This presentation gives you six quick steps on how to write effectively when you\'re in a real hurry to meet that looming deadline.

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How to Write Effectively When
You’re in a Real Hurry…
Giselle Conyette
Technical Communicator, Con-Yet Incorporated
Technology Creatively Captured in Words
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/giselleconyette
Email conyette@sympatico.ca
Blog http://giselleconyette.typepad.com/

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Six Simple Steps to Writing Effectively in a Hurry
Step 1. Don’t panic
 You’ll get it done. You always do. Get into it, and your creativity will
come to you.
Step 2. Analyze your audience
 Invest five minutes to put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Know
what makes your audience “tick” by asking yourself (or a couple of
readers), just two or three questions:
 What are their “pain points”? What issues bother them? Educational level?
Technical skill?
 What is the purpose of your message? To raise awareness? Train? Persuade?
Anything else?
 What is the action you want them to take after reading your content? Is
there a concrete business outcome you want to see happen?

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Six Simple Steps to Writing Effectively in a Hurry
Step 3. Research efficiently
 Quickly track down information from resources such as:
 People – Call, email or drop by your closest subject matter expert
(SME)
 Social media – Pose your question on forums and business
networks such as LinkedIn
 Internet – Google your topic’s main keyword for current material;
or download an e-book, e-course, or webinar from a specialist
 Your files – Review previous drafts, project briefs, white papers,
presentations, brochures, and pamphlets

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Six Simple Steps to Writing Effectively in a Hurry
Step 4. Brainstorm and plan
 This is the fun part. By now, your creative ideas are ready to come out:
 Turn off your internal censor and critic.
 Jot down your thoughts and ideas without editing, as they come to your mind.
 Create a mind map. It’s a very powerful brainstorming tool. A mind map is a
diagram that represents how your ideas relate. It helps you organize your ideas,
prioritize content, and structure your writing.
 Creating a mind map is as easy as A, B, C:
 A. Put your main idea in the middle of a bubble or egg shape.
 B. Create as many connections as you can to the main idea.
 C. Create further connections to the subordinate ideas.
 You can use your mind map’s ideas as navigational aids for web content,
an outline of an article, or the table of contents of a report.

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Six Simple Steps to Writing Effectively in a Hurry
Step 5. Develop and organize
 You can organize your content as you go, but you may find it easier to
develop the content first and then organize it.
 As you organize your content:
 Identify the information types. Types you’ll probably have include a list,
procedure, process and concept. “Information typing” helps you present
content effectively so your audience understands what it is, and what it
means, quickly and easily. For example, your audience would understand a
procedure more easily if you present it as numbered steps.
 Remember, a picture tells a thousand words. If you’re explaining a complex
concept or process, your audience would understand it more quickly if you
illustrate it as a flowchart, screen capture, or diagram.
 Group related chunks of information into headings.
 Group related headings into chapters, if this is a long document.

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Six Simple Steps to Writing Effectively in a Hurry
Step 6. Finalize it all
 By this stage, the clock is usually ticking down and you’re very alert, excited; almost
there… (at least, that’s the positive way to label anxiety!)
 Edit your content before sending or posting it. You’ll thank yourself a hundred times.
Here’s a quick guide to editing it thoroughly, but fast!
 Perform what I call a “sanity check” on:
 Headings (review table of contents)
 Headers and footers (on long documents) and navigational aids (in web content)
 Captions (on screen captures, diagrams and tables)
 Pagination and numbering (of procedures, headings, tables, and captions)
 Other places where you absolutely do not want to make a mistake: title, date, company name…
 Carefully reread the content; if possible, read it out loud. Check for:
 Typos not caught by spell check
 Wordiness (clear copy editors remove excessive words to clarify the point)
 Punctuation
 Finally, does your tone match your audience?

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Finally…
Step 7: Save Precious Time
If time is of the essence, you can take a seventh step – outsource that task to me.
Giselle Conyette
Director, Con-Yet Incorporated
Technology Creatively Captured in Words
Email conyette@sympatico.ca
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/giselleconyette
Blog http://giselleconyette.typepad.com/

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About the Author
 As a technical communicator, Giselle Conyette helps companies creatively
capture technology products in words.
 She provides over 13 years of experience in high-quality research,
interviewing, and writing on technologies for clients in various industries
such as health care, semi-conductor manufacturing, telecommunications,
government, banking, and energy.
 Clients rely on the writing they outsource to Giselle because they
consistently receive a complete and reliable product back; content is
written clearly, easy to understand, and accurate; and confidentiality is
upheld.
 Want to learn more? Here’s how you can contact Giselle:
Giselle Conyette
Director, Con-Yet Incorporated
Technology Creatively Captured in Words
Email conyette@sympatico.ca
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/giselleconyette
Blog http://giselleconyette.typepad.com/