Summarizing What Matters in Business Writing

One business writing skill separates advanced business writers from those who are merely functionally proficient. It is the ability to synthesize complex ideas and extract significant nuggets of information that are relevant to a particular reader and situation.

Mini executive summaries

In essence, these are mini-executive summaries, used widely in many communications at work. They are the "so what" core of the information. 

It's not a mere recitation of facts. It captures implications.

We often think an executive summary is the first part of a formal report. In fact, functional executive summaries are deployed frequently and widely by those with advanced business writing skills:

• When your boss asks you, "Why should we fund this project?" 
• When you summarize a vendor performance.
• When you recommend a solution to a work problem.
• When you are asked, "Why should I hire you?"
• When you analyze data for trends.
• When you verbally summarize project pitfalls at a meeting.
• When you summarize the insights discussed at a meeting, relevant to the overall goals.

The ability to see the big picture, to quickly understand what is significant to the situation, and to extract and convey the relevant essence will greatly help your career, your department, and your company. It will also greatly improve the efficiency and accuracy of the information flowing across your company. 

Example

Let's apply this concept to the situation of a college student working at a summer internship. This student is an economics major working for a start-up specializing in sustainable agriculture shipping. This student's mother, college advisor, and internship company owner all ask him the very same question, "What did you do during your internship?" 

Certainly, much information will be similar, but each person has a specific interest and focus. Appropriate executive summary or synthesis responses for each of these audiences might be:

Therefore, the first step in synthesizing complex information is defining your audience thoroughly.

Tailor the summary to the reader

The second step is presenting information that is significant and meaningful to that particular audience.

Notice that the summary statement made to the Internship Company Owner above does not mention functional tasks, what team the intern worked on, or the dates he worked. That is all simple, functional information that led to significant information. The company owner wouldn't care about this. The owner wants to know the value the intern brought to the business, not background tidbits.

Noise vs. substance

There is, sadly, far too much fluff, and background is bantered about in business writing. Mere action tasks never belong in an executive summary. Don't fall into this trap. Instead, synthesize meaningfully and extract what is truly most significant to your reader and extract only what matters.

This ability to think critically and present relevant, synthesized information to various audiences is an advanced business writing skill you want to foster in your department and in your own writing.

Our Executive Summary Writing course will elevate this skill.