Business Writing That Counts!™
Dr. Julie Miller
Business Writing That Counts!
Dr. Julie Miller
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 Dr. Julie Miller
Discover other titles by Dr. Julie Miller at Smashwords.com
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Dedications
Dr. Julie Miller
To my extraordinary and ever-patient husband—his love and support sustain me. To my dear and generous father, whose mentoring challenged and empowered me. To my precious and beloved mother—she would have been so proud.
Jonathan Todd
To my wife, Ilona—your calm power, focused direction and deep undercurrent of love have always been the wind beneath my wings. To my daughter, Natasha—you are simply the brightest light in the universe. I can’t wait for the rest of the world to discover you! Finally, the deepest respect and admiration for my parents—you have always done the right thing, have always been there for me, and have always known the secret of silent parental communication during those most important moments in life. I am a most fortunate man.
Acknowledgements
Dr. Julie Miller
To Karyn Frazier for her thoughtful edits to this fifth edition.
To all my clients, whose writing successes and challenges continue to add to the depth and breadth of this book.
Jonathan Todd
To Julie Miller, who has written one of the most important books on writing ever to grace the business bookshelf. When I first read her work, I was profoundly struck by how useful and elegant her system is. It is an honor to be asked to contribute to this edition. A special thanks to our publisher, Sheryn Hara, for her publishing prowess and great people skills. To those who influence my personal and professional life so much—Ben, Girshon, Michael, Mick, Steven, and the SabreMark, Inc., team, my deepest thanks.
Chapter
1
Get
Organized
Chapter
2
Get
Started
Chapter
3
Get
it
Done
Chapter
4
Get
Smart
Chapter
5
Get
it
Write
Chapter
6
Get
Writing
Special
Section by Jonathan Todd
Business
Writing
That Sells!
About the Authors & Special Resources
Introduction
to
Business
Writing
that
Counts!
This millennium has been coined the “writing-est” of times. Words fly over the airwaves at the blink of an eye. With each new technological advance, the speed of business increases and so does the pressure from customers who demand instantaneous responses. Getting your messages and documents written and sent quickly is one issue; making them interesting, clear, concise, and powerful is another. Business Writing That Counts! helps you do both.
Let’s be honest. Few people put writing at the top of their “favorites” list. Bright, hard-working individuals invent the most amazing excuses for not getting to it because they view writing as difficult, frustrating, and time-consuming work. Business Writing That Counts! makes the writing process easier and less painful by teaching you a simple system to get it done quickly!
Business Writing That Counts! also provides practical strategies for your work world. The consequences of ineffective communication are legendary. Poorly written documents create unnecessary waste of time, money, energy. And the amount of lost revenue due to missed opportunities is inestimable. Whether you write for large companies, medium-sized companies, or home-based businesses, this book will help you get organized, get started, and get writing.
My goal? As corny as it sounds, I want you to feel empowered: If you can talk, you can write! I have attempted to make my book user-friendly and pragmatic. Read it sequentially, learning and building skills as you go, or pick it up and read any chapter of interest or concern.
The first three chapters set the foundation with a quick and easy brainstorming process, a unique numbering system, and the permission to break writing rules we were sworn to uphold. The last three help you refine your writing, address common business writing concerns, and present you with invaluable writing tips.
Master the concepts in Business Writing That Counts! and enjoy six main benefits. You will:
Save time, which ultimately saves you money
Increase your productivity
Make your writing more interesting
Simplify everything you write with the elegant numbering system
Focus your message on your reader
Enhance your company’s reputation as well as your own
Turn the page and let’s get started. And welcome to the world of quick, easy, and powerful writing.
Here’s to good writing!
Author’s note
This fifth edition of Business Writing That Counts! contains a special comprehensive section on sales writing presented by one of the top marketing and sales experts in the country, Jonathan Todd. In Business Writing That Sells!, you will learn from the best how to write what sells. This bonus section offers you an exclusive opportunity to enhance your sales writing and get the results you want. Don’t miss it!
Get
Organized
Quit Circling the Computer!
It’s all about the bottom line these days. In this current business environment, maximizing efficiency and reducing costs have become critical. When you write, you must quickly and concisely get to the heart of the issue. Whether you write emails all day or craft expert reports, reducing your writing time and increasing your productivity is essential—and expected.
Writing
is easy. All you have to do is sit down . . .
and wait for drops
of blood to form on your forehead.
- Gene Fowler
Few people enjoy sitting down to put on paper what could be said in less than half the time. And for most of us, talking with peers or clients takes less effort and causes fewer panic attacks than writing does. But with the Internet the primary venue for communication, doing business in writing is a given, not an option. Emails, memos, performance reviews, sales letters, business plans, proposals, status reports, white papers, executive summaries, Web pages, even Tweets… the list goes on and on.
What if I told you that you could approach writing tasks with the same ease and speed you do conversation? Well, you can. Read on.
