Here are some tips on how to write your executive summary—and how not to write it.
Dos and Don'ts of Executive Summaries:
• Be persuasive (follow the executive summary format: state, prove, and apply).
• Don't be demonstrative (don't focus on features).
• Write your executive summary with active-voice sentences.
• Use strong, enthusiastic, and proactive language.
• Convert passive-voice sentences to active voice as much as possible.
• Write simple, short sentences intended for reading by an executive.
• Keep your executive summary short (1 page for every 20 to 50 pages).
• Write your executive summary using an executive summary template.
• Don't provide unnecessary technical details. Remember, an executive should be able to read it.
• Avoid excessive jargon, and write the definition first.
• Correct spelling, punctuation, style, and grammar errors.
• Write primarily for your customer, not for yourself (use the name of your customer’s organization more often than yours—and don't start with a description of your organization).
• Write primarily about your customer (the benefits), not about you or your product (the features).
