I developed my approach to writing in the cauldron of daily television news reporting. I’d get my story assignment at 9:00 a.m., frantically set up interviews and video opportunities for an hour, get out the door with my videographer at 10:00, grab an interview and video by 11:00, write the first version of my story by 11:30, meet the mobile editing van where by videographer would edit the story and then I’d deliver the story live on location for the noon newscast. Then it was off to gather the rest of the interviews, video and information for stories at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and 6:30. Whew!
Story structure became instinctual: start with the most important information to engage my audience, give them context for the story, articulate the conflict, describe solutions and tell my viewers what was going to happen next.
It became so ingrained that I didn’t think about it consciously until I went into the corporate communications environment. I quickly realized that this fundamental story structure applies to nearly every communication you create whether it’s a newsletter article, a PowerPoint presentation or even an email. 1) Grab your audience’s attention with the most important information, 2) give them context, 3) state the problem, 4) provide the solution and 5) discuss next steps.
This sequence works every time, yet I often see the elements jumbled or left out entirely. The most egregious omission is element #1. I can’t tell you how often I’ve been in a presentation where I wasn’t sure what was most important until five minutes in. In news terminology that’s called burying the lede.
Don’t bury the lede, follow the five steps and you’ll lay the foundation for a successful communication every time.