Instantaneous is just too darn slow
Businesses pressure employees to deliver and deliver fast. Writing on demand is a constant requirement, and ineffective writers have no place to hide if their writing skills remain sub par.
While technology gives us the ability to soar like an eagle, it also saddles us with the burden of the albatross. Thanks to the instancy of the Internet, we can respond with lightning speed; unfortunately, these quick communiqués often come at the expense of clarity of thought. This constant demand for immediacy raises the stakes and our blood pressure.
When you don’t have enough time to spend on what you write, you leave yourself open to all sorts of calamities. Have you ever found yourself stuck with any of the following unwanted results?
Missed opportunities because the writing team lacked efficient and effective skills
Higher labor costs from rewriting unclear documents
Damaged reputations because of poorly written documents
Thinner bottom lines when proposals are rejected due to poor quality
Caution: Not spending time to make your writing clear, cogent, and concise may be hazardous to your career or business health.
Writing eats up time
We also know writing takes time. A recent client of mine, the owner of a placement service, told of his frustration in getting out a letter to his customers regarding a new billing procedure. He said, “Something’s wrong with this picture. I just spent three hours writing three paragraphs people will read in three minutes! Not to mention the cost of mailing the darn things.”
So we circle the computer or clean every nook and cranny in the office.
Why did it take him so long to write a brief letter? Because he invested too much time on the start-up—meaning those initial organizing steps. He had no efficient writing system in place that would help him quickly arrange his thoughts and get the update out to his customers.
For most of us, just getting started is the most difficult part of the writing process. So we circle the computer, schmooze with coworkers, get another latté, clean every nook and cranny in the office—anything to avoid getting started.
Why? Two reasons:
We don’t know where to begin, and . . .
We get hung up on following (let alone remembering) the sacred rules of the writing process.
What stops you in your tracks?
Review the excuses below for not getting started. Do any of these ring true for you?
I’m so lousy at writing.
It takes too much time.
I never know what to say.
I’m not into suffering.
I’m scared what my writing will reveal about me.
I become so overwhelmed with the task, I can’t get organized.
I’d rather call than write.
It’s not my area of strength.
I need lots of creative time.
So enough already! You’ve admitted your frustrations and fears. Now, shrug them off and jump right in. You’re going to have fun along the way—I promise.
In this first chapter, you will learn how to overcome the blank-screen syndrome and quickly organize your thoughts by using Idea Maps. You will also gain an additional benefit: permission to break some of the rules drilled into you in school.
For that reason, I’ll start by giving you immediate dispensation to get going and quit circling the computer!
Rule-Breaker
Number One:
Throw Out the Formal Outline!
We’ve all had a teacher sometime during our school career who believed in strict adherence to the rules. Mine? Sister Mary John. Her mission in life? To cram into our pointy little heads the writing rules—rules for diagramming, punctuation, dependent and independent clauses, prepositional phrases, nouns, verbs, ad nauseam. Admittedly, we needed to learn basic writing fundamentals, but fun was not part of the drill-and-skill regimen.
Sister Mary John had one cardinal rule in particular that could never be violated: We could not scribble one word onto paper until we had produced approved outlines.
Who remembers the rules to formal outlining, anyway? And who cares?! Often outlining seems like a painful, laborious, frustrating, and completely unnecessary exercise.
Even more important, outlining sets up a prescribed approach to your topic before you have determined your direction. But worst of all, while you’re trying to remember whether to use Roman numerals or lower case letters, parentheses or periods, you find yourself stalling, putting off the real task of writing.
The real issue, then, is knowing which rules you can break.
As you go through this book, you will learn how to write with competence, confidence, and speed. And, best of all, you can thumb your nose at some of those rules!
Idea
Mapping:
A Simple Path to Creativity
The easiest way to reduce your start-up time and gain productivity time comes through moving beyond the formal outline process to an Idea Map. What’s an Idea Map? It’s an illustration of your ideas on any topic, a graphic display of your thinking and the non-linear, multidimensional way your brain works. Various names for creating this visual tool include “mind mapping,” “clustering” or “webbing.” I call it Idea Mapping.
You can apply Idea Mapping to any kind of writing project to give structure to your ideas while unlocking your creative genius.
Perhaps you know your topic and just want a faster system for getting your ideas down. Maybe you’re the financial analyst organizing data on trends in the timber industry, or you need to generate new ideas for a software company developing an employee compensation package. Idea Mapping works.
Why? Because paying attention to the rules can literally stop you before you get started.
Why? Because formal outlining takes too much time and diverts your focus.
Why? Because your best ideas—your most creative ideas—come when you let go in an unedited, disorderly, free-flowing stream of consciousness.
Why? Because you want those good, creative ideas in your document.
