If you tried — and failed — to make cookies that looked as good as the picture on the box of cookie mix, or wound up hopelessly confused by the directions on how to assemble a table from IKEA, or built a model airplane that refused to fly, you know the importance of good instructions.   But if you succeeded in doing any of these things, then you either learned from an experienced cook or model airplane builder, read an easily followed set of directions, or found a trustworthy recipe in a cookbook.  However you learned to do these tasks, chances are it was the result of reading or listening to instructions, a specific type of explanation that is as important in business and professional communication as it is in daily life.  As the learner reading or listening for the advice instructions give, you would have had a very definite set of expectations, just as the writer of instructions has rules that must be followed.  Looking more closely at these two communication “partners,” here are some of these expectations and rules:

The reader of an instruction manual has the following expectations:

The writing must be clear and easy to follow.  The sentences must be brief and to the point.  The language must not be too technical (and any technical words would be immediately explained).  The verbs should be in the imperative mood (“Take two eggs . . .” or “Press hard on the outer edge of the wing flap”).  The graphics should show what the model airplane will look like when complete.  And the steps, if followed exactly, would result in a model airplane, cookies, or a table that looks exactly like the picture.  The reader, then, is expecting to be successful – able to do the work and to create the end product as the instructions promise.

The writer of an instruction manual must follow these rules:

The writing must be as clear as the proverbial bell:  free of ambiguity, decoration, or vague language.  Technical writer Judith Van Alstyne explains in Professional and Technical Writing Strategies that instructions and instruction manuals – no matter how brief – describe for the reader or listener what actions or procedures must be followed.   The idea here is the writer must keep the reader’s needs in mind because the reader is depending on the writer for important information, and the writer is  obligated to be truthful, trustworthy, and as informative as necessary. This means also that the instructions must be complete, stating what materials or supplies are needed, what steps are to be taken, and the sequence in which these steps are to be performed.

Cheryl Hamilton adds some other points to presenting good instructions.  In her textbook, Communicating for Results, she advises that it is important to be specific (“Allow the glue to dry for 24 hours”), to use simple comparisons where they are helpful, and to use repetition (“Remember to . . .”).   Such advice can be the difference between a “huh?” response and the “Oh, I understand!” excitement of being able to carry out the instructions and anticipate the enjoyment of using the completed object.

Clearly, instruction writing is no simple task, and, in sum, instructions have to be transparent, so the ideas themselves and the steps to getting something done are clear, and they must be accessible, so the reader or listener is neither stumped nor challenged, either of which could result in delays in learning or a situation where the reader or listener, confused and frustrated, gives up altogether.

So if good instructions in an instruction manual are necessary, what does this mean for your business or organization?

Good instruction manuals inform, educate, guide, and meet the expectations of their readers as they adhere to the requirements of this type of business and professional discourse.  And there are substantial benefits to the organization as well as the client or customer.  For a business, this can mean fewer customer service complaints, a reputation for reliability and trustworthiness, and repeat sales.  And for any organization, good instruction manuals can help create the kind of good will that cements the relationship between the organization and its customers or clients — very important benefits indeed!

Use this 10-point checklist to keep your instruction writing on track:

____    Are the instructions at the appropriate level of technical difficulty (novice, intermediate, expert)?

____    Is the writing clear and easy to follow?

____    Are unfamiliar technical terms identified in the text or in a Glossary?

____    Are all of the steps in the process presented and are they in the proper sequence?

____    Are any required supplies or materials listed at the beginning of the instructions?

____    Do appropriate graphics show what the finished product looks like?

____    Do headings identify and separate the important sections of the instructions (e.g., Supplies Needed)?

____    Is specific information about the time required to complete the instructions clearly presented?

____    Are specific precautions, warnings, and reminders clearly shown?

____    Is “help and support” via phone, email, or chat prominently displayed?

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Every new or established business or organization has an ongoing need for research and for written reports based on this research.  With public interest groups or governmental entities, many of the questions to be asked and answered are generally communal and public issues such as “How should the problem of homelessness be managed or resolved?” or “How adequate are the services currently being provided for abused or abandoned children?”  In the corporate or business sector, research on the products or services and their reception in the marketplace would be in order.

But for all organizations, a variety of issues related to its internal functioning also arise, such as “How can the communication between the marketing and sales departments be improved?” or “What communication and technical competencies does this job require?”  And because all organizations need to function well and be effective, their needs for good organizational communication and excellent research exist whatever their mission and whatever their designation as public, not-for-profit, or private.

With research and report writing, the initial step is a determination that an important problem or issue exists and needs to be addressed. And once this step has been taken, it suggests that others will follow, with a general process that includes the following:

1. The problem or issue needs to be not only identified but clarified so that its nature, extent, and scope are fully described and it can become the basis for further work;
2. An analysis of the problem or issue needs to be done which determines its type and severity, and whether it is a single problem or part of a more complex whole;
3. A tentative solution is proposed which links the problem or issue with several appropriate and feasible solutions, one of which will be chosen for implementation and beta-testing;
4. The tentative solution needs to be evaluated and either accepted or rejected, and
5. A solution is chosen that seems most suitable given current circumstances, resources, and the urgency of the problem or issue.

