Mark Scott

7 easy ways to confuse your readers

mark.scott@framegroup.com.au — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:00:00 GMT

That report you're writing ... yes, that report ... you know that people are depending on it to make a decision, don't you? And that your employer is paying you to write it?

That means the report has to confuse your readers. The last thing anyone needs is a report that's consistent and clear.

So, to make sure your report is confusing, here are seven easy ways to do it.

Tags: documentation,communication

Create business templates that work: #2. flash design versus practicality

mark.scott@framegroup.com.au — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:00:00 GMT

It's your brand and you love it!

The designers presented you with a fantastic concept, a great logo, key messaging, typefaces and colours. With any luck, they also gave you guidelines about how to use the brand in your written communication.

So, how well does your brand's design translate into usable templates?

After all, templates are the best way to control your written communication and ensure its consistency.

Tags: documentation,business productivity,templates

Create business templates that work: #1. Know your tools

mark.scott@framegroup.com.au — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Hammers. They're pretty straightforward to use.

But have you watched someone adept at using them, like a carpenter? They know how to use this simplest of tools in a way that I can't. And a hammer only does two things: puts in nails and takes them out.

So where does that leave us using complex tools? Say, business productivity tools?

Tags: documentation,business productivity,templates

Seven tips to improve the quality of your business writing

mark.scott@framegroup.com.au — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:00:00 GMT

If you spend a lot of time writing, ensure your effort is not wasted.

How? I’m glad you asked.

I’ve been participating in LinkedIn discussions about the quality of writing ... well, the lack of it. And I’ve read pieces in the press about the falling standards of English, like this article in the Sydney Morning Herald.

This got me thinking about the amount of formal business documentation that gets released without being properly proofread, edited and reviewed.

Tags: documentation,business productivity

Just how long is that piece of string?

mark.scott@framegroup.com.au — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:00:00 GMT

‘But it’s 118 pages long!’ exclaimed the project manager. ‘We can’t expect a service provider to read this when they turn up to do work for us.’

Picture this: I’m at a meeting with a client (a big Aussie company), presenting the draft of a document I’ve just completed for them. We (that’s me and the team I wrote the document for) are now socialising the document within the organisation.

Considering what was presented, I was somewhat taken aback (to put it mildly) that the comment about the document’s length was the first piece of feedback we received.

Tags: documentation

Love me, tender: create the best RFPs, RFTs and other procurement documents

mark.scott@framegroup.com.au — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Do you work in procurement? Do you on occasion work with procurement to develop, say, a request for proposal (RFP)?

Then you’re in the right place!

This series asks you to think more carefully about your procurement documents. It’s about helping you to produce a better product that results in the best possible solution or service for your organisation.

Tags: documentation,procurement,business productivity

Love me, tender, part 4: it’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to

mark.scott@framegroup.com.au — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:00:00 GMT

In this last part of my Love me, tender series, I attack … I mean, I cast a critical eye over the response requirements for procurement documents.

By ‘response requirements’ I mean the content you expect from a service provider to demonstrate they’re right for the job, and how you want that content to be presented.

Read my three final tips for procument document writers.

Tags: documentation,procurement

Love me, tender, part 3: please, please me

mark.scott@framegroup.com.au — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Do you get lots of requests for clarification to your RFPs and other procurement documents? Do you receive responses with varying content and levels of detail that make comparison difficult?

These are measures of how clear your procurement documents are.

The question is: how can you make them clearer?

Tags: documentation,procurement

Love me, tender, part 2: listen, do you want to know a secret?

mark.scott@framegroup.com.au — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:00:00 GMT

It’s essential that you consider how service providers will interpret and use your procurement documents.

With timeframes to meet and the effort required to get tenders out the door, the less confusion for service providers, the better. After all, service providers are the primary audience of your document.

Tags: documentation,procurement

Love me, tender, part 1: an expression of vested interest

mark.scott@framegroup.com.au — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Given the cost of developing procurement documents, organisations need to take care to achieve the best possible outcome.

Just look at what’s at stake: the commitment to a solution or service, with its associated—and potentially large—financial transaction, contract period and changes to business operations.

Tags: documentation,procurement