How to Write Clear Business Reports

Documentation protects you… unless it buries your point. Many years ago, I wrote the most detailed audit report of my life. We’re talking 40 pages 🤦🏽♂️ → Charts. → Narratives. → Appendices. → Footnotes. It was bulletproof. At least, I thought so. I handed it to the client expecting appreciation. What I got? “Can you just tell us what you want us to do?” They didn’t care about the 18 pages of background. They didn’t want the full history of the control environment. They wanted direction. Clarity. Action. That’s when it hit me: I wasn’t writing for them. I was writing for me. → To protect myself. → To prove I did the work. → To make it look complete. But complete ≠ compelling. Documentation only matters if someone reads it. Here’s what I learned the hard way. People won't: • Act on what they don’t understand. • Sift through clutter to find the message. • Thank you for being thorough if they feel overwhelmed. So I started writing differently. → Clearer summaries → Shorter sections → Visuals that guide, not distract → And I stopped trying to include 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨—        only what mattered Because when your business writing reads like a novel, nobody finishes it. But when it reads like a conversation? → People engage. → They listen. → They act. Struggling to balance clarity with completeness? Our trainings help you communicate in a way that gets results. P.S. Ever write a report so long even 𝘺𝘰𝘶 didn’t finish it?

A bottle cap flies off during drug production. Our intrepid scientist, let's call her Dr. Capsalot, starts her deviation report: "At 2:17 PM, under partly cloudy skies with 62% humidity, a 28.3mm bottle cap achieved momentary flight, reaching an estimated altitude of 1.37 meters before impacting the No. 3 assembly line..." Six pages and three coffee-fueled nights later ☕️☕️☕️, she's covered everything from the chemical composition of the cap to a brief history of bottle closure technology. Everything, that is, except what actually matters. 🤦♀️ Meanwhile, 12 reviewers are sharpening their red pens, ready to engage in a heated debate about whether "soared" or "catapulted" better describes the cap's trajectory. Fine. I’m having fun here. But this is a situation I’ve encountered often in my work with pharma, and deviations are no laughing matter. They can: 💸 Cost millions ⏰ Delay crucial products 🚑 In worst-case scenarios, impact patient safety. But time and again I’ve seen folks try to craft the next great American novel instead of describe the problem so it can be solved. Let’s unpack what usually goes wrong: 1️⃣ The "kitchen sink" approach: If a little information is good, a lot must be better, right? Wrong. We're burying the lede under mountains of irrelevant data. 🗻 2️⃣ The "I'm smart, so I must write complexly" syndrome: but clear writing doesn't mean you're dumbing it down. It means you're smart enough to be understood. 🧠💡 3️⃣ Reviewer roulette: Multiple reviewers, each with their pet peeves, turning documents into a battlefield of competing red ink. 🎭🖍️ So, how do we fix this mess? 🛠️ 1️⃣ Focus on critical thinking: What's the actual problem? What does your reader need to know to make a decision? 🤔 2️⃣ Know your audience: Are you writing for the lab tech or the CEO? Tailor your content accordingly. 👩🔬👨💼 3️⃣ Implement templates and guides: Provide clear structures for common documents. No need to redesign the child-proof cap unless you want to make it adult-proof too. Oh wait… 📋🧠 4️⃣ Cut the fluff: If it doesn't directly relate to the problem or solution, it doesn't belong. ✂️ 5️⃣ Streamline and codify the review process: Fewer reviewers, clearer guidelines, and constructive feedback. 🏃♂️ Remember, a good deviation report isn't a showcase for your encyclopedic knowledge of bottle cap aerodynamics. 🎓 It's a tool for solving problems and preventing future issues. 🔧🔍

