The Executive Writer - a Guide to Managing Words, Ideas, and People by Edith Poor -- a Review

This is a set of notes of key points that Edith Poor makes in her remarkable book, The Executive Writer, one of the best books on business writing as it is associated to business management. Additionally, I have provided links to biographical information on the author, another publication, and a link to how to purchase this book.

Words Matter

Ms. Poor writes that the ability to communicate is management itself. Words motivate. They demoralize. They incite, placate, they appease. They wound. They heal. They matter.

They matter because words are your ideas, and your ideas matter.

Writing is not the hard part; thinking is. Thinking is so hard that we probably invented writing to make thinking easier.

The way you write is a telling snapshot of the way you manage.

1. Get to the point.

2. Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you told them.

3. Use short sentences.

4. Avoid the passive voice.

. . . clarity and brevity are important building blocks of effective communication; it's just that they're not ends in themselves. You don't write to be brief and clear; you write briefly and clearly to motivate your staff, get the promotion, convince senior management to approve the budget . . .

. . . [Liking writing] happens because liking it comes with feeling that you're taking charge: you've harnessed the writing process to serve you, your goals, and your objectives . . .

Writing is managing. Managing requires the ability to listen to those around you. Writing requires the ability to "listen" to the reader.

The writer must manage the reader.

Writing needs to be aware of its honest, humble roots in human speech.

Speech unites and writing separates.

It's hard to talk to someone who isn't there.

Writing is dialogue imagined (Talk to your reader, not yourself).

persuasion. To persuade we need to use our reputation, credibility, appropriate emotion, and logic to make people act and motivate them. Managers must know how to persuade fellow workers, subordinates, supervisors, clients, shareholders, potential clients.]

The Management of Thinking

An aerial view of the writing task will make the whole process more efficient.

Process vs. Product

Writer-centered vs. Reader-centered

This chapter is a bridge between thinking and communication

Method - Keep monologue of thinking separate from dialogue of writing

Six Right Things (MAPSIQ)

Message

Audience

Purpose

Situation

Introduction

Question

Think systematically about each element before writing.

MAPSIQ provides the aerial view of the writing process and the political landscape in which you operate.

Negotiating with the Reader

Your writing is the answer to a question. There are only three that matter: What? Why? How?

KISS What is simple? (Keep it simple sentences)

Problems fester, Questions focus

What is the competition doing?

Why has it been so successful?

How can we retaliate?

MAPSIQ is a tool to help you decide which question works best and which answer, or message, is appropriate.

Using Space, Using Silence

The way to the reader's mind is through the eye and ear.

Writing is an extension of speech.

A written document is made up of two essential ingredients: words and the space around them.

Space, like silence, gives weight to utterance.

o White space

o Numerics

o Bullets

Editing: The Politics

1. Map out the writing tasks before the writing.

2. Edit in person, not just on paper.

Frame remarks as comments or questions.

Use a separate sheet for your own thoughts.

Editing: The Tools

1. Use a human subject and a strong verb whenever possible.

2. Keep the subject and verb close together.

3. Shorten sentences.

4. Consider alternatives to "is."

5. Avoid plural nouns.

6. Beware of faulty connective tissue.

7. Edit out loud.