Our
thinking processes have always yielded riches when we’ve approached
things openly, letting free associations form into new ideas. Many
would argue that we’ve used such a small part of our mental
capacity because of our insistence on linear thinking.
-
Margaret Wheatley
Chart your own map
When you have to prepare website content, proposals, RFPs, business cases, even speeches, Idea Mapping provides a shortcut to simpler, more efficient organization.
Put your ideas down without judgment or evaluation.
Like brainstorming, Idea Mapping keeps you focused, and allows you to ignore the internal naysayers as you freely generate your ideas. By staying focused, you eliminate a big time-waster—going back again and again to reorganize your thoughts.
We will create an Idea Map in nine steps, but let’s look at a completed one first. A speech coach quickly drafted this example to capture his observations about a sales presentation. Can you see how quickly ideas took shape even before he started a structured writing process?
A critique sheet of a speech used during John’s debriefing.
Dr. Julie Tip: Idea Mapping can generate twice as many ideas as the conventional listing and outlining of topics. Why? Because according to the latest research, our brain does not necessarily process information in lists. Create Idea Maps and free your brain.
In the following pages, you will learn nine easy steps for organizing your ideas without becoming bogged down by the rule-laden formal outline process. No magic—just practical, visual guides. Practice these steps and in no time you’ll Idea Map a letter in five minutes flat! Or quickly create marketing material that drives customers to your door.
The Steps
1. Start with a blank writing surface and a pencil or pen. Consider using a legal-size pad, a white board, a flip chart. Your brainstormed ideas will be graphically displayed on the Idea Map.
2. Put the main idea you want to write in the center of your paper. Use a single word or a phrase (abbreviations are fine) and draw a circle around it. (Figure 1) Since I’ve stressed the importance of saving time, the main idea of my Idea Map is time management habits.
Figure 1
Dr. Julie Tip: For meetings or group sessions: Use an easel-size pad of paper or a white board for large group projects. Everyone can see it. Use sticky notes to easily move ideas under different branches.
3. Next, consider these reader-focused questions:
What is your purpose, your objective, the goal of your document? To persuade, explain, sell, apologize, inform, or entertain? Decide what results you want from your message.
Who is your reader? What does your reader think or feel about this topic? What does your reader need to know? Keep an image of your reader in your mind’s eye.
What do you want the reader to do with the information? Sue? Send money? Call you?
I
can’t write without a reader.
It’s precisely like a kiss—you
can’t do it alone.
-
John Cheever
The reader remains at the heart of your writing. Unless you intend to write to the reader, don’t even pick up the pen, don’t even put your fingers to the keyboard! The whole purpose of your document must be to engage the reader so that he or she does something with your information.
4. Now, start filling in the Idea Map by answering this mapping question: What major points, key concepts, or important ideas can I address about my topic?
A mapping question helps you focus your topic and starts you down the right path as you map. (See mapping question for time management example coming up next.)
5. As you brainstorm your major points, draw lines out from the circled main idea. (Figure 2) Write down words and phrases rapidly on those lines (no sentences—they slow you down). Keep those freewheeling ideas coming. They can hitchhike on each other. One idea will trigger another and then another.
Don’t make judgments as to whether the points completely fit with the topic. You will decide later which ideas to keep.
On the lines radiating out from your circled main idea, you will fill in the major points, the key concepts about your main idea. Write down words and phrases that answer the mapping question in step #4 (above).
To you, this process may seem random or chaotic or disorderly or messy or informal. It is all of these! Keep that left side of your brain quiet. Relax and just jot the ideas down anyway.
In this example, I’ve mapped the important habits of people who manage their time well.
Mapping Question: What would be important time management habits to practice?
6. As you generate ideas that support your major points, start capturing these details on additional lines—twigs that you extend from the branches. Details and examples add increasingly specific information to your major points. (Figure 3)
Note: Your ideas will not necessarily come to you sequentially. You’ll think of a major or minor point about one idea that will trigger an idea about something else. Some of your ideas may not seem to fit under any of the branches. Write them down on the Idea Map anyway. Let your creativity flow!
What data, examples, explanations, clarifications, or descriptions about your major points can you use to support the main idea? In this example, I list minor points—or details—that clarify ways you can acquire five time management habits.
Figure 3
Remember: Try not to edit yourself; instead, continue to generate major and minor points until you have finished. That may sound like a silly statement, but you’ll know when you’re done. (Allot at least five to ten minutes for this exercise.) Either you’ll run out of ideas or you will be very clear about what you want to write.
7. When you’ve finished creating your Idea Map, step back and take another look. Become a critical thinker. Decide which points will stay and which ones will go. Determine which details to combine or which to move under another point.
Blocked? Can’t think of anything? Just draw some blank lines radiating out from your main idea. With this simple act, you release the mental logjam in your brain. Why? Because your brain cannot stand incompleteness and it will eventually think of a word to put on that line. Amazing, huh?
