Adapted from a document written by Schulich instructor Barbara Henders.

Some Key Points for Writing an Amazing Executive Summary

In business, writing a fabulous executive summary, with a strong first sentence, gives you your best chance of “selling” your core idea to the reader.  It may be your only chance as many readers stop at the executive summary.  In general, an executive summary is the condensed version of a longer paper or presentation.  It is intended to provide the reader with the core idea, the main arguments, and the recommendation.   Often it follows the argument line from the paper or presentation, but not necessarily.

 
  1. Writing a fabulous executive summary, with a strong and compelling first sentence, gives you your best chance of “selling” your core idea to the reader.  If you can engage them in the first sentence, you will have positively primed them to accept your arguments, as well as have interested them enough to read on.  In order to write such a sentence, you need to have a pretty good idea who your reader is.  What would capture their attention and make them want to read on?  What would orient them to think that you know what you are talking about?
  2. There isn't time to meander in an executive summary. You need to be very clear in your own mind what the core message is, then you need to state it clearly to the reader. Don’t obfuscate. From the Economist Style Guide: “Clarity of writing usually follows clarity of thought.  So think what you want to say, then say it as simply as possible.”
  3. Quite often the core message is presented in the first sentence: “Your company's original strategy was xxxxxx , but the world has changed and now yyyyy.”  You would never start with a mundane, banal sentence like: "Your company is an old and established manufacturing company." (Don’t laugh, some have done worse).  You would never start with something so general as: "The information technology revolution is a global phenomenon with real implications for your organization." You want something concrete, something that is specific to where you want to lead the reader, something that excites their curiosity.
  4. You also need to be very clear what action you want the reader to take, and you need to state this clearly somewhere in the executive summary:    “In order to enter the Chinese market, your company must xxxxxxxxxxx.”
  5. Then figure out what key supporting thoughts or ideas are required to validate your core message and what key supporting thoughts or ideas are required to support your recommendation.  While you may not have the time, or the right readership, to develop a complete “story,” you do need to think about the thread that flows through the executive summary.
  6. Alternatives to the recommendation can be included, but only if they are strong or obvious ones, and even then they are generally not discussed in much detail. If the executive summary is in support of a presentation (as opposed to a full report), you may provide a bit more discussion of alternatives than would otherwise be the case.  
  7. There should not be anything more in the executive summary than absolutely necessary – like a Mozart aria with not one note too many or too few.  In order to know what is necessary, you need to know your reader and what he, she or they already know.  And you need to know what is core to you.
  8. In general, supporting data is rarely included in an executive summary.  Again, if the executive summary is in support of a presentation, you may sometimes choose to include supporting data where absolutely necessary to make your message compelling.
  9. Do not repeat yourself.
  10. Don’t tell the reader things that they already know. You can allude to facts they already know to support your insights, but repeating what they already know is not an insight.  
  11. Include all essential ideas.
  12. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors undermine your credibility.
  13. Don’t use jargon.
  14. Don’t use abbreviations unless they are more commonly used that the full name (e.g., the UN).
  15. Use an active, positive tone.  It sells more copy.  People want to be sold, fairly hard, on positive ways forward.
  16. Use straightforward sentences that say what you mean.  Don’t equivocate.
  17. Anytime you write something or prepare a presentation, review the books Made to Stick and Presentationzen.  At least skim the first few chapters for the general ideas. Heath and Heath’s key ideas about making your ideas “sticky” include:
  • Simplicity – What is the core, and why does it matter?
  • Unexpectedness – Stimulate curiosity by asking questions that the reader would like to know the answer to, or by pointing out gaps in their knowledge. (One often does this in the first sentence of an executive summary.)
  • Concreteness – Use natural speech and solid examples, not vague ideas. (Say "800 hundred children will be orphaned," not "the incidence of parentless children will increase.")
  • Credibility – Establish this by putting your ideas in context and “showing” that they work. Support them with data and analysis.
  • Emotions – Try to establish a visceral or emotional connection with the reader.
  • Stories – This can engage your reader, even in an executive summary – if you can tell it in one or two sentences. How you present the story depends on the audience, but make it concrete if you want to engage them.

Sources:
Heath, Chip, and Heath, Dan (2007, 2008), Made to Stick: why some ideas survive and others die. New York: Random House.

Roman, Kenneth, and Raphaelson, Joel  (2000), Writing that Works: How to Communicate Effectively in Business. 3rd Edition. New York: HarperResource.

Reynolds, Garr (2008).  Presentation zen : simple ideas on presentation design and delivery. Berkeley, CA : New Riders.