Contrary to conventional wisdom, writing things down will not *automatically* create clarity.
While it is great to see more companies & teams move towards a writing culture, I have seen plenty of written documents (by otherwise competent & well-meaning product people) that do not create the clarity you’d hope for, leaving executives confused about the exact problem(s), the insights, and the key asks & next steps.
For clearer writing, ask yourself these questions:
1. What Am I Really Trying To Say
2. Why Should People Care
3. What Is The Most Important Point
4. What Is The Easiest Way To Understand The Most Important Point
5. How Do I Want The Reader To Feel
6. What Should The Reader Do Next
This approach works for pretty much any business document you’re writing. As you consistently employ this approach, over time it will become instinctive and you won’t have to consciously think about it.
Last point: until you get there, I’d suggest leveraging the help of the right AI tool(s).
Use AI writing tools as an assistant and an editor, not the director or the producer.
An approach I’ve recently found super-useful for business writing is to use Grammarly‘s new AI features — they do a great job of helping predict the feedback or questions your readers are likely to have for your writing.
Often, your readers sort of understand what you’ve written, but they are left wondering:
“So what”
“What should I do with this information?”
“What action or decision are you expecting me to take?”
To address such confusions, it is totally okay to get AI help (along with human help) as you write your proposals and memos. What a wonderful time to be alive and to be writing!