Guidliness

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GUIDELINES

If your executive summary is too long or incomprehensible, or just plain boring, the rest of the report will be recycled. It is as simple as that. Executives do not have the time or energy to waste on reports full of nonsense, grammatical or spelling errors, or hyperbole (exaggeration). Get to the point and MAKE YOUR AUDIENCE WANT TO READ THE REST OF THE REPORT!

Elements of an Effective Executive Summary

Independent meaning – The summary should be a stand-alone document with complete ideas, an introduction and a conclusion (neither of which should be titled). Do not refer to the rest of the report in your executive summary.

Grammar and spelling – Mistakes WILL make your reader DISCARD the rest of the report. This is your only chance to grab the reader’s attention! (More than three glaring errors per page = automatic recycling).

Essential message – ONLY discuss the major findings and important statistics. Material should be presented in a sequence that parallels the actual report.

Significant material – DO NOT INCLUDE: conjecture, long explanations, examples, extended definitions, visuals, or vague ideas (i.e. “large debt”).

Non-technical writing style – Use plain English guidelines (from Business Communication 112 and 122). Always write in the third person (e.g. the Marketing V.P. or company name – NEVER use I, we, us etc.) Never phrase suggestions as “you should….”

Numbers - Round numbers considerably (e.g. $2,956,675 = $3 million), except for key measurements that must be accurately reported (e.g. “An increase of 27.7% for a total net profit of $220,000.)

Conciseness - Be concise, but never at the expense of clarity or comprehensiveness.

Summary – Cover all significant issues contained in the main report while building the desire to continue reading. Create the Executive Summary after writing the report. Never cut and paste. Rule of thumb for size is 1/10th the entire report up to a maximum...