The Process of Writing a Correct Message/Text

In the field of knowledge management, we deal quite a bit with writing and content; whether as guides for content experts and providers who are supposed to share their knowledge, or as project managers and drivers of organizational change who need position papers, implementation documents, marketing presentations, and more.

You need to know how to write, organize, and design content that is clear to the reader, interesting, and valuable.

Here are some small tips for writing proper content:

Before you start writing, rest...: Rest already?!?!?!?! Yes, good text rarely comes from writing under pressure. Before you start writing, think about and plan the following points:

1. What are the goals that the text should achieve?

2. Who is the target audience? What language do they use? What are their needs?

3. Do you have all the data to write a complete message? Is everything clear to you? You wouldn't want to write a partial message...

4. What is the best way to present the information? Open a discussion group with yourself and raise ideas for presenting the message.

That's it, you're ready to start writing.

Now write:

• Writing requires concentration, so find the time and quiet from distractions to write the text, even if it's just 10 minutes...

• Before writing, write the titles and subtitles; this provides a framework, ensures consistency, and makes a lot of sense.

• Write continuously, without stopping to check phrasing or grammar. At this stage, the most important thing is the core—the central idea.

• You don't have to start chronologically - work from easy to difficult. This creates order and shortens processes.

• Don't forget the planning in the first stage; ensure you address the message's purpose and target audience.

• At the end of writing, quickly scan the message and check that nothing is missing, that each part is in the right place and under the appropriate title, and that the order is logical.

Take a break - you worked hard...

After writing the text, take a break from it. Some claim you should take several days, but I argue that a short break is sufficient: routine work, a meeting, a cup of coffee, a phone call to mom....

The break will refresh your thinking and allow a renewed perspective. You will now flow more easily through places where you got stuck.

Don't underestimate the break. Even the President of the United States takes three months off a year! (It's cumulative, of course.)

Return to the text and finish the work.

Now, read continuously what you wrote and check:

• Was the goal achieved? Will the target audience understand the message? Is the entire message present? Is the sequence logical? Are the titles appropriate and reflective of the topics?

• Proofread and ensure that: there is no repetition of information, the wording is unambiguous, there are no spelling errors, there are punctuation marks, and there is proper integration of visual material (pictures, illustrations, tables, diagrams, etc)

• Sometimes it's good to have someone else read the text. An additional eye can't hurt...

Good luck!!

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Want to learn more about document & content?

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• Simple Content Management

• The Next generation of personalization

• Has content become a secondary component of websites?