8. Circle the individual big branches with the major and minor points on them. This will make it easy for you to see the number of points you plan to make in your document, speech, or email. (Figure 4)
9. Last, try to determine the best order in which you will write your document. Prioritize your ideas by placing a number next to each circled branch. (Figure 4) Later on in this chapter, I’ll show you additional ways to organize information.
A completed (and circled) Idea Map
In the Idea Map, you will find:
Topic for a magazine article
Major points (five habits) about time management
Abbreviated words and phrases
Supporting details and examples for each major point
Numbers indicating the best order for the points to appear in the article
Idea Maps at work
A large engineering firm wanted to expand their consulting services to include environmental engineering. This expansion involved setting up new departments, adding personnel, and developing a separate division within the corporation. Using the Idea Mapping techniques, they mapped out all work to be done by quarter’s end. Additionally, they drafted the contents of a new company brochure.
Even
with a report that requires lots of data,
you can still (with
practice) complete an Idea Map in about ten minutes.
Dr. Julie Tip: For group writing projects:
Circle each major point with different colors to make them easier to identify.
Then assign each branch to individual team members.
Each team member Idea Maps his or her branch and adds any further data or information necessary to the project.
This works great for business plans and grant or proposal writing—actually any large document.
The training director of a manufacturing company used to pull her hair out when considering a new hire because she spent hours capturing and processing everyone’s ideas. She shared this comment: “It would put me over the edge! Now, in a half-hour I can Idea Map the job requirements with my team and have the position posted that afternoon!”
A human resources director said procrastination used to be her middle name when it came to completing employees’ performance reviews as well as monthly reviews for probationary hires. To add to the workload, she had to write the monthly reviews for probationary hires. “After drawing up an Idea Map on a Sunday afternoon, I felt much better about taking on this daunting, tedious and time-consuming chore!”
Idea Maps save you time!
Here’s her Idea Map. You can use an Idea Map as a template to quickly evaluate or set up any task that has a predictable structure—even sales and marketing presentations. Once you lock in the common themes, most of your talk is complete. Just plug in the topics later.
A template for performance reviews
Practice: Create an Idea Map
Apply the steps and create an Idea Map on any topic— perhaps a speech for a conference, a marketing proposal, a response to a customer’s complaint, or a plan for a product rollout. Try several to practice. After charting six or seven Idea Maps, you will create them effortlessly.
To start, put your main idea in the center below and get going.
If
you want more creative/innovative thinking in your organization, you
must encourage the generation of “qualities of ideas.”
-Michael
Michalko, Cracking Creativity
Four More Ways to Idea Map
Information can be organized in a variety of different ways, depending on the task and the person creating the Idea Map. In the previous examples, the Idea Maps displayed key concepts about the main idea. Four additional ways to organize your thoughts, data, or points onto an Idea Map follow with examples of each below:
Division of information
Compare and contrast
Cause and effect
Problem and solution
Depending on your writing tasks—project proposals, press releases, marketing materials—one of these Idea Map formats probably will work for you.
But remember: No matter what format you use, it must stay reader-oriented. Ask yourself: How will I effectively and concisely present my points to the reader?
Now, let’s look at some scenarios in which you might use the four different formats mentioned above, along with the mapping questions that give structure to the ideas.
Division of Information
Dividing information remains probably the most widely used organizational format because of its built-in logic. You can organize information in one of the following ways:
Chronological (used for information related to time or historical references)
Most to least important (used to explain)
Least to most important (used to persuade)
Listing steps (used for procedures and instructions)
As you create an Idea Map, consider these examples of mapping questions:
In what order will we roll out this initiative?
What problems need addressing as we begin large-scale hiring?
What steps should be followed in this process?
Why should (or not) our investors consider supporting this project?
How should we divide the presentation of this report/sales proposal?
Scenario: ABC Corporation plans a marketing campaign for a new product launch.
Mapping Question: What key ideas should we focus on as we take this product to market?
Compare and contrast
In this next approach, you can organize data by contrasting and comparing and/or presenting advantages and disadvantages. For example, perhaps you want to compare the attributes of your product/services versus that of your competitor’s.
As you create an Idea Map, consider these examples of mapping questions:
What familiar ideas link to this new and unfamiliar information so that the team understands?
How will I compare and contrast our products/ services to that of our competitors?
What key issues surround the advantages and disadvantages of starting this project?
Scenario: A bank wants to consider new products that match those of their competitors.
Mapping Question: How are our products different from or similar to those of our competitors?
Cause and effect
You can also organize your information around a question-answer or cause-and-effect format. This means you would consider various actions and their corresponding results. For example: If we proceed one way, this will happen; if we proceed a different way, that will happen.
As you create an Idea Map, consider these examples of mapping questions:
What questions might our customers have about this new product?
What is the cause-and-effect relationship of this product purchase?
What are the problems and what are the solutions to this issue?
