITIALLY PRESENT LESS IMPORTANCE INFORMATION AND CLIMAX WITH
MOST CRITICAL INFORMATION

9. 20 FUNDAMENTAL, BEST PRACTICE
WRITING PRINCIPLES
• APPLY THE WATERFALL APPROACH – VERTICAL ALIGNMENT AND SYNERGY
BETWEEN THE REPORT FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
• “TOUR GUIDE” MENTALITY – DIRECT; NAVIGATE; ORIENTATE, INFORM;
ADVISE, ENLIGHTEN AND CAPTIVATE THE READER
• ADOPT A STORY TELLING MODE – LOGICAL AND COHERENT FLOW OF
INFORMATION – NO SURPRISES!
• THE REPORT SHOULD GENERATE BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE – ENABLING
SMART OPERATIONAL AND STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING
• ADOPT A STRATEGIC MIND-SET – DEVELOP STRUCTURED, HOLISTIC AND
WELL-PREPARED BUSINESS WRITING HABITS

11. BEST PRACTICE REPORT WRITING
(COMPETENCE)
CONTENT
CONTEXTPROCESS

12. EFFECTIVE REPORT CONTENT

13. TYPES OF REPORTS
• Informative
“Telling”
Examples
• Evaluative
“Selling”
Examples

14. APPROACHES TO REPORT WRITING
• Dash-boarding
 Data-driven and derived
 Report-generating
 MS Excel
• Key-boarding
 Narrative
 Report-writing
 MS Word

15. “LOOK AND FEEL” COMPONENTS OF
AN EFFECTIVE BUSINESS REPORT
• STRUCTURE
• STYLE AND TONE
• READABILITY
• CONVENTION

16. LEARNING ACTIVITY 2
• Develop the best practice criteria and
convention (rules) of an effective business
report. Focus on the following elements:
Structure
Style and tone
Readability
Convention

17. STRUCTURE
• VARIES DEPENDENT ON WHETHER
INFORMATIVE (“TELLING”) OR EVALUATIVE
(“SELLING”) TYPE OF BUSINESS REPORT
• EXTERNAL STRUCTURE – FRONT-END AND
BACK-END
• INTERNAL STRUCTURE

18. EXTERNAL STRUCTURE – FRONT-END
• TITLE PAGE
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

19. EXTERNAL STRUCTURE – BACK-END
• GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS AND
ACRONYMS
• LIST OF SOURCES/REFERENCES
• ATTACHMENTS – APPENDICES AND
ANNEXURES

20. INTERNAL STRUCTURE
• INTRODUCTION
• BACKGROUND/CONTEXTUALIZATION
• RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCESS
• FINDINGS
• CONCLUSIONS
• RECOMMENDATIONS

21. STYLE
• STYLE IS REGARDED AS THE DEGREE OF
FORMALITY
• THE APPROPRIATE STYLE IS:
FORMAL (NOT INFORMAL)
FACTUAL (NOT OPINION-BASED)
RATIONAL (NOT EMOTIONAL) – “Connect intellectually
with your reader, disconnect your emotions and
personal feelings.”
OBJECTIVE (NOT SUBJECTIVE)

22. TONE
• TONE IS REGARDED AS THE WRITER’S
ATTITUDE – DIRECTED AT READER AND
SUBJECT MATTER
• TONE SHOULD BE:
RESPECTFUL (NOT PATRONIZING)
PROFESSIONAL
ASSERTIVE (NOT PASSIVE OR AGGRESSIVE)

23. THE ASSERTIVENESS CONTINUUM

24. READABILITY
• REFERS TO ALL THE ASPECTS THAT MAKE A BUSINESS REPORT MORE
NOTICEABLE AND EASY TO READ - “SOFT ON THE EYE AND SOFT ON THE
MIND”
• MUTUAL DEPENDENCE - THE WRITER RELIES ON THE READERS' ABILITY TO
READ EFFICIENTLY AND TO UNDERSTAND THE (INTENDED) MESSAGE.
• WRITER NEEDS TO DO EVERYTHING IN THEIR POWER TO ENABLE AND
FACILITATE A COMMON UNDERSTANDING
• TECHNIQUES TO ENHANCE THE READABILITY:
 LAY-OUT
 USE OF WHITE SPACE
 HEADINGS/SUB-HEADINGS
 NUMBERING

25. CONVENTION
• USE OF TABLES AND FIGURES – LABELLING, NUMBERING AND
REFERENCING
• APPENDICES AND ANNEXURES - LABELLING, NUMBERING AND
REFERENCING
• CITATION AND REFERENCING – HARVARD METHOD – ALWAYS
ACKNOWLEDGE SOURCE AND AVOID PLAGRIASM AT ALL COSTS
• FORMAT, DESIGN AND LAY-OUT – INDUSTRY AND ORGANIZATION-
SPECIFIC GUIDELINES AND TECHNIQUES
• USE ACTIVE VOICE (AS OPPOSED TO PASSIVE) – WRITTEN IN THIRD
PERSON

