Make your report writing magnetic! #4

I have just been revising my working guide on How to write a report that people read and leads to a "Yes". So, I thought it might be useful to share some of the content and encourage one or two of you to access this implementation guide.

Remember that the decision-maker is an alligator

Zoe Chance, an associate professor at Yale who focuses on decision-making and behavioural change, discusses the two states we can be in when deciding. The alligator state is when the decision maker does not want to work hard and involve many cognitive resources but instead chooses the easiest option. The courtroom state is when we look at the decision from both sides and seek to come up with a rational decision.

In reality, the alligator state wins out, so you have to make your report easy to digest, approach the decision-maker at the appropriate time ( alligators eat less than 50 times a year), and take all the complexity out of the decision-making process.

10 Content and Layout rules to apply

1. Make it a one-pager by going to an A3 (US Fanfold ) sized page.
2. Use your headings like a journalist would by saying something.
3. Only use graphics that Stephen Few would approve of (see #5 for some rules).
4. Start with a summary. I use two headings, 'Areas of concern' and 'areas to note.'
5. Make sure your numbers are robust by checking to source. Excel is not a source. It is a manipulated set of data which is often incomplete, containing multiple formula errors and is designed by an untrained staff member. (see separate article 'Divorce yourself from Excel').
6. Use rounded numbers.
7. Avoid excessive use of colour as you are not highlighting what is important, and over 30% of readers have some form of colour blindness. Stephen Few recommends using red dots to highlight areas of concern.
8. Limit notes in the heading 'Areas to note.'
9. It may be tempting to put too much information on the one-pager, reducing the text down to a font size that nobody over 40 can read without their glasses. This is a big mistake. It shows that you haven't thought carefully through what's important, and you can't see the wood for the trees. Thus, I recommend that no text should be smaller than Arial 10 pt.
10. If you want action to happen, you need to give the contact details of the supervisor/manager whom the C-suite needs to ring. Once people know that exceptions are going to drag their name into the limelight, they'll be more motivated to avoid such incidents.

Sample one-page reports

The full implementation guide includes a 110-page PDF white paper plus E-templates.