Scenario: A fast-growing company considers the pros and cons of using in-house trainers versus outsourcing.
Mapping Question: What are the advantages and disadvantages of in-house training and outsourcing?
Problem and solution
This last approach has great appeal, since it’s what we do for our customers—solve their problems. For example: Here’s your problem and here’s how we can solve it to achieve these results.
As you create an Idea Map, consider these examples of mapping questions:
What facts, reasoning, and conclusions would reinforce our position?
What approaches might solve my client’s issues?
How can we change the way we do business to appeal to a tech-savvy generation?
Scenario: A business must solve its problem of limited parking for employees, which is compounded by the fact that it shares an entrance with a local community college.
Mapping Question: What are the ways we can solve the problem of not enough parking?
Now you try it
Now it’s time for you to chart your own Idea Map. Use existing documents or create ones that you need to get started. For example, how about using one of the Idea Mapping formats to update a business plan or to create a series of instructions necessary for a database?
Important: Hold on to your Idea Map. In the next chapter, you’ll use it to start your writing.
It
is my contention my superstition if you like that he who is faithful
to his map, and consults it, and draws from it his inspiration, daily
and hourly, gains positive support... The tale has a root here: it
grows in that soil; it has a spine of its own behind the words... As
he studies the map, relations will appear that he had not thought
upon.
- Robert
Louis Stevenson
Five Reasons to Idea Map
Pre-planning: Idea Mapping organizes major projects and reports. It allows for brainstorming and creativity before you begin the work.
Test preparation: Idea Mapping arranges lecture notes or chapters in your textbook. It makes it easier to see all the important points on one piece of paper.
A colleague of mine used Idea Mapping to organize her thesis in her MBA program. She said, “There was absolutely no conceivable way to organize all the data and research over three years by using a formal outline. The outline would have been as thick as our course notebooks! Idea Mapping was the only way. I could see virtually the entire thesis on one very big piece of butcher paper. It was a miracle!”
Note-taking at meetings or lectures: Idea Mapping simplifies getting down the main points covered. No one speaks without bird walks (goes off on a tangent—see definition at end of chapter). You can use Idea Mapping to capture the main ideas even if the speaker is prone to meandering.
Problem solving: Idea Mapping gives you permission to think through an issue creatively.
Project management: Idea Mapping can help project managers complete statements of work, project post-mortems and status reports.
Singing from the Same Songbook
The following words and phrases will pop up throughout this book. I’ve given the definition for each one as it pertains to our discussion about writing. Sharing a common vocabulary with your reader is important any time you want to communicate effectively—a point you might want to remember as you work on your own writing.
Bird walk ~ Going off on a tangent; important information that needs to be included but may be slightly off course; an aside.
Concluding Power 1 ~ Sentence or paragraph that seals your document. See Chapter Three.
Free-writing with an edge ~ Using the Power Numbers as your edge, to get your thoughts written down in an organized manner. See Chapter Two.
Idea Map ~ A graphic representation of your ideas on paper.
Mapping question ~ A focused question about your topic that guides your thinking and brainstorming.
Mnemonic ~ A memory technique. See C.L.E.V.R. Solutions in Chapter Four.
Pedantic writing ~ Writing that no one understands but may impress some readers.
Power Numbers system ~ An organizational writing system that assigns a numerical value (a power) to words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs.
Power 1 ~ The main idea of your document. Used at the beginning and end of a document.
Power 2 ~ The major point(s) about your topic. It explains or supports your main idea. Power 2 always talks about Power 1.
Power 3 ~ A minor point or detail about Power 2. Power 3 always talks about, supports or elaborates on the Power 2. Power 4s and 5s can add even further specifics, as long as each power refers to the preceding power.
Voice ~ Revealing who you are through your writing; your unique way of expressing yourself.
Zero power ~ Sentences that hook the reader or provide background information.
In Summary
Using Idea Maps will:
Allow you to quickly generate ideas and organize data.
Free you from the fear of getting started and from procrastination.
Open up your creativity without the mind-numbing outline structure.
Supply an organizational tool when you already know the topic.
Let you see your entire writing project at a glance.
Provide an excellent process for group projects or large reports.
Help make sense of large amounts of data.
Organize one-page letters or 1,000-page tomes.
What’s Next?
In the next chapter, you will:
Organize your Idea Map into a Power framework.
Master the Power Numbers system.
Understand how using the Power Numbers system helps you produce clear, crisp communication.
Convert the Power framework into a draft with Power sentences.
Practice free-writing that first draft.
Learn how to keep your writing on target and to complete writing tasks in half the time.
Get ready for the Power Play!
Get
Started
Cut Your Writing Time in Half!
In Chapter One, we talked about using Idea Mapping right from the get-go whenever you have to write. A quick way to brain dump, Idea Mapping corrals all those galloping ideas before they can escape out the barn door.
