1. Professional Communication: The Corporate Insider’s Approach
Chapter Thirteen
The Long Report: Negotiating a Complexity of Purpose, Audience, and Design

2. Reasons for a Long Report
Need to refine or redefine business
Need to respond to a specific business problem or opportunity
Need to submit special or periodic reports to auditors, oversight agencies, shareholders, or investors
Need to go after new business or business markets

3. Primary Types of Long Reports
Business plans
Business/technical reports
Annual reports
Proposals

4. Business Plan Strategies
Market strategy
Production strategy
Research and development strategy
Organization and management strategy
Financial strategy

5. Sections of an RFP
Ground rules—purpose of RFP and expectations of proposal
Requirements—the work to be done
Evaluation criteria—how the award decision will be made
Format requirements—standards for preparing the proposal

6. The Four Strategies of Argument
Business plan = proposition
Business/technical report = analysis
Annual report = evaluation
Response to RFP = proposal

7. The Real Challenge of Long Reports
The challenges lie with recognizing and responding to the relationship among the unique sets of audience expectations, the document purposes, and the report structures.

8. Basic Questions for the Business Report
Where are we now?
Where are we headed?
How do we propose to get there?
How will we know when we’ve arrived?

9. Principal Parts Title and cover page Executive summary
Table of contents
Introduction
Body
Recommendations/conclusions
Appendixes

10. Two Functional Goals of Titles
The two functional goals of a report title are
To increase the probability of a first reading
To increase the probability of subsequent retrieval

11. Criteria for Table of Contents
Logically structured
Complete enough to illuminate the road
Meaningful language and vocabulary
Help fulfill the responsibilities to inform and educate

12. Questions for the Introduction
What is the problem?
Why is it important enough for you to spend time on it?
What were the objectives of the work?
How does this work fit in with what has gone before?
What is the scope of the job?
Where did it start and stop?

13. Developing the Body
To develop a body for a report that is a reasoned and integrated discussion, you need to keep in mind
The general line of reasoning
The appropriate organizational principles
The appropriate pacing

14. The Five Things You Want to Happen
Potential readers: Notice/open the report
Readers: Consider the substance
Executives: Take some action
Peers: Appreciate background and urgency, understand, concur, and agree
Staff: Accept bases of conclusions and recommendations

15. History of the Annual Report
Era of the financial analyst—financial emphasis
Era of the design house—Public relations emphasis
Province of the communicator—communication/ credibility emphasis

16. Objectives of an SAR
Encourage readership by making the report easier to understand
Provide relevant and concise information
Improve the quality and effectiveness of financial communications
Enhance shareholder relations and management credibility
Bring production costs down
Design document with multiple purposes in mind

17. Guidelines for Annual Reports
Define the message and themes
Speak to your audience
Face up to disappointing results
Admit there are competitors
Make productions real, substantive, and meaningful
Use clear language and visuals
Use a design that reinforces the message and corporate identity
Invite “partners” into the discussion

18. Long Report—The Lessons
Challenges of long reports:
Integration of form and function, message and design
Multiple audiences
Diverse purposes