27. CONVENTION
• GRAMMATICAL AND LANGUAGE RULES
• USE OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
• AVOID JARGON AND UNFAMILIAR TECHNICAL
TERMINOLOGY
• SENTENCE AND PARAGRAPH STRUCTURING

28. PROPER SENTENCE AND PARAGRAPH
STRUCTURING
• VARY THE LENGTH OF SENTENCES
• EASY TO UNDERSTAND CONCEPTS – SHORTER SENTENCES. COMPLEX
CONCEPTS – LONGER SENTENCES TO ENABLE EFFICIENT ASSIMILATION OF
INFORMATION
• DON’T SUBSTITUTE A FULL-STOP FOR A COMMA – “IF YOU CAN USE A
FULL-STOP USE IT!”
• ONE CONCEPT/KEY POINT, ONE PARAGRAPH. DIFFERENT CONCEPT,
DIFFERENT PARAGRAPH. “DON’T MIX ‘N MATCH – AVOID LIQUORICE ALL-
SORTS WRITING STYLE”
• CREATE A MEANDERING AND MESMERIZING WRITING STYLE AS YOU
TRANSITION FROM ONE PARAGRAPH TO THE NEXT. AS YOU EXIT ONE
PARAGRAPH START INTRODUCING THE NEXT ONE.

29. REPORT WRITING PROCESS
• STEP 1: PLANNING
• STEP 2: RESEARCHING THINKING (80%)
• STEP 3: ORGANIZING
• STEP 4: WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT
• STEP 5: QUALITY ASSURANCE INKING (20%)
• STEP 6: SUBMIT FINAL DRAFT FOR APPROVAL AND
ADOPTION

30. STEP 1: PLANNING (7-W’S)
• DEFINE THE PURPOSE (WHY?)
• FORMULATE THE OBJECTIVES (WHAT?)
• SUBMISSION TARGET DATE (WHEN?)
• SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL PLATFORM/COMMITTEE (WHERE?)
• SCOPE OF THE REPORT (WIDTH?)
• ESTIMATED LENGTH/VOLUME OF REPORT (WEIGHT?)
• CONDUCT A READERSHIP ANALYSIS (WHO?)

31. READERSHIP ANALYSIS (RELATED TO
A-B-C)
• LEVEL 1 READER/S: APPROVING AUTHORITY
(NON-TECHNICAL) – INFORMATION NEED:
BREVITY
• LEVEL 2 READER/S: TECHNICAL/SUBJECT MATTER
EXPERT – INFORMATION NEED: ACCURACY
• LEVEL 3 READER/S:
IMPLEMENTER/FUNCTIONARY – INFORMATION
NEED: CLARITY

32. STEP 2: RESEARCHING
• METHODS – TO ACHIEVE THE SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH PRINCIPLE OF VALIDITY
• PROCESS – TO ACHIEVE THE SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH PRINCIPLE OF RELIABILITY
• COLLECTIVELY: VALIDITY + RELIABILITY =
CREDIBILITY

33. RESEARCH METHODS
• QUANTITATIVE – NUMERIC E.G. STATISTICS
• QUALITATIVE – SUBJECTIVE E.G. SURVEYS AND FOCUS
GROUPS
• SOURCES OF DATA:
 ELECTRONIC
 DOCUMENTARY
 EXPERIMENTAL
 HUMAN

34. RESEARCH PROCESS
• STEP 1: DEVELOP A DATA COLLECTION PLAN/STRATEGY
• STEP 2: DATA COLLECTION
• STEP 3: DATA COLLATION
• STEP 4: DATA ANALYSIS LEADS TO FINDINGS
• STEP 5: DATA INTERPRETATION
LEADS TO CONCLUSIONS
• STEP 6: VERIFICATION
• STEP 7: PUBLICATION LEADS TO RECOMMENDATIONS

35. STEP 3: ORGANIZING – 3-S FORMAT
• STRUCTURE (OF REPORT)
• SEQUENCE (OF REPORT)
• SPACING (POSITIONING OF TABLES, FIGURES,
ATTACHMENTS TO THE REPORT)
• RECOMMENDED ORGANIZING TOOL: MIND-MAPPING
• OBJECTIVE: TO ENSURE FLUENCY AND EFFICIENCY IN
WRITING WHEN TRANSITIONING FROM THINKING (STEPS
1-3) TO INKING (STEPS 4-6)

36. MIND-MAPPING EXAMPLE

37. LEARNING ACTIVITY 3
• By following steps 1-3 of the report writing
process, develop a framework/skeleton of a
business report for your organization.
Step 1: Planning
Step 2: Research methodology and process
Step 3: Organizing the technical report structure

