At a recent Effective Reading course I learned techniques to improve my reading speed, comprehension and retention.

Effective readers use the following strategies:

• First scan the document, looking for key words that interest you. For example, we can’t resist anything with the words ‘writing,’ ‘email,’ or ‘communication’ in the title.
• If something passes the scan test, it merits a quick skim. Check the front material, including author, title and table of contents. Then quickly flip through the document to get a general idea of its structure, purpose and scope.
• For a more careful reading, you need to find the structure. Look for the thesis statement, or bottom line. Review the headings and sub-headings. Look for an executive summary. Review the first and last paragraphs in each section. Decide which parts you want to deep read.

It quickly became clear to us that readers can only use these strategies on clearly structured, well-written documents. Here are some writing strategies that will help your reader read effectively:

1. Put your bottom line up front.
2. Write an executive summary that satisfies your reader’s need to know the gist and key facts of your document. In a very short document, your executive summary is the first paragraph.
3. Make your title meaningful.
4. If your document is long, provide a table of contents that tells a story.
5. Use industrial or departmental conventions – your readers expect them.
6. Use information-rich headings and sub-headings throughout.
7. Ensure each paragraph or section starts with a topic sentence.
8. Read your body text aloud to ensure your sentences are clear, precise and logical.