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communications

3. Get Off to a Flying Start

Formal outlines are a waste of time unless the outline is going
to become part of the document, or if that’s how you happen to
think best. Otherwise, if you need to organize your thoughts before
you write, create a mind map. Identify your subject and write it in
the center of a sheet of paper. Put down the major points you want
to make, and connect them to the subject by lines. Attach remind-
ers about data, anecdotes, and examples you’ll want to use to the
appropriate major points with other lines. Number the points in
the order you want them to appear.

If you prefer, you can use information management software
for this purpose. Some of it works in exactly the same way as the
paper method, by letting us visualize what we wish to commu-
nicate. Use the method that’s most convenient and natural—the
electronic format is handy because it captures thoughts so they
can be used for the next step. It is also helpful, in the hands of an
accomplished user, to capture the ideas of a group of people dur-
ing a brainstorming session, and to share those ideas with others.

Using an outline or a mind map, you now have captured and
roughly organized all the ideas you need to include. If you need
more information, you’ll discover that now (rather than halfway
through the project). When you’re ready to go, you’ll know exactly
where you’re going.

Now engage in a little flash keyboarding. Just let the words fly,
without worrying about punctuation, spelling, or sentence struc-
ture. The important point is to capture the essence of each idea
and the flow between ideas.

You’ll need to go back and edit, of course, but the time it takes to
key a rough (very rough) draft and then edit it will be less—possibly
much less—than you would have taken pushing your way along,
word by tortured word, trying to create perfection as you go.

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