38. STEP 4: WRITE FIRST DRAFT
• APPLY THE BEST PRACTICE WRITING
PRINCIPLES
• USE THE APPROPRIATE TECHNICAL REPORT
STRUCTURE AND FORMAT

39. STEP 5: QUALITY ASSURANCE
• PROOF-READ AND EDIT THE REPORT
• PERFORM A SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION CHECK
• CONSULT WITH LANGUAGE AND SUBJECT MATTER
EXPERTS AND RECEIVE FEEDBACK
• MAKE THE NECESSARY REVISIONS
• REFER TO THE EVALUATION CHECKLIST (PAGES 49-51
IN THE LEARNER MANUAL)

40. STEP 6: SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL
OF FINAL DRAFT
• MAKE THE NECESSARY AMENDMENTS AND
WRITE THE FINAL DRAFT
• SUBMIT TO HIGHER MANAGEMENT TO
AUTHORIZE, APPROVE AND ADOPT THE
REPORT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

41. LEARNING ACTIVITY 4
• By using the following format (as a guideline), write the
first draft of a business report on the identified, work-
related topic/subject. (step 4 of the business report
writing process)
• Step 5: Review the report (Submit this report to a fellow
learner to get feedback). Readers should use the checklist
on pages 49-51 to evaluate the business report.
• Step 6: Writing and submitting the final draft (Based on
the feedback from the fellow learner, make the necessary
amendments and write the final draft)

42. PRESENTATION OVERVIEW – DAY 2
• Effective business letter writing
• Effective Memorandum writing
• Effective e-mail communication
• Effective minute-taking

44. MINUTE-TAKING FUNDAMENTALS
• The scope of minutes
• Tips and warnings
• The criteria of effective minutes

45. LEARNING ACTIVITY 5
• Identify some of the foremost challenges when
taking, transcribing and writing meeting
minutes.
• For each of these challenges develop a viable
solution/strategy to overcome these challenges.
• Compile a list of 10 best practice criteria for
good quality minutes.

46. BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR
MINUTE-TAKERS
• Preparation (pre-meeting)
• Transcribing (during meeting)
• Writing minutes (after the meeting)

47. LEARNING ACTIVITY 6
• By referring to the best practice list of guidelines for
effectively taking, transcribing and writing meetings
minutes, conduct a 15 minute, mock meeting. Nominate
the roles of Chairperson, Secretary and Participants.
• The Secretary should record and write-up the minutes.
• By referring to the best practice checklist (Learning
Activity 5), the other group members will constructively
evaluate these meetings and provide feedback.

48. E-MAIL COMMUNICATION

49. FUNDAMENTALS OF E-MAIL
COMMUNICATION
• Guidelines to improve e-mail writing skills
• Writing professional e-mails
• Improving your e-mail writing style
• Writing business e-mails
• Golden Rules of Email Etiquette

50. GUIDELINES TO EFFECTIVE E-MAIL
COMMUNICATION

51. LEARNING ACTIVITY 7
• Identify some of the common mistakes made by e-
mail senders that cause/create irritation and
frustration on the part of the recipients. For each of
these common mistakes identify an improvement
strategy.

53. • Do not, under any circumstances, forward chain letters
• Respond to group e-mails appropriately
• Use actual English
• Don’t use your company e-mail for private e-mails
• Utilize CC and BCC properly
• Be careful what you say

54. • Lose the attitude
• Don’t be a spammer
• Respect laws and regulations
• Get clarification
• Delete unnecessary content
• Keep signatures simple

55. LEARNING ACTIVITY 8
• Develop a Code of Good Practice: Proper and
Professional e-mail Etiquette (10 principles)
for all e-mail users at your organization.

56. DRAFTING PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS
LETTERS AND MEMORANDUMS
• Business Letter format - Block
• Refer to Sample Business Letter
• Business letter writing guidelines

58. BUSINESS LETTER WRITING
GUIDELINES
• Use a professional tone
• Write clearly
• Organize your information logically
• Be persuasive
• Proofread your letter
• Useful phrases and vocabulary for writing business letters

59. WRITING MEMORANDUM’S
• Purpose of Memo’s
• Written well, business memo’s are an efficient,
effective way to communicate within an
organization.
• Memo Sections
Heading
Opening
Body
Closing

60. MEMORANDUM FORMAT

61. LEARNING ACTIVITY 9
• Develop a set of 10 best practice
criteria/guidelines for effective business
letter writing.
• Develop a set of 10 best practice
criteria/guidelines for effective
Memorandum writing.

62. CONCLUSION
• SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS
• LEARNING “TAKE-AWAYS"
• QUESTIONS
• TRAINING ADMINISTRATION
• CERTIFICATION
• THANK YOU!

63. CONTACT DETAILS
• CHARLES COTTER
• +27 84 562 9446
• charlescot@polka.co.za
• LINKED IN
• TWITTER: Charles_Cotter