For some of you, this unstructured approach might conflict with your learning style. If that applies to you, not to worry—you can go straight to the Power Numbers system. It will give you the framework you need to generate and organize your ideas.
If
you can count to three, you can write anything
you ever have to
in this or any other lifetime!
Remember the Idea Map on time management habits in Chapter One? Here it is again, with each branch assigned a Power Number: larger branches represent Power 2s and the twigs are Power 3s and 4s.
Quick—what’s the Power Number in the circle?
You got it—Power 1, the topic of the Idea Map.
Below I have converted the Idea Map into the Power Numbers structure. (See Chapter One for the Idea Mapping steps):
Power 1=time management habits
Power 2=do first things first
Power 3=determine significant tasks
Power 3=focus on forward movement
Power 4=pour your energy
Power 2=prioritize goals
Power 3=focus on opportunity
Power 3=aim high
Power 2=write to-do lists
This
Power 2 has no Power 3s to support it.
That can work; it depends
on what you want to emphasize.
Power 2=set short/long goals
Power 3=prioritize by level of importance
Power 4=select for best results
Power 2=handle emails
Power 3=only once!
Power 1=make time work
You did not see this concluding Power 1 on the Idea Map. It serves as a restatement, conclusion, or summary of the main idea. More details on this tactic in Chapter Three.
It is true! I have worked with over half a million people in every imaginable industry.
People at all levels—from CEOs to trades people to students… in companies of all sizes—from large corporations to small businesses to one-person enterprises… to people who are government employees, hospital administrators, restaurateurs, travel agents, realtors, attorneys, financial planners, and accountants (just to name a few!)—have learned the Power Numbers system and made it work for them.
For
those of you who can toggle back and forth between the two organizing
tools,
you can start with an Idea Map, then convert it into Power
Numbers (above), or vice versa.
Everywhere I take this system, great things happen! From saving companies hundreds of thousands of dollars to making people feel empowered, successful, and confident, the Power Numbers system creates positive results every time. The people I teach say, “This is so easy! Why didn’t I learn this in school? I wouldn’t have been so afraid to write.” Another frequent comment: “I can’t believe how much time this saves! I can easily and rapidly organize my ideas with the Power Numbers!”
A dirty little secret
I’ll let you in on a little secret: all informational writing—whether business, research-based, persuasive, technical, or analytical—follows a formula. The writer introduces the main point of his or her document then proceeds to logically unpack the ideas. For example: Here’s the idea, here are major points about it, and here are some specifics that lend evidence or support. Sounds simple, right?
If we were ever taught this formula, it was couched in abstract terms that English teachers loved: topic sentence, thesis statement, developmental paragraphs, etc. These terms may have meant something, but in most cases they did not conjure up substantive images that helped us write a clear and organized paper.
Use numbers to write
The Power Numbers system uses numbers to give order to your thinking and your writing, allowing you to easily arrange your ideas in a logical sequence. And for those who like the organization outlining provides, this framework gives you the best of both worlds: the structure of an outline, without its creativity-killing rigid rules.
The Power Numbers System
The Power Numbers system consists of assigning a numerical value—a Power—to words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. The numbers correspond to the level of importance and detail you want in your document. By using the Power Numbers, you can quickly organize your ideas and get writing.
This is so easy! Why haven’t I learned it until now?
Numbers are your friends
Power 1 is the main theme, topic paragraph, thesis statement, big idea, or focus of your document. It may be the first sentence of your document or be included within the first paragraph. Power 1 can also be used as a concluding sentence, restating your main theme, or big idea. (More details on this will be given in Chapter Three.)
Power 2 is a major point about your Power 1. It clarifies, explains, or supports your main theme. Power 2s always talk about Power 1. Power 2s make up the body of your document.
Power 3 is a minor point or detail about Power 2. Power 3s always talk about, elaborate upon, or add specific details about the major points (Power 2s). Add as many Power 3s as you need to back up your major points.
Dr. Julie Tip: You can add increasing levels of detail to any document of any length. How? By adding Power 4s and Power 5s. In most documents, you will only need Power 2s and 3s to make your point; in others—depending on the purpose—more detail is necessary. Just remember, each number must support or expand on the preceding Power Number.
For those of you who think in pictures, this diagram should help you see the Power Number framework extended out to Power 4s and 5s. See how the Power 1 frames the ideas that follow.
Let’s get back to business
Now that we’ve looked at an overview of the numbering system, I’ll show you how to build any document of any length.
Look at this simple paragraph below with each sentence defined as a Power 1, 2, or 3:
Follow these three steps for turning on your computer (Power 1). First, be sure you plug it in (Power 2). Use a surge protector to prevent damage from power spikes (Power 3). Second, press in the button on your PC tower (Power 2). You will hear a whirring sound; this is the computer starting (Power 3). Last, press the button on your monitor (Power 2). Your monitor will spring to life with color and graphics (Power 3)!