How do you write good business documents? Here is a technique that works for me. It is well known that Amazon has a document-centric culture, where most group meetings begin by quietly reading a document, followed by an in-depth discussion. This can seem strange when you are accustomed to PowerPoint presentations. However, I have become a strong proponent of this approach, and will now ask for a written document on every complex topic. With PowerPoint, weak ideas can be hidden behind a persuasive speech or flashy slides. Written documents remove these distractions and enable everyone to focus on the idea itself. The document should include all supporting data, and can be revisited in future to refresh on what was agreed. Written documents are also a gift for introverts like myself, who may otherwise struggle to influence in large groups. Despite these benefits, it is still possible for great ideas to be obscured by poorly written documents, and poor ideas to be presented in great documents. The key is to write clear documents, so the ideas (good or bad) can be properly assessed. The best advice that I have for writing clear documents is simply to plan the content of the document fully before writing anything. When I am unsatisfied with my own documents it is generally because I was unclear on what I wanted to say. By contrast, when I am happy with a document it is because I was very clear on what I wanted to say, and the document just wrote itself. The worst way to write a document is simply to begin typing without a plan. The resulting document will be muddled and inconsistent, as you form your opinions directly in the prose. I have heard people say that the act of writing itself forces them to clarify their ideas. If this is the case for you, the document should be rewritten once your ideas are clear. It is helpful to divide the effort of writing a document into “thinking time” followed by “writing time”. Thinking time is where the key arguments are identified, and the document structure is planned. It is very tempting, particularly under time pressure, to jump straight to the writing time. This means the thinking will occur while the document is being written, and will likely force many rewrites and revisions. Instead, the majority of the effort should be invested in thinking time before writing begins. When your ideas are clearly formed the writing will flow effortlessly and the document will be clearly structured. Finally, thinking time does not need to happen in-front of a computer. I frequently plan my document while I am in the shower, or out for a walk! The writing can then begin when I reach my desk. Let me know if there are writing techniques that work for you? [Note that the above is entirely my own opinion, and in no way represents the views of Amazon] #writing #business #clarity

This is the simplest 2-minute fix to elevate your Results section. Most Results sections don’t fail because the data is weak. They fail because they’re *written for the writer*, not the reader. I used to write like that too. I thought if I crammed every table and number into the Results, it would look more rigorous. But here’s what actually happened: - Readers skimmed past my most important findings. - Reviewers had to dig to find the point. - And the paper didn’t land the way it should have. So I made 1 small change that changed everything: I added SUBHEADINGS. But not just any subheadings. I turned each one into a full, DECLARATIVE SENTENCE. Instead of: Multimorbidity in the incident psoriasis cohort I now write: Multimorbidity was not higher in incident psoriasis compared to the general population ↳ That tiny shift forced me to be crystal clear about my key findings/takeaways. ↳ It helped readers instantly understand the message. ↳ It made the whole paper sharper, cleaner, and more impactful. Here’s how to do it: 1️⃣ Identify 2–3 key findings. 2️⃣ Write each subheading as a sentence that summarizes the key finding. 3️⃣ Reorder your paragraphs to match the new structure. This isn’t “just formatting.” This is how you turn a forgettable section into one people actually remember. Because in a world drowning in PDFs… Clarity = Impact. Tried this yet in your own writing? If not, your next draft is the perfect place to start. You’ll be surprised how much stronger it reads—with zero extra data added. ------------------- P.S. Join my inner circle of 4000+ researchers for exclusive, actionable advice you won’t find anywhere else — link in the comments below. BONUS: When you subscribe, you instantly unlock my Research Idea GPT and Manuscript Outline Blueprint. Please reshare 🔄 if you got some value out of this...

The best learning during my time at Amazon was improving my writing. Here is my list of how to edit your writing to improve it and how to get an idea down on paper in the first place. TL;DR craft compelling documents by anticipating reader needs, addressing potential questions, and clearly articulating the desired outcome. This will take time and a lot of editing. Make your writing better, editing tips: A. Use data and logic to lead the reader to a conclusion. Using adverb and adjective is less effective. B. Eliminate weasel words C. Use readable scores to get data on how readable your doc is now and improve it D. Use read-a-loud extension or read it out loud yourself E. Edit words that don't add value. Look for repetitive language. Don't tax your reader with big words How to crafting an idea in writing: 1. Start with bullet list of what your thinking about 2. Start by writing with limited edits. Sleep on it and then edit like crazy. 3. Know your reader and write for them. 4. Write down FAQ to the end of a doc that you think your reader will have. If you can, you should answer these in your writing but it's not always possible.  5. Take ownership not ask for ownership. If you are asking for ownership or asking the reader to force someone to do something you are doing it wrong.    6. Ask why 5 times on customer facing questions to get to the detail why this is important 7. Think in 3s. How would you explain this with a 3 word (The Title), 3 sentences (TLDR), 3 paragraphs (a 1 page page overview), 3 pages (longer form with more detail). 8. Bonus: add some long term thinking topics to your doc. If the reader is excited about what you are writing about, give them more and think big about the future. 9. Close with what decision you need help from the reader 10. Finally writing a couple page document should take a week(s) not days or hours to complete.