Bullet Point Document

Bullet Point Document

How to write an effective Single Page Bullet Point Document – Every Time.

It’s quite ironic, we have access to mountains of information and it is literally only a mouse click away, but most of the people I am dealing with want a Single Page Bullet Point Document summation.

But writing effective Bullet Point Documents requires skill and technique. If they are badly written, the meaning can be easily lost and they serve no useful purpose, other than to totally confuse the reader.

It sounds simple, but how do you write a good Bullet Point Document – Every Time

 

 

THE “HOW TO” – Bullet Point Document

• Start with a short covering paragraph, a brief overview of what or why – a snapshot which will give the reader the background.  A simple heading of – Overview
• Take it from the start – work out the logical order of what you need to convey
• Sometimes you can quickly put it together mentally and document a series of steps – it just happens
• Other times you get writers block and it just won’t come
• If this happens – make a separate document and just write it down as it comes into your head
• As though you where speaking to a close colleague
• Don’t worry about the spelling, grammar or correct words, just get it in a written form
• If you can’t think of the correct words, substitute with a few ???’s or XXX’s
• It will take shape and you can clean it up as you re read and create the format
• Then break it up into a Bullet Point format by isolating short sentences or runs of words and creating the Bullet Points
• Keep it brief
• But make sure that it can be clearly understood by the reader
• Are there unnecessary words which can be cut out
• Can the sentence be re written to remove words – e.g. “the pencil which belongs to me” could be written as “my pencil”
• However, don’t fall into the trap of making it so brief that it becomes ambiguous and can’t be clearly understood
• Suffering the pain of a few extra words in order to ensure a clear message is better than risking fewer words and a misunderstanding
• When you think that its there – take a break – clear your head – have a coffee
• Come back and re read it
• Ask a colleague to read it
• Does it still compute
• Is it “All Good” or does it need adjustment
• You may need to review several times until it comes together in a clear and unambiguous form
• Do you feel that you’ve got it just right
• Good, now you can hit the save button and send it off

 

This web page is not about heavy instruction. The aim is the 3 R’s                 Review – Refresh – Reset 

Not Only – But Also

• Open List Of Pages – Engineering Nostalgia for pages of Old Engineer Memories
• Whenever possible – always follow the KISS Principle
• Challenge yourself and your colleagues with an Engineering Quiz
• Check out Engineering Odd Bits for odd subject matter – including humor and comment