Write for Business - Blog

I've just read Steve Martin's memoir Born Standing Up, in which he reflects on his years as a standup comedian. It was good to remember the 70's when Martin was so popular, and I was a young man enjoying his act. One remark he made near the end of the book caught my attention:

"I always gave my performances, even my five-minute talk-show appearances, a beginning, a middle, and an ending."

Martin's comment attests to the effort and pride he put into his work. He wanted each of his acts—no matter how long or how short—to form a meaningful, albeit completely bizarre, whole. And surely, the comedian's stardom resulted from his attention to detail, from his opening lines in an act to his closing comments. (Here's a typical ending to a Steve Martin show: He'd say, "I want to thank each and every one of you for coming tonight." Then he would go out into the audience and attempt to thank each and every person.)

Forming a meaningful whole is the goal of so many of the things that we do. Think of one of life's pleasures: preparing a memorable dining experience; or of something far more practical: conducting a productive business meeting. Isn't the success of both activities based on giving the proper attention to the beginning, middle, and ending parts?

Your business writing, too, will be only as good as the attention you give to each part. An announcement or notice that dies at the end (not providing a call to action, or failing to invite feedback) will probably not be acted on, even if the other parts of the text work well. Likewise, a request letter that doesn't clearly explain the nature of the request in the opening part won't get very far.

This simple graphic illustrates the basic shape of writing. The beginning or opening introduces the writing and points to the middle or main part of a text. The ending flows from the middle part and brings closure to the writing. This may seem like elementary stuff, but sometimes a simple reminder like this can make all the difference the next time you write.

Here, in more detail, is what each part should accomplish in most forms of writing.

Beginning: The opening should introduce your topic, gain the reader's attention, and identify the focus or purpose of the writing.

Middle: The middle part carries the heaviest load because it should develop or support the focus. This is where you present the details of a request, state the results of your research, and so on.

Ending: The closing should tie things up: review your main points, make a call to action, and/or connect with the reader.

It may also be worthwhile to do a "systems check" of your most recent writing experiences in terms of their completeness: Did you give proper attention to each part of your latest letters, blog entries, or reports? Do you feel that each of these writings formed a meaningful whole? Do you wish that the beginnings or endings could have been more effective?

A well-conceived writing handbook such as Write for Business provides guidelines that explain specifically what to include in the beginning, middle, and ending parts for key forms of workplace writing. For each writing sample, the beginning, middle, and ending parts are labeled to remind you of their importance. Just reviewing a series of samples will give you ideas for your own writing.

Ernest Hemingway once said, "Prose is architecture, not interior decoration." Think of your own writing as a structure that you are building. In order for the structure to hold up, it must be strong from top to bottom, from beginning to end.

—Dave Kemper