Refrain from Concealing the Fundamental Message – Place it Pinnacle.
Amazon has cultivated a literary ethos, a tradition rooted in the visionary Jeff Bezos, who discerned stratagems for expediting superior decision-making through communication. Many of these methodologies endure as pedagogical staples in Amazon’s writing curriculum.
In the course of my research for my forthcoming publication, “The Bezos Blueprint,” I unearthed a literary artifice of such commanding efficacy that its application ought to be universal, transcending vocations. This device is denominated as “BLOT” (Bottom Line on Top). Employing this stratagem yields fewer correspondences, reduced perplexity, and an abundance of lucidity.
Ask yourself:
“What is the single most critical thing my audience [reader, listener, viewer] needs to know?
Ordinarily, individuals drafting an email or delivering a presentation have a predilection for an incremental approach leading up to their culmination. BLOT, however, proffers an alternative perspective on your discourse, commencing from the nether regions.
This constitutes your BLOT, a succinct construct encompassing one or two concise sentences, prominently emboldened at the commencement of an email, memorandum, or dossier.
For instance, contemplate composing an email to apprise your team regarding a novel telecommuting protocol. The initial statement atop the email might read as follows:
Initiating Monday, our team’s innovative telecommuting directive takes effect. Remote staff members with requests for adaptable schedules should adhere to these three effortless steps to formalize their accords.
Granted, the BLOT shall not garner accolades for eloquence. Nonetheless, the intent is not to craft florid prose, for such verbosity only begets further bewilderment. The objective is to expediently arrive at the crux, affording the recipient the facility to ascertain whether to discard, archive for subsequent reference, or expeditiously act upon it.
BLOT is especially advantageous for electronic missives and commences important presentations on an auspicious note.
To illustrate, postulate that you are among the architects of the company’s recent work-from-home guidelines, as mentioned in the foregoing email. At the impending all-encompassing assembly, your superior, averse to facing the brunt of the potential resistance, entrusts you with elucidating the policy.
Subsequent to quelling any perturbation toward your superior and undertaking the formulation of your BLOT, it may take on the following articulation:
The prime impetus behind our corporation’s prosperous trajectory is none other than you—the superlative talent within your purview. Consequently, we have meticulously devised a hybrid employment doctrine that prioritizes your requisites. Over the ensuing twenty minutes, I shall expound upon the particulars of this pioneering work-from-home initiative, a venture characterized by its innovativeness and forward-thinking approach, affording unparalleled flexibility.
Prime
Reflect upon the achievements of the orator encapsulated in a mere two sentences:
- Elicited a sense of value among employees (a measure that might alleviate some opposition).
- Offered a preliminary glimpse of the presentation’s subject and duration.
- Furnished an easily comprehensible roadmap (marked by innovation, forward-thinking, and adaptability).
Assuming the BLOT methodology denotes a departure from the conventional practice of instating an email or presentation chronologically. The orator in the exemplar cited above does not initiate with the phrase, “As you are doubtlessly aware, half a year ago, we initiated the distribution of surveys to solicit your insights…”
Rather, it inaugurates with the outcome of half a year’s worth of research. Naturally, supplemental data derived from the surveys buttress the contention. Nevertheless, they serve as supplementary elements.
Enunciate the primary point right out of the gate, supplying individuals with a compelling rationale to remain engaged.