The
Power 1 states the topic; the Power 2s support the main idea;
the
Power 3s provide the details.
Start first with Power 1s and Power 2s
In a minute you’ll build your own document with Power Numbers, but let’s do a practice run first.
To start, use Power 1 and Power 2 words and phrases to capture your thoughts. Later you will expand them into sentences.
Let’s look at a few examples. In the first, the Power 1 is product offerings (the main theme) and the Power 2s are the names of the products (the major points).
Power 1=product/service offerings
Power 2=consulting
Power 2=specialized electronic dictionaries
Power 2=voice recognition software
How about this example:
Power 1=improving employee morale
Power 2=performance-driven bonuses
Power 2=flexible work hours
Power 2=college tuition reimbursement
And here’s one more:
Power 1=strong financial institutions
Power 2=Bank of the West
Power 2=U.S. Bank
Power 2=Umpqua Bank
Power 2=City National Bank
Can you see the core of each writer’s document beginning to take shape?
Practice: Start with Power 1 and 2s
How many major points (Power 2s) will clarify or explain a new program to your employees or to your customers? List your Power 2 ideas in words and phrases in the blanks below.
1 New customer service program
2 _________________________
2 _________________________
2 _________________________
2 _________________________
2 _________________________
List the major features that benefit the customer
Or perhaps you need to get out an email informing your staff about a change in the organization. What three reasons would you share with staff about the sales team reconfiguration?
1 Changes in the sales team
2 _________________________
2 _________________________
2 _________________________
Build your document with words and phrases
The steps
1. Find your Idea Map from Chapter One. Now take out a piece of paper or go to your PC and get ready to write down a Power 1 followed by Power 2s.
2. Write down the Power 1—the main theme of your document. This would be the circled word or phrase in the middle of your Idea Map.
3. Count each branch—those lines radiating from the circle. That number determines how many Power 2s you will list. For example, my Idea Map on time management habits has five branches. Therefore, five Power 2s list the time management habits. (For further guidance see the Appendix.)
Add Power 3s
Now let’s branch out a bit. To add more details or some specifics about your topic, you need Power 3s.
In the example below, the Power 3s elaborate about employee morale. The Power 3s list specific outcomes derived from boosting morale.
Example:
Power 1=improving employee morale
Power 2=performance-driven bonuses
Power3=instills pride and ownership
Power 2=flexible work hours
Power 3=builds sense of trust
Power 2=college tuition reimbursement
Power 3=empowers employees
Here’s another example:
Power 1=new customer service program
Power 2=increase customer loyalty
Power 3=greet each customer
Power 3=mail thank you notes
Power 2=feel free to make decisions
Power 3=waive fees
Power 3=offer products
Power 2=one-stop services
Power 3=online bill pay
Power 3=credit cards
Power 3=mortgages
Power 2=help from bank staff
Build your document with Power Numbers
Dr. Julie Tip: You can add as many Power 2s and 3s as you want to make any point of any length.
4. Look over your Idea Map again. The Power 3s, 4s, and 5s are the twigs on your Idea Map. Add these minor points about the topic to your Power structure.
Power 3s are great for giving additional information, but don’t feel you always have to put them in whatever you’re writing. Some Power 2s require additional elaboration, others do not.
The Power Numbers can expand with any document to any length—you decide. Just remember you always build your writing around the needs of your reader and your purpose for writing.
Let’s Get Writing and Start Counting!
Congratulations! You’ve made it over the initial hurdles: You’ve organized by charting an Idea Map (or two). You’ve started by using the Power Numbers. Now, you can begin writing sentences.
At this point, you don’t want to waste time trying to construct an introduction or beginning that will knock the reader’s socks off. That comes later. Right now you want to just jump right in and write the Power 1 sentence. Simple is best to start. You’ll come back later and revise.
In the next section you’ll take your Power words and phrases and turn them into clear, crisp, concise memos, emails, letters, reports, proposals—anything you need to write. By using the Power Numbers system, you save time. Knowing how many points you will write about in your document cuts your organizing and writing time in half. Best of all, you will deliver writing worth reading.
Power phrases converted into power sentences
Below I have turned Power 1 and 2 words and phrases from earlier into sentences on time management habits. Remember, these sentences are in draft form.
Time Management Habits
Power 1=Practicing five indispensable habits is your passbook to a full and rich life.
Power 2=Do first things first.
Power 2=Prioritizing your goals is the second habit.
Power 2=A third habit consists of writing to-do lists.
Power 2=Set short- and long-range goals.
Power 2=Learn how to handle the slew of emails that arrive each day.
Power 1=Make time work.
Before you draft your Power 1 and 2 sentences, read on.
Free-Write, but with Restraint
Does that sound like an oxymoron? Free-writing conjures up images of blithely dumping down on paper whatever darn thing comes to mind, and then spending excessive amounts of time going back to organize those chaotic thoughts.
