By Michael Stelzner
Abstracts, also known as executive summaries, are bad.
As a matter of fact, they are really bad, and I stand nearly alone in my opinion. Consider that a recent survey conducted by WhitePaperSource.com indicated that more than 84 percent of white paper writers regularly use abstracts in their white papers.
Abstracts are those summaries that typically stand in front of the core content of a white paper. They tend to include the key points about the white paper.
Before I explain why I dislike abstracts, let me tell you situations for which they are good. Abstracts are good for:
- Very technical white papers
- Long documents or reports (more than 10 pages)
- Websites that encourage a white paper download (akin to a sales pitch for the paper)
My peers argue that not using an executive summary is arrogant because readers do not have time to read white papers. I think the weak point of this objection lies in the assumption that readers have no time to read white papers. If this were the case, then why ever write a white paper? Shouldn’t we just go around giving everyone summaries? People want meat and they want a white paper to be relevant.
Let’s examine where executive summaries are NOT used:
Magazine and trade publication articles
- Brochures
- Case studies
- Datasheets
- Direct mail
- Advertising
It seems that among the typical tools used for sales and marketing efforts, abstracts are clearly absent.
Now, do not misunderstand me. I believe it is wise to let readers know what they will learn from your paper up front. However, I do not see the abstract or the executive summary as the best vehicle to achieve this end.
Consider this: The number-one goal of most white papers is to educate, and ultimately, persuade. Most white papers are written to persuade people to do things: take action, understand they have a bigger problem than they realize, etc.
Let’s examine the world of persuasion. The first thing that comes to mind is an Amway sales meeting. I have been invited to many of these. They all start out talking about how to be independent, not about their solution. However, had they simply said, “You need money, and by selling all your friends on Amway and getting others to work under you, you can succeed,” I would have walked out, as would have most of the world’s Amway representatives (are they still around?).
Anything that tries to persuade does not give away the goodies (the big “Ah-hah!”) right off the bat. I argue that white papers are no different.
If you put an abstract or summary at the start of your paper, people may read the abstract, but will they actually read the paper?
The power is in the paper, NOT in the abstract. Thus, a very persuasive and compelling white paper will grab you and suck you in, like a good novel. Why would you want a wall called an abstract separating you from your audience?
Abstracts are barriers to entry into white papers, much as landing pages of websites used to be (think ’skip intro’). Abstracts have become less common as papers have shifted from a technical focus to a business-benefits focus, especially in the last few years (quick test: randomly download some white papers from Bitpipe.com and see how many have abstracts).
It is true that your readers are very busy and you need to get to the point quickly. It is also true that most readers are skimmers and do not want to read the entire white paper. So, borrow from the masters. Get your foot in the door and open it slowly, providing valuable content as the reader begins to walk through your paper.
Here is the solution. Lead with the key points in the opening paragraphs. If you take the problem-solution approach, discuss the top challenges and include a brief teaser on the solution in the first two paragraphs. If your client or boss demands an executive summary, you can extract those first two paragraphs as an executive summary.
In a roundabout way, I am suggesting an integrated, concise summary that gets to the point but does not fully introduce the solution. It must not be on a separate page or be labeled “executive summary” or “abstract.”
Join me for a healthy debate of this topic online at the WhitePaperSource forum.
About the author: Michael A. Stelzner is the author of the popular “How To Write a White Paper” and can be reached at mike@stelzner.com. Michael will be speaking about white papers at the Society for Technical Communication’s national convention in Las Vegas on May 9, 2006 (for details, visit http://www.stc.org/53rdConf/).
DISCUSSION: Discuss this topic at the WhitePaperSource forum.
