Based on chapters of Technical Writing for Engineers and Scientists, Barry J. Rosenberg, and resources linked inline.
The “writing” we have been talking about has generally been abstract: maybe a “report” or just generic “sections”.
But the style of writing will depend on what you're writing: email is different than a research paper. Let's talk about a few that you might be likely to do…
Web sites can't rely on the linear beginning-middle-end structure that a paper-based document has. It's a… web of information.
See also How Users Read on the Web and Applying Writing Guidelines to Web Pages by Jakob Nielsen.
As with any writing, you should start by figuring out the purpose of your site, your intended audience, the content do you want to include, etc.
Especially on the web, readers probably won't want all of what you're going to write. They want a specific topic or even single fact.
Instead of ordering the content, we need to break it into not-strictly-ordered pages.
People may arrive on any page, coming from external links, search results, etc. You can't assume that they read the “previous” content on your site, or even followed your navigation structure.
Even within a page, readers don't read top-to-bottom.
Making your content scannable will make it much easier for readers to find what they want.
There are several ways your markup can to make it easier to scan for relevant info.
<h2>, <h3>)<strong>, <em>) so they can be easily seen<ul>, <ol>)One thing that stands out to be scanned: your links. They should be meaningful and suggest the destination.
Click here for our schedule.
You can also check our schedule.
Your writing can also help readers find what they want.
Design the navigational hierarchy of your site to help users find what they want.
Once again, think about the needs of your audience and how they might think about your content (not about your org chart, etc).
Plan for growth: a web site is a living thing, and you'll want to add pages later. Create a structure where that can be done sensibly.
Don't forget all of the other stuff we talked about: your content should be made easily readable with all of the tricks we have talked about.
Let's face it: we all write a lot of email, like it or not. Getting your point across by email is an important professional skill.
See also: Once Upon a Time: communicating at work; Email Tips: Top 10 Strategies for Writing Effective Email; Writing Effective Emails.
I propose that the usual problem with emails is giving the right information for your reader(s).
Once again, you must think about your audience and figure out what they need to be told to understand.
Don't say too much.
Most of what you write is going to be to co-workers. They will already know a lot of the context of the situation and don't need to be told again.
The longer the email, the less the chance of it being read fully.
Don't say too little.
Your reader(s) need to know what's going on, and the context of your message.
Keep the message focussed and on a single topic. Be brief and to-the-point.
Like with web pages, you probably need to be more concise than a long form report or similar.
But don't let your email degrade to text messages.
I neeed your report by 5 pm.
Give it a proofread before sending too.
Email often replaces face-to-face communication, but without the body language and vocal tone. Make sure the tone of your writing is appropriate.
I need your report by 5 p.m. today or I'll miss my deadline. Writing Effective Emails
Hi Firstname,
Thanks for all your hard work on that report. Could you please get your version over to me by 5 p.m., so I don't miss my deadline?
Thanks so much! Writing Effective Emails
Have a meaningful subject line that explains the topic.
Think of the subject as (briefly) doing the job of the introduction: orienting the reader and saying something about the context & problem.
Subject: meeting
Subject: Foo project meeting
Subject: Foo project meeting Thursday?
Subject: Foo project meeting Thursday 10:30
On the subject of your audience: choose them carefully. Send to the right people!
Don't CC the whole company, or others that don't care.
In some ways, a slide-based presentation is like any other writing.
Think about who your audience is, what they are interested in, and what they need to know.
You'll need an introduction, main body, and conclusion. ReadersThe Audience should always be oriented to the topic, and know the context.
Visualizations should use the graphical languages well to convey information.
But there's an extra dimension of timing and of you talking about the material while the audience is seeing the slides.
Remember that the slides you make aren't the whole presentation.
The extra “you talking” part will add a lot of the content.
Implication: you don't have to write everything on the slides.
Slides can hold just the main points.
Since the slides must be consumed in real-time as you're talking, they should be as concise as possible.
I haven't been using bullet points much in slides.
Make a number of slides that's reasonable for the presentation length.
Rosenberg suggests 80 seconds per slide, which seems reasonable. (≈37 slides for a 50 minute lecture)
As always, it depends on the subject, audience, etc.
Practice the talk to see how the timing works.
How I feel about an n minute presentation:
Mechanics:
Did you know that it's physically possible to give a presentation without slides?
Many people don't seem to. Slides can be effective, but aren't the only way.
Other presentation styles to consider:
Choice depends on the audience and material.