each sub-point and minor point numbered beneath each key point. Use a decimal numbering system for maximum clarity: – 1. – 1.1 – 1.1.1 and so on. • Add a title for the whole outline, and headings for each key point, if necessary. Once you understand this principle of creating an outline, you
can adapt it to any kind of document. We’ll look here at three
basic formats: e-mail or memo, letter and report. You’ll see that
the pyramid remains the same in each case, with only slight
variations.
Outlining an e-mail or memo This is the simplest kind of pyramid.
Simply place your message at the top, immediately after your
salutation. Create a short paragraph – or even a simple bullet
point – for each key point and end, if necessary, with a call to
action: the next step you want the reader to take.
It’s an excellent idea to compress your message into the
subject line of the e-mail so that it appears on the reader’s inbox
menu.
E-mail has become a standard mode of communicating in
organisations. It’s fast, cheap and easy to use. But in many
organisations, e-mail is rapidly becoming the problem rather
than the solution. Four factors seem to be contributing to this
impending crisis:
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147 Putting it in Writing • Information overload . A recent survey suggested that managers receive an average of 178 e-mails a day. Getting yours noticed may be the biggest problem in getting it read. • Death of the conversation . Many of us now hardly talk to