This overview presents an approach to research and report writing that encompasses a number of subordinate questions, which will fall under one or more of these five areas of the process.  The questions are many, but some of the important ones include:

• What problems or issues are apparent or have been identified? What are the examples used?
• What assumptions underlie these problems or issues?
• What efforts have already been tried to address these problems or issues?
• What other organizations or communities have confronted these same or similar problems and issues?
• Were these organizations or communities successful, somewhat successful, or unsuccessful in managing or resolving these problems or issues?
• Might these strategies or efforts be adapted or incorporated in our organization or community?
• What resources of time, money, and people exist to tackle these problems or issues?

Having a rubric that can organize these – and other — questions, analyze the data that is generated, and accomplish the assessment and evaluation needed are often critical to removing organizational roadblocks or understanding a variety of problems or issues that are internal or external to the organization itself.  The following four questions can help start a process that can make a huge difference in your workplace:

1. What are the problems and issues you or your organization or community need to address?
2. Why are they becoming apparent now?
3. What solutions would move your organization forward?
4. And — perhaps most importantly — how would you like to work on them?

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1) Determine the type of sentence you have written: Sentences are of certain types: simple, compound, compound-complex, and complex.  They also must (it’s mandatory and not optional) have certain elements: a verb of some sort indicating action or a statement of “what is”; a noun of some sort, and so forth.  You, as the speaker or writer, have to follow the rules imposed by these forms, just as your audience, whether listeners or readers, also know these forms and expect to find them in your sentences.

2)  Identify the parts of speech in your writing:  These are the categories of words or phrases – nouns, verbs, or prepositions, for example – with specific meanings that you will find in a dictionary, and with specific functions or roles they play within a sentence or paragraph, just like actors in a play.  If you are unsure, there is a way out of this confusion.  Learning word meanings by consulting a dictionary and using a grammar and usage book to learn how a word functions within a sentence can mean big improvements in writing strong, clear sentences.

3) Understand the differences between spoken and written language: “I write the way I speak.”  Well, uh, no, you don’t, at least not exactly.  Writing flows somewhat differently from speech because writing and speaking occur in contexts where the clues are different.  In speaking, you might smile to indicate you are telling a joke.  In writing, you are required to use commas and other marks of punctuation that are never expressed in speech—and these can make for crucial differences in meaning.  (Have you ever heard anyone say: “New paragraph”?  Unlikely.)  But the rules of engagement of speaking and writing are close enough so that reading a written sentence out loud – speaking it, in effect – can often help you locate what is and what is not working in that sentence.

4) Ask “Does this sentence make sense to me?” You have made the beef stew, but you’ve left out the beef!  This can happen.  Or something is wrong, but it’s not quite clear what it is — you just know the sentence doesn’t work.  (I have had students who go on anyway, hoping that I will understand their sentence – which I don’t.)  Here you can go back to the kernel sentence, and build it back up by rewriting it.  Or, going even further back, take the single term or phrase that you started with and, in a creative leap, use that kernel word or phrase to build an entirely new sentence.  Last, you might even find that the sentence itself makes sense, but not within a particular paragraph or when it is placed next to the sentence that precedes or follows it within the paragraph.

Keep in mind that if the downside of writing good sentences is that it’s not always easy, the upside is that written sentences provide a range of opportunities for you to express yourself, make your point, and participate in a world of communication, one that depends on words and sentences.

Let us know how we can work together on Writing Sentences That Work in your organization.

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As it is currently used, the term “business intelligence” often means data collection – about the business itself, about the sales of its products or services, or some other aspect of the organization and its work.  Microsoft, for example, uses the term “Business Intelligence” to mean the accuracy and usefulness of data to guide business decisions and planning.  No surprise here: they have a software program that is intended to analyze the business, control its use of resources, and highlight its successes and failures in the light of the data that have been collected.  Certainly such information can be of great benefit.

Still another sense of “business intelligence” is one that has been used for centuries and concerns what the owner of a large or small business or not-for-profit organization needs to know about the marketplace. What are the social trends, the business or political climate, or the new technology that might have an impact on how business is done or how an organization directs its work?  These questions are ones raised by the use of the term “Business Intelligence” in the widely-read British publication, The Economist.  And it should be no surprise either: newspapers and trade journals began in the 17^th century as a way to provide information about trade and commerce.

A third idea of “business intelligence” is still older but remains a powerful one today. In this view, commercial life is guided by a widely accepted and crucial set of norms – rules, expectations, and obligations — of buyers and sellers, people engaged in trade and commerce.  Developed as the Custom of Merchants during early medieval times, when trade between cities and continents brought merchandise and ideas from far distant places: the far became near and the near far, with rules that allowed business to be conducted in a predictable and mutually satisfying way.

In her book, Systems of Survival, Jane Jacobs (better known as the author of the very influential The Death and Life of American Cities) writes that the Custom of Merchants first established what she calls “the Commercial Moral Syndrome.”  It consisted of such virtues as honesty; a respect for voluntary agreements; using initiative and being enterprising; and being thrifty, optimistic, and industrious.  Of great importance was dissenting for the sake of the task – bringing up for discussion what may not be pleasant to think about, such as the little-acknowledged fact that a long-time and well-liked employee may now be contributing almost no effort to the organization and its work.  This notion of business intelligence as a set of virtues and behaviors is now so commonplace, it is rarely questioned.

Each of these kinds of “business intelligence” work together, and each provides essential business knowledge which, in turn, provides guidance and direction to the business or organization, to the marketplace, and to the culture and practice of business and trade among those near and far.  So “business intelligence” is both an old and a new term, one that is dynamic and encompasses a large and seemingly expanding collection of ideas.

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