If
you
want
your
written
message
to
cut
through
the
rest
of
the
noise
out
there,
start
anything
you
write
with
the
most
important
information,
particularly
anything
you
want
the
reader
to
do,
as
the
lead
sentence.
Seems
simple,
but
lots
of
good
writers,
not
trained
in
journalism,
do
just
the
reverse.
Journalists call this "burying the lead" -- letting the most important parts of the story slip down too far into the body of the article. Many readers never get there, rendering the entire effort useless on everyone's behalf.
I
learned
this
important
lesson
from
a
great
book,
Made
to
Stick,
by
Chip
and
Dan
Heath.
They
refer
to
something
well-known
to
journalists
as
the
"inverted
pyramid".
Rather
than
building
your
article
from
facts,
observations
and
rationale,
ending
with
the
main
point,
turn
that
upside
down.
Start
with
what's
most
important
(the
widest
part
of
the
pyramid)
at
the
top,
and
then
backfill
from
there,
in
decreasing
order
of
importance.
Nowhere is this more true than in email. If you want someone to do something, put that request right in the first paragraph of the email. Then tell them all the reasons why they need to or what will happen if they don't. If you instead put that same request in the last sentence, you'll usually be disappointed by the result.
Interestingly, back when newspapers were printed from type set in hot lead, it was tricky to compose a page. Often editors needed to trim a sentence or two, and they always knew where to start -- at the end, where the least important information is supposed to be, if the writer is on his game.
Some say this started during the Civil War, when news reporters used military telegraphs to transmit their stories. Of course, that connection could go down at any time or an officer could bump them off the line. If you had to pick what got through, it would be the most important, wouldn't it?
This is such a cornerstone of journalism, it's become a staple of journalistic training. Here's a page from an online journalism program that fills in more blanks In fact, the entire Newswriting section of that site is worth your time.
As a technical writer by background, this has been hard for me -- I like to lay the groundwork, present the data, develop the idea and then bring home the conclusion. After reading Chip and Dan's book, the error of my ways became apparent, and I'm working on "inverted pyramid" thinking. I actually find myself sometimes writing the "old way", and then moving the ending paragraphs up to the beginning. Whatever works, I guess.
So, whether it's an email, a blog article or a newsletter, don't "bury the lead". Put it right up at the top and work down from there.
Journalists call this "burying the lead" -- letting the most important parts of the story slip down too far into the body of the article. Many readers never get there, rendering the entire effort useless on everyone's behalf.
I
learned
this
important
lesson
from
a
great
book,
Made
to
Stick,
by
Chip
and
Dan
Heath.
They
refer
to
something
well-known
to
journalists
as
the
"inverted
pyramid".
Rather
than
building
your
article
from
facts,
observations
and
rationale,
ending
with
the
main
point,
turn
that
upside
down.
Start
with
what's
most
important
(the
widest
part
of
the
pyramid)
at
the
top,
and
then
backfill
from
there,
in
decreasing
order
of
importance.Nowhere is this more true than in email. If you want someone to do something, put that request right in the first paragraph of the email. Then tell them all the reasons why they need to or what will happen if they don't. If you instead put that same request in the last sentence, you'll usually be disappointed by the result.
Interestingly, back when newspapers were printed from type set in hot lead, it was tricky to compose a page. Often editors needed to trim a sentence or two, and they always knew where to start -- at the end, where the least important information is supposed to be, if the writer is on his game.
Some say this started during the Civil War, when news reporters used military telegraphs to transmit their stories. Of course, that connection could go down at any time or an officer could bump them off the line. If you had to pick what got through, it would be the most important, wouldn't it?
This is such a cornerstone of journalism, it's become a staple of journalistic training. Here's a page from an online journalism program that fills in more blanks In fact, the entire Newswriting section of that site is worth your time.
As a technical writer by background, this has been hard for me -- I like to lay the groundwork, present the data, develop the idea and then bring home the conclusion. After reading Chip and Dan's book, the error of my ways became apparent, and I'm working on "inverted pyramid" thinking. I actually find myself sometimes writing the "old way", and then moving the ending paragraphs up to the beginning. Whatever works, I guess.
So, whether it's an email, a blog article or a newsletter, don't "bury the lead". Put it right up at the top and work down from there.
