Summaries

When we write a document or email that is more than a few paragraphs long, our first few sentences should be a summary of what we wrote. This is called an inverted pyramid writing style, where instead of building up to a conclusive summary at the end, we essentially move the conclusion to the beginning.

For example, if we were writing an email that was communicating the current status of a project, instead of starting with background information about the project, followed by supporting details of how the project got to where it is, and ending with a conclusion that summarizes the current project status; we would start with the project status, and follow it with background information and supporting details.

When we write in an inverted pyramid style, we are trying to avoid a situation where the reader felt that the document or email was too long, and as a result didn't bother to read anything at all. From the reader's perspective, this situation is a TL;DR, which stands for, "Too Long; Didn't Read." In extreme cases someone may actually reply to a long email with the letters, "TL;DR," to explicitly state that they were not going to read the email because it was too long. Though TL;DR should never be sent in response to a long email - as it is rude and disrespectful - the criticism itself is often valid.

The reason why people will send - or are at least tempted to send - a TL;DR response is that we all tend to be very short on time, and when we are sent an overly-long email or document that does not start with a clear and concise summary, the reader will have to choose between potentially wasting time reading unimportant information that is irrelevant to them, or not reading the information at all, and running the risk of missing important information.

The reality is, the shorter someone is on time, the higher the probability that they would rather miss something important than waste time. Therefore, if you were to send a long email or document without a summary to someone who is very busy, you should not be surprised if they don't read what you wrote.

A good summary should be at the very top of a document or email, and help the reader gauge the relevance of what you wrote to them, as well as how necessary it is for them to read what you wrote in its entirety.

Summaries can be thought of as being of one of three types: a Lede which is usually a single sentence, an Abstract which is usually a single paragraph, and an Executive Summary which is usually several paragraphs.

A Lede (spelled L-E-D-E) is a single sentence that quickly grabs the reader's attention and helps them decide if they should read further. For our previous project status email example, a good lede might be, "Data Migration Project is on track to deliver in September, but there are risks that might push the delivery date out to November."

This lede accomplishes three goals in a single sentence: it allows people to determine if the email is relevant to them with "Data Migration Project"; it relays the most important information with "is on track to deliver in September"; and it entices the reader to read more with "but there are risks that might push the delivery date out to November."

It could be argued that learning how to write a good lede sentence is the most versatile skill in all of written communication, as a good lede can be used as the subject of an email, the title of an article, a news headline, a subtitle, an image caption, a text message, a chat message, or a social media post. Suffice to say, learning to write good ledes is a gift that keeps on giving throughout your entire professional career.

Where a lede is a summary that is usually a single sentence, a summary that is the length of a paragraph is usually referred to as an abstract. However, the specific term, "Abstract" is used primarily in the context of documents presenting research data, making abstracts a standard fixture at the start of every scientific paper.

If you are writing a document that presents formal research data, an abstract that summarizes the goal of the research, the research method, the data collected, the analytical techniques used, and conclusions derived from analyzing the data would generally be expected.

Due to them being technical in nature, research paper abstracts are usually not intended for a general audience, and as a result are usually packed full of jargon that most people would not understand. This is one of the reasons that a summary in the form of an abstract is rarely found in the business world. Instead, business documents tend to rely on executive summaries.

Unlike an abstract's more formal structure and use of jargon-heavy language intended for a technical audience, executive summaries are typically longer than abstracts, and are intended for a general audience.

The term "Executive Summary" describes their intent: they are meant to be a summary for executives. Executive summaries are meant to save an executive time by distilling vast amounts of information into a series of well-thought-out paragraphs, usually amounting to no more than what would fit on a single printed page. An executive summary being no more than can fit on a single printed page is largely based on tradition, as an executive could be handed a single piece of paper, and after reading it, they would have learned all of the most important points contained in the document.

While there is no fixed length for an executive summary, generally its length should be proportional to the length of the document itself. If a document is 10 pages long, a 3-paragraph executive summary might suffice. If it's 50 pages, a one-page summary may be appropriate. Beyond 100 pages, there may be a temptation to make an executive summary that is multiple pages, but as a general rule you should try to avoid executive summaries being more than one page.

Whether summarizing with a single sentence lede, a single paragraph abstract, or a multi-paragraph executive summary, always remember the advice taught to every journalist: Don't bury the lede. If all you can get someone to read is the lede sentence - even if they don't read the full document - at least they got the most important information you were trying to convey.