How do you write an executive summary that grabs attention?

When it comes down to engaging your target audience, it is vital for you to clearly and succinctly communicate the value proposition. You want to answer questions like: "Who is this for?" "How does this benefit me?" "What will I gain in the long-term from my time or financial investment?" Particularly in the realm of B2B marketing communications, the ease with which you communicate this message is what will secure your deals, clients, and partnerships. So, definitely take the time to understand the needs and desires of your audience. Put yourself in their shoes, and employ empathy to be a more effective communicator– in business and beyond.

In 15 years of scanning proposals, the summary is the first thing I *skip*. Dense. Jargon. Trying to impress. Instead, I head to the $$$. Nothing worse than loving a project then hating the price tag. Making costs clear in the summary earns my trust. Also: headers help. The easier to scan, the easier to understand.

Think of your audience in terms of a specific person, or a few specific people, instead of a broad group. Consider what information will catch their attention, and what would spark up a good conversation with them. If you're stuck, talk to people who are representative of your audience. Ask them what problems keep them up at night, what they are most interested in. Keep the information as specific, relevant and practical as possible. Translate the big ideas into practical advice that are immediately relevant to your audience.

Once I have identified the target audience, it's easier to describe the problem or the many facets of it. Add to that the economic losses/real life hurdles that come with it. Now I move over to the solution. I clarify my stance with an overview of the scenarios in context, elaborating in the later chapters.

Make it easy to read and understand in less than 2 minutes! Before you write the document, start with section headlines that read like a narrative. If that's cohesive, then simply fill out each section with the details. Your executive summary can be that initial narrative that highlights: 1) Situation - provide context 2) Challenge - explain problem 3) Actions - highlight progress made 4) Result - describe outcome or next steps

There are so many elements that can define the structure of an executive summary and these factors will define the tone and message that it will convey. Including important details is key and it should portray the document in it's essence.

The structure should enhance the ease of readability and comprehension of the executive summary to convey your document's main points effectively and engage with the reader's attention. One way to achieve this is by using the inverted pyramid structure. This type of inverted pyramid structure places the most critical information at the summary's beginning, followed by supporting information in descending order of importance. This structure helps to ensure that the reader gets the most vital information upfront, while at the same time hooking the reader into the relevant and engaging findings of your document.

Particularly in A/E/C proposals, I like to follow the order of the volumes and evaluation criteria. Within each, I like the highlight 1-3 benefits to the customer. Then, I reference wheee additional details can be found within the proposal response. Clarity is always the goals.

Brevity is of the outmost importance: each word that you can take out should be eliminated. Imagine that each single word is costing you money and try to do with as few as them as possible. Also consider that this executive summary can be the only part of the document that your audience will read. And that it can be copy-pasted in internal or external communications. It has to stand on its own and tell the whole story.

For an executive summary, conciseness and highlighting the value proposition of what you're covering in the document are integral. Executives typically don't have very much time during the day—as the creator of the exec. summary, ask yourself, "Why should this executive take 5-10 minutes out of their busy day to read this?" And, even if all the content is integral to include, still structure the hierarchy based upon importance. Place your integral takeaways at the beginning, and filter down to the 'still important, but less so' takeaways.

Parts of the executive summary are stating the facts, what is the "so-what" and what are the expected reaction from the audience. What you are trying to say, how this is relevant to your audience and how they should be reacting (tell - feel - act)

The call to action is really the place to inspire next steps for your reader. Without a call to action, your reader can potentially forget the information you shared or feel slightly unfulfilled if they wanted to learn more. In marketing communications, a call to action is a strategic way to engage your readers to move forward in the sales funnel and it can also be a powerful way to welcome your readers into your community. Be intentional about including a call to action that provides additional value to your readers.