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 A document seems like a flat thing—a screen with words, a report with facts and figures.
It is not. A document is an experience.
How is a document an experience?
Readers experience a document over time. It’s not a picture that they can see all at once. They read it the way they listen to a song. The experience evolves. Readers must enter your mental space and find their way around it.
Think about anything that people experience over time—a movie, a church service, a debate, a party, a concert. These events start by bringing people out of their worlds and welcoming them into the world of the experience. Then they deliver the promised experience. Finally, they wrap the whole thing up in a memorable way, so that people take something meaningful home with them.
Writing is the same. You say what you’re going to say. Then you actually say it. Then you say what you just said. This three-part structure is called opening, middle, and closing.
How do I create a strong opening?
Invite readers in.
Think of the opening as a doorway into your mental space. It must greet readers where they are and welcome them into your thinking.
Ask yourself . . .
- Who are my readers?
- What do they already know about my topic?
- What do I want them to know?
- Why should they care?
When you write the opening of your document, follow these steps.
1. Grab attention.
Speak to readers where they are, using one of these techniques:
- Provide a surprising statement.
Movie theaters are facing an existential crisis.
- Ask a provocative question.
Will movie theaters die out in our generation?
- Write an interesting anecdote.
We’ve all done it—ordered an on-demand video on our HDTV, popped some corn, gotten a drink, and settled down in our recliner to watch a movie . . . all without going to a theater.
2. Provide context.
Think of what readers already know about your topic, and then provide what they need to know to understand your ideas.
But the theater experience is unequaled: the thrill of a new release, the spectacle of the silver screen, the immersive soundscape of giant speakers, the electricity of an eager audience, the smell and taste of popcorn—the event of it!
3. State your main point.
Identify what you are writing about (your topic) and why you are writing about it (your purpose). If possible, state both in a single sentence.
To save movie theaters, we need to sell the sizzle on the steak—all those intangibles lost in the streaming wars.
How do I create a strong middle?
Deliver the experience.
Lead readers through your ideas. You’ve provided your main point, and now you need to use supporting points and details to flesh out the main point.
An outline can help you organize the middle of your document:
Main point: To save movie theaters, we need to sell the sizzle on the steak–all those intangibles lost in the streaming wars.
- Supporting point: Movies should be public events, not just private diversions.
- Detail: Fans in costume wait in long lines for a midnight show of a long-anticipated movie.
- Detail: Cinemas host date nights and family nights and even fan-club nights.
- Detail: Blockbuster premieres bring a little bit of Hollywood to every small town across the country.
- Supporting point: Modern cinemas provide an unparalleled movie experience.
- Detail: The average cinema screen is 100 times larger than the average large-screen TV.
- Detail: Cinemas have speakers that dwarf those in home-theater setups.
- Detail: Special 3D and 4D shows let fans experience movies in an immersive way.
- Supporting point: Movie theaters have enabled a century of civic life.
- Detail: Early audiences watched Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton while a local pianist improvised a musical score for the silent film.
- Detail: Golden-Age audiences saw newsreels, Looney Tunes, serials, and feature films—an afternoon of entertainment for 25 cents.
- Detail: Theaters have brought us the age of blockbusters, from Singin’ in the Rain to Star Wars to Lord of the Rings.
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How do I create a strong ending?
Give readers a valuable takeaway from the experience.
1. Review where you have been.
With unparalleled picture and sound, cinemas make movies into public events—as they have been for more than a century.
2. Provide another strong point.
While social media has isolated individuals in front of smaller and smaller screens, movie theaters bring us together in front of the biggest screens possible.
3. Tell readers what to do with the ideas.
So get off the couch and get back into the movie theater! You’ll experience a treat for your eyes and ears . . . and possibly even for your human spirit.
Why is this structure so important?
Your document has a job to do. You are trying to make a change in the world—to affect the way other people think and act. Approaching your document as an experience—like a party, a movie, a church service, a debate, or a concert—is the best way to make that change.
Write like a party planner. Create an experience that readers take with them.
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