When I was at BCG, a partner gave me a piece of advice I’ve used time and again.
When writing a document or presentation, do as much of the “thinking” or “answering” upfront. This could be handwritten notes on paper, ideas on a whiteboard, or a text outline in a document. It doesn’t matter where the information is held, but as long as you’ve done the heavy lifting to get to the answer as early as possible.
What’s the benefit?
It can take a day or more to write a presentation, and developing the answer while writing the presentation requires huge amounts of problem solving stamina and persistence.
On the flip side, when you front load your thinking, the process of writing the presentation is easier. The level of focus and sustained attention required is much lower. As you write your presentation, all you need to do is refer back to your notes, and make small improvements on the answer.
Is this smart, or just being lazy?
However you see it, we’ve all got way too much on our plates. I have found this is a reliable method to help reduce stress and give us structure when we’re preparing presentations.
If you’ve ever had a presentation to write and you’ve just started writing without mapping out the answer first, give this approach a go, and let me know if it works for you!