Back to: Writing Skills and Editing Principles
Report and Messages: One of the skills of a good writer is to be able to report issues clearly, concisely, and in a way that grabs the reader’s attention right from the start.
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The Inverted Triangle
The academic approach versus modern communications – hitting the point first
It’s a skill that carries real benefits in the workplace. We need to write to documents that are attention-grabbing, succinct, and that have all the important information clearly summarised right at the beginning. It encourages the writer to focus on what’s important so that the reader does not get stuck in over-long communications.
This style of writing is often called the “Inverted Pyramid.” This is a simple, effective model for producing eye-catching, quickly digestible content. It takes the elements of writing, such as introductions, descriptions, conclusions, and explanations, and puts them into order according to their importance.
In the Inverted Pyramid model (see figure 1, below), the most important information goes first. This is called front loading. This opening section, known technically as the summary, should summarise your entire message in a few sentences. Subsequent paragraphs then present less critical information, in order of diminishing importance.
The idea of the Inverted Pyramid is that a reader gets the most important information right away. If he or she stops reading after the first two paragraphs, she will still have the main points of the report. If she continues reading, he can still stop anywhere within the article and not miss any vital details.
As with any communication, you want your message to be received and understood, and front loading your reports or correspondence means the reader will immediately get the points you are making. Also, your communications will stand out from ponderous and wordy ones, so a reader is more likely to pick your reports out of the pile on her desk in future.