Use chronology when giving a factual account - Developing your skills

HBR Guide to Better Business Writing - Bryan A. Garner 2013

Use chronology when giving a factual account
Developing your skills

Stories are inherently chronological. One thing happens, then another, then another. That structure works well not only in books and films but also in business writing. It’s more likely to be clear and efficient, and to keep readers interested. So include “just the facts, ma’am,” as Joe Friday on the old TV series Dragnet used to say. Just the facts that matter, and in the right order.

In theory this point seems obvious, but in practice writers find storytelling difficult. They often dive straight into the middle without orienting their readers, and the inevitable result is confusion on the receiving end. You’re familiar with this phenomenon. It happens all the time in conversations with friends or family members: “Wait a minute. Back up. When was this? Where were you? And why were you talking to this guy? And where’d he come from?”

Suppose you’re sending an e-mail message to give the status of an ongoing project, and it’s been some time since the last update. The recipient isn’t as immersed in the project as you are and probably has many other things going on. So remind your reader where things stood when you last communicated about the subject, and describe what’s happened since then:

NOT THIS:

BUT THIS:

Sarah—

It was hard making headway with Jim Martinez, but finally we’re looking (in the best-case scenario) at a demonstration of what our software can do by mid-May, as I established in my first telephone conference with Jim last Monday at 9:00 a.m. He was out Wednesday and Thursday (I didn’t see any reason to try calling on Tuesday), but on Friday he told me that we’d need a sample app. But prior to that, Magnabilify requires an NDA. Tuesday’s meeting should clarify things. Let me know what you think.

Frank

Sarah—

Last week you asked me to approach Magnabilify Corporation, the software developers, to see whether they might have any interest in our customizing some security applications for their computer systems. I finally got through to Jim Martinez, corporate vice president in charge of software, and we have planned a face-to-face meeting at his office next Tuesday.

The next steps, as I understand them under Magnabilify’s protocol, will be to enter into a nondisclosure agreement, to develop a sample application (in less than two weeks), and to schedule a demonstration shortly after.

Can you and I chat before Tuesday’s meeting?

Frank

The version on the left reads like stream-of-conscious-ness. The writer didn’t take the time to step back, think of the message from the reader’s perspective, and then lay out the important points chronologically. A story, even a short one like the narrative on the right, holds the reader’s interest more effectively than jumbled facts interspersed with opinions.

Plot out what happened, and when

When a serious dispute arises within a company, the lawyers will typically ask their clients to produce a “chronology of relevant events,” detailing the most important incidents leading up to the dispute. This document helps everyone involved think more clearly about how things unfolded. Try taking a similar approach when writing a document that walks the reader through a series of events—whether you’re sending someone a project update or preparing an employee’s performance evaluation. Create a chronology of relevant events to organize the narrative. Say you did that before drafting your e-mail message to Sarah in the right-hand example. Here’s how it might look:

Chronology of relevant events

Last week

Sarah asked me to gauge Magnabilify’s interest in having us build customized security applications.

Today

I spoke with Jim Martinez.

Next Tuesday

Jim and I will meet at his office to discuss.

In two weeks

If Magnabilify is interested, we’ll do an NDA, develop a sample app, and schedule a demo.

Once you’ve laid out the chronology like this, drafting the e-mail message becomes a lot easier—just a matter of stringing the events together and asking to meet with Sarah before next Tuesday’s meeting.

Recap

✵ Include only the relevant facts.

✵ Provide them in chronological order to make it easy for your readers to follow you.

✵ Organize your narrative by creating a chronology of relevant events before you write; then string the events together in your draft. But avoid the rote recitation of unnecessary dates.