This is a transcript of one of the videos in the plain language training course Writing well at work. There are references to slides and visual material that are only available by viewing the video.
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Where to start when writing any document?
I think there are two places to start when we come to write.
We firstly need to think about the needs of the user. But secondly, we also need to think carefully about the intent of the organisation providing this document or your intent as a writer.
We need both of those things so that we can have an effective document.
If we focus solely on the needs of the user, we might write a document that makes really good contact with them, and they love it. But if there is no intent in that document, then it’s not going to do anything. It’s not going to be effective.
Likewise, if we focus solely on intent, we may get that right. But if we’re not making contact with our readers, again it’s not going to be an effective document.
So this is not an either or. This is both together. We want to be thinking about both the needs of the user and the intent of the organisation at the same time as we start this writing process.
Be clear about intent or purpose – ask why?
Well, let me firstly talk about intent. Intent is really just another word for purpose. And so what I’m saying is before we start to write anything, we need to be clear about our purpose.
Now there’s one question that I find really useful when we’re wanting to uncover purpose, and it’s the question why. If you repeatedly ask why, in a sensible fashion, that will drive you to higher and higher levels of purpose.
So you might have a look at this why ladder. We’re studying writing well at work. Well, why are we doing that? Well, to be able to write better documents. Well, why do you want to do that? That’s so that we can get messages across more effectively. Well, why would you want that? Ohh, that’s so that stakeholders can act on the information we provide. But why? So that we can achieve our goals. Why do you want to do that? Oh, so that’s because I want to be seen to be effective. And why is that? So I can keep my job. Why? So I can feed my family. Why? So I can stay alive? Why, why?
And eventually we’re going to get to the meaning of the universe. And why are we here? These are very important questions to ponder, but they are probably not relevant to your document. So I think we stop asking the why question around about in the middle of that ladder, we were able to relate the document that we’re writing, the work that we’re doing, we’re able to say yes, it’s going to achieve something which is going to achieve something else which is going to achieve something else. Ohh, and that’s one of our big organisational goals. That’s what we wanted to do.
So relating the work that you’re doing to a higher level purpose I think is really helpful.
How? is also a powerful question
Now, just while we’re here, just like to take a quick side step and talk about the friend of the why question and the friend of the why question is how. It works in the opposite direction and it drives you down towards detail.
Again, let’s just have a look at how that might work. You’re studying or participating in this course, how? You’re listening to me and you’ll do some activities. Well, how do you listen? Well, you’ll hear and you’ll decode words. Well, how does that happen? All the hairs on your inner ear are going to vibrate and a whole bunch of other things go on.
OK, we’re getting down to a level of detail that is no longer useful, so stop asking how.
How is a particularly valuable question if you’re ever writing process instructions, that type of material. Or if you’re developing a project plan, it will help you uncover all the detail.
Questions to uncover purpose
All right, let’s come back to purpose. Here’s just three questions that I think are helpful to uncover purpose.
There’s nothing particularly clever about these questions.
It’s just why are you writing this?
And what do you want to happen?
And this third one can be really helpful. What could happen if you don’t write this document? Look, if nothing bad’s going to happen, if you don’t write it, maybe you don’t need it. Take the afternoon off. That would be a good thing. But if something bad is going to happen, if you don’t write this document, well, that might just give you a bit more impetus to get on with the task.
Think about purpose in terms of audience
And as you come to answer these questions. I think it’s good if you can frame them in terms of your audience. What do you want your audience to think or feel or do? It will likely be a combination of that.
And I reckon you’ve nailed purpose when you can write a sentence in this structure. As a result of reading this, I want Mr. Smith to: So it’s a sentence in that type of structure, so it might be ‘as a result of reading this briefing note, I want Mr. Smith to employ an additional worker’ or ‘as a result of reading this brochure, I want commuters to catch public transport three days a week’. Or ‘as a result of reading this report, I want cabinet to do whatever it is that you want them to do’.
When you’ve been able to write a sentence in that structure, you’ve identified who your audience is, and you’ve also said this is the impact that I expect this document to have.
Now what I’d like you to do now is to actually have a go at answering these types of questions for the document that you have in mind, the one that you need to write in the next little while. So I’ll stop the the video in a moment and you have a go at answering these questions.
I suspect the best way of doing it is to start by answering the. Why are you writing it? types of questions first. Then you might want to have a bit of a think about how that relates to a higher level purpose. So do some thinking by moving up the ladder.
And then certainly come to this final statement. See if you can put your purpose in a sentence like this that says as a result of reading this, I want whoever it is, to do something.
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