But with the Power Numbers system, you can free-write and organize at the same time. Here’s how: As you let those sentences flow, use the Power Numbers to assign each a level of importance, thus creating some semblance of order while saving time.
Never
correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down.
Rewrite in
process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on.
- John Steinbeck
Worry-free free writing
Your internal editor may be itching to use his red pen, but tell him to keep a cap on it for now. Just get your sentences down without undue attention to punctuation, spelling, and the other writing rules—you’ll go back later in the process to make sure everything is correct.
By using the Power Numbers you have control so that you stay focused and don’t wander. The Power Numbers act as guides so that less time (and money) will be spent reorganizing the material later.
Remember, a draft is a plan—a first attempt. Just like building a house, you must first lay the foundation and then the building can take shape.
Spend your very valuable time revising and editing after you’ve shaped your document. Similar to putting a jigsaw puzzle together, the fun lies in seeing the pieces fall into place. The parts become whole and form a clear picture, intended by the designer. (We’ll talk further about the rewriting process in Chapter Three.)
Dr. Julie Tip: For writing this draft:
Use whatever writing tool works for you. Some people can compose directly on the computer; others find writing in longhand more comfortable.
Keep in mind that no one will read this first draft.
Tell yourself that, although writing is a necessary and sometimes daunting chore, you’ll get through it.
Give yourself a time limit, approximately twenty to thirty minutes, to just get your thoughts down. Take a break, and then come back and reread what you wrote. It will help you get started again. But do not spend time revising yet.
Recognize that this draft is rough, messy, and undisciplined. That’s okay. Just let go and write. Mastering this important technique will help your writing tremendously.
You’re in good company
Everyone writes that dreaded first draft—even good writers! In Bird by Bird, author Anne Lamott describes her writing of first drafts: “I’d write a first draft that was maybe twice as long as it should be, with a self-indulgent and boring beginning, stupefying descriptions... lots of quotes from my black-humored friends... and no ending to speak of. The whole thing would be so long and incoherent and hideous that for the rest of the day I’d obsess about getting creamed by a car before I could write a decent second draft.”
.
. . perfectionism will ruin your writing, blocking inventiveness and
playfulness
and life force (these words we are allowed to use in
California.)
Perfectionism means that you try desperately not to
leave so much mess to clean up.
- Anne Lamott
Prolific author Peter DeVries confessed, “I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the paperwork!” In a more serious vein, James Michener was often quoted as saying that he wasn’t a great writer, but the world’s best re-writer. Another writer stated: “Like many writers, I don’t like to write; I like to have written.”
As you can see, when you write a draft, you’re in good company. Writing that first draft will lead you to your final masterpiece!
Remember: Don’t give in to the temptation to rewrite each phrase or sentence. Trying to get it perfect at this point will only block the flow of your ideas, slow you down, and waste time! Just keep moving—you can come back and tidy up later.
Practice: Write Power sentences
Use the following strategy to get writing Power sentences!
1. Start by counting the number of Power 2s from your Power structure. Those are your major points.
2. Now, write your Power 1 (topic) sentence, mentioning the number of points you plan to write about.
Approach this process as if you were writing the Cliff’s Notes of your final product.
For example, you might have five components to the customer service program or three reasons for changes in the sales department. By putting that number in the Power 1 sentence, you quickly create an organizational mindset and give yourself permission to just start writing.
You know where you’re going, you know how many points you’re going to write about, and guess what? So does your reader. You’ll see what I’m talking about in the examples below.
The following Power 1 sentences include a number to guide the reader:
Three charming cities in Europe should not be missed!
Our new customer service plan offers five money-saving ideas.
Due to product sales decline, our sales department must undergo three personnel changes.
In this era of expanding education rhetoric but restrained state spending, it’s useful to compare two ideas.
The Seattle Times
Contemporary politics has three peculiarities.
The Washington Post
The administration faced a two-front war.
Los Angeles Times
You
will save your readers time with this strategy.
They can skim
your paper by reading just the major points.
Once again, looking at the time management example, the Power 1 sentence could read: Practicing five indispensable time management habits can be your passbook to a full and rich life.
3. Continue to build your document by converting your Power 2s and 3s into complete sentences. Work your way down the Power structure. You might want to write your Power 2 sentences first and then go back and add your Power 3s.
A bird walk: Putting a number in the Power 1 sentence is not an absolute! But it jump-starts your writing. For example, the Power 1 sentence for the time management article could be written: Learning important time management habits can be your passbook to a full and rich life.
The following Power 1 sentences do not have a number to guide the reader but still do the trick:
Rhode Island and Pennsylvania illustrate the spectrum of economic development activity.
Insight
Necessary changes to the sales department will increase our revenue this next quarter.
Our new customer service program keeps us competitive.