Written Communication — Point First
You email Farah, Nightjar's lead engineer, asking her to review the new SMS alerts guide. The request sits in your last paragraph. She reads the first two lines on her phone, decides it is an update, and archives it. Launch day arrives with the guide unreviewed. Technical writers write far more than docs: review requests, tickets, proposals, status updates. The same skill runs through all of them.
The rule
Put the point first; then give only what the reader needs.
Language proficiency works at the level of the sentence. Communication works at the level of the whole message:
- Point first. The request, decision or answer goes in the subject line and the first sentence. Background comes after, if at all.
- Specific asks. Say what you need, from whom and by when.
- The right shape. Numbered lists for steps in order, bullets for items in no order, tables for comparisons.
- Enough, not everything. Keep what helps the reader act. Cut the story of how you got here.
Here is the email to Farah, before and after:
Before: Hi Farah, hope your week is going well! Over the last two weeks I've been reorganising the alerts section. I merged the two old email pages, updated the screenshots and tidied the word list. Along the way I drafted the new SMS page. If you get a chance, could you take a look at some point? Launch is Tuesday, I think.
After: Subject: Review by Thursday: SMS alerts guide (launches Tuesday)
Farah, could you check the SMS alerts guide for technical accuracy by Thursday? It publishes with the launch on Tuesday. Two questions only you can answer:
- How many times does Nightjar retry an SMS alert that fails to deliver?
- Is there a daily SMS limit per account?
Draft: a link to the guide.
The shortcut
Use the one-line test: write the single sentence the reader must take away. Put it first. Then keep only what supports it.
Find the one line
"Please check the SMS alerts guide for accuracy by Thursday."
The trap is burying the point under background because it feels polite or logical to build up to it. Readers skim, and the first lines are the ones that get read.
Drills
Answer fast — trust the rule.
Where should the request go in an email asking for a review?
Which shape fits "the five steps to add a monitor"?
Which is a specific ask?
Your team update has eight paragraphs: six about your process and two about a decision you need. What helps most?
Remember
- Put the point first; then give only what the reader needs.
- Shortcut: the one-line test: write the takeaway sentence, put it first, keep only what supports it.
- Trap: building up to the point, where skimming readers never reach it.