Planning your document

1. Planning your document Starting from a pile of disorganized information

2. Steps in writing a document • Develop ideas • Collect the information • Focus the topic – what is it about? • Organize the information • Write a draft • Rewrite the draft

3. 1 Develop story ideas • What interesting things have happened in your project? • What problems do people in your area face? • What topics interest your audience? • What topic is in the news now? • What issue does your organization want to focus on? • What new things do you have to say?

4. 2 Collect information • Read what has already been written • Ask questions • Observe • Soak up information like a sponge • Make notes • Think of interesting angles while you are gathering information

5. 3 Focus the topic • What am I trying to say? • Discuss the subject with someone • Tell him/her a story • Explain what happened • Give only the information the listener needs to understand

6. The elevator pitch • Imagine you are in a lift with Bill Gates • What would you tell him about your project? • What is the most important thing to say? • You have 2 minutes! • Used with investors

7. Nine Cs of an effective elevator pitch • Concise As few words as possible, but no fewer • Clear Your grandparents can understand it • Compelling Explains the problem • Credible Explains how you solved the problem • Conceptual Not unnecessary detail • Concrete Specific and tangible • Customized Addresses audience’s interests • Consistent Same basic message • Conversational Not complete, but aims to interest audience in more information

8. 4 Organize the information

9. 4 Organize the information • What is the story about? • Main idea to which all other ideas relate

10. What we want to end up with • A carefully constructed story with evidence supporting our main idea Lead Focus Evidence

11. 4 Organize the information • Make a short list of 7-8 categories your information falls into • Eg, Situation, Problem, Production, Intervention, Results, Solution • Label your notes with these categories • Sort the notes according to category • Sort the categories into a logical order

12. 5 Write! • Four ways to start • Write a summary sentence • Write some possible leads • Write an ending • Write without notes • Don’t • Start off with a 100-page report and try to edit it down to 3 pages

13. 5 Write • Focus • What is the story about? • Organization • What information is included? • How is it presented?

14. 6 Rewrite • When you have finished writing • Have you said it well enough? • Reread what you have written • Is it in the right order? • Is it interesting? Does it grab the reader’s attention? • Does it say anything new or useful?

15. When you have finished writing • Ask someone else to read it • Ask them to be critical of the structure, organization, logical flow • Ask them if the piece is interesting, easy to read • Ask them what they learned after reading

16. Now develop your own story idea • What interesting thing has happened in your project? • What problem do people in your area face? • What topic interests your audience? • What topic is in the news now? • What issue does your organization want to focus on? • What new thing do you have to say?

17. More information • BBC SXSW (click on the video) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7947729.stm • Youtubewww.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq0tan49rmc • O’Leary: Elevator Pitch Essentials