{"id":43,"date":"2019-07-18T09:00:50","date_gmt":"2019-07-18T01:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.praxonomy.com\/blog\/?p=43"},"modified":"2021-03-24T15:35:21","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T07:35:21","slug":"think-like-a-director-writing-effective-board-papers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.praxonomy.com\/blog\/think-like-a-director-writing-effective-board-papers\/","title":{"rendered":"Think Like a Director: Writing Effective Board Papers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this article, I\u2019d like to take a look at the many documents that we have to read online \u2013 be it on a laptop, tablet, or phone \u2013 in preparation for a board meeting. Many people still tend to print out documents on paper to read them because it\u2019s easier to skim through in that format.<\/p>\n

Do we do that because the documents that we receive aren\u2019t written with the reader in mind or the medium on which they will be read? Throughout my working life, I have been involved in writing many proposals which, almost without exception, started with an “Executive Summary” before delving into details at length. The “Executive Summary” captured the essence of the proposal by highlighting major points.
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\"Style-Matters-Writing-Effective-Board-Papers\"<\/p>\n


\n So if we focus on board briefing papers in board packs, why don\u2019t we create them using a similar approach? <\/p>\n

I did some research and came across a method called the \u201cInverted Pyramid\u201d  <\/strong><\/em>(A comprehensive description is given here<\/a>.) It is a story structure used in journalism where the most important information \u2013 or what can be considered the conclusion \u2013 is presented first. In an inverted pyramid, the widest section contains all the “need-to-know” information, while the narrowest portion of the pyramid holds the “nice-to-know” details. I will leave you to read the full article but have extracted one section: <\/p>\n

\u201cThe inverted pyramid is perfectly suited for the web<\/strong> – on any screen size. We know that users don\u2019t read carefully online<\/a>. They have little patience for content that doesn\u2019t engage them. Users scroll<\/a>, but only when they think that the content they want or need will appear on that page. The Inverted Pyramid style addresses all of these aspects of user behaviour.<\/em><\/p>\n

Using the Inverted Pyramid style can:<\/em><\/p>\n