Photo by Thinkstock
One of my favorite television shows is Chopped. In this Food Network competition program, the contestant-chefs have a short period of time — no more than 30 minutes — to create a spectacular dish, incorporating four mystery ingredients.
At the end of each round, there is invariably one chef who struggled largely because of time. They are used to being more thoughtful and methodical about their work. Even though they’re embarrassed by what they’ve created, I’m still impressed. That’s because I’d still be planning my dish when the judge called time.
As a writer, you face something like this every day, don’t you? You’re asked to take some provided inputs and in less than a hour produce a blog post or company-wide email or an article.
Writing quickly is a skill to be sure. Sometimes just getting started is an obstacle. So, if you’re struggling with getting something on the page, here are a few things to consider.
1. What is the essential info? If you’re being asked to write something in a hurry, there’s a good chance you need to communicate critical information. Forget fancy intros and clever leads. Be clear and direct.
Use a simple news-style factual lead. Or go ahead and use the oft-maligned “Did you know …” question lead.
For example, let’s say we need to remind employees about a deadline:
Did you know today is the last day to sign up for health benefits for 2016?
Award-winning copy it ain’t. But you’re in a crunch, and you’re getting your message across.
2. Consider why it matters. Just because you’re in a hurry doesn’t mean you can neglect the WIIFM (What’s in it for me?). Maybe we need to tell employees about a deadline extension. What in it for them? More time — so they can make the right decision.
We might say:
Good news: You now have more time to complete the healthcare insurance enrollment process.
We know it’s important to you to have health coverage for your family in 2016. And we recognize that some of you feel you haven’t had the proper amount of time to research your options. That is why ABC Company is extending the deadline by one week. You now have until Nov. 1 to make this important decision.
It’s not fancy. But it doesn’t have to be. We have communicated the most important information and let the reader know why it should matter to them.
3. Think in bullet points. Do you have details to include? I’m personally a big fan of bullet points. They’re easy on you as a writer, and they’re easy on readers too. And if you’re in a rush, you probably don’t want to have to spend time on things like transitions — which you don’t need if you use bullet points.
Make it easy on yourself and transition from your lead to your bullet points with something simple like:
Here are three things you need to know about choosing your health insurance plan.
Now the next time you have to write a communication quickly, you’ll be ready!