The cherry on top
Once you have built a well-structured argument that answers any questions the audience may have and provides impactful recommendations then the last but by no means least difficult step is to give it an engaging headline. Remember that readers will scan it and make an instant-decision: is it interesting, intriguing or can it be ignored? Too often this critical stage is neglected, leading to titles of reports where people end up bored before they have even read the first sentence.
Once you have built a well-structured argument that answers any questions the audience may have and provides impactful recommendations then the last but by no means least difficult step is to give it an engaging headline. Remember that readers will scan it and make an instant-decision: is it interesting, intriguing or can it be ignored? Too often this critical stage is neglected, leading to titles of reports where people end up bored before they have even read the first sentence.
Another difficult step is to tailor and trim the level of detail to the needs of the audience. This can be almost heart-breaking when considerable time and energy has been put into producing an analysis. The harsh truth is that even in the best of cases half of all information and understanding will be lost on the audience anyway.
MORE
The emotional connexion. Be more like Donald Trump
Everyone can be a storyteller
Tracking down the unicorn: a live example
The 3C rules: Choose a message, contextualise, compare
The magic 8 questions to help you create a storytelling
A sad story: when
data is not enough
