3 Steps To Writing An Effective Report Introduction

The advice from most business writing experts is to save writing a report introduction until last. Even following this advice, most writers still find it difficult to decide what to include and what to leave out of their introduction.

Your introduction needs to make an immediate impact. It needs to be relevant and attention-getting. Above all it needs to help your readers understand the big picture before they dive into the detail. Achieving this is never an easy task.

This article takes you through some basic steps to help you create a report introduction that informs and motivates your readers.

If you think about the word 'introduction' what associations does it have for you? Chances are you'll think of it as something vague and hard to define. After all, an introduction could include all manner of things, couldn't it? So what should you do to help make your introduction relevant and informative?

Step one is to change your focus from writer to reader. When we write we are frequently too focused on thinking about what we should tell our readers rather than thinking about what they actually need to know. The same is true for writing your introduction. So ask yourself,'what do they actually need to know?'

Thinking hard about the answer to this second question will help you move from being writer-centric to reader focused. For example, if your reader already knows the background to the commissioning of the report, you really don't need to re-state it. If you are writing any kind of weekly or monthly report, look again at the standard introduction. Is it a cut-and-paste of wording from an earlier report, or words that everybody already knows? If yes, cut them down, or better yet, cut them out completely.

Step two is to identify the most important point from your readers' perspective. Once you have done this consider if there is any special or exceptional information that will be vital to them. Anything legal or political? Any pressing deadlines that they wouldn't normally be expecting? Whatever you identify, make sure you spell it out clearly.

Equally, ask yourself, 'what is the least important?' If there are parts they don't need to read (included only for completeness, reference, or audit purposes), don't be afraid to leave them out. Your readers will thank you for making their lives easier.

Step three is to highlight any actions and decisions. What do they need to do once they have read the report? Clearly, this kind of information will be detailed in the body of the report, but summarizing it clearly and concisely in the introduction is still vitally important.

In short, you should use your introduction to focus on the needs of your reader. Help them understand what is important and what they need to do when they finish reading. Remember the introduction is a key opportunity for you to get their attention and get them engaged.