There’s really no rule that says your report has to be stiff and technical. We may tend to write like that because we try to come off as a professional, but most people like to be “talked to” rather than “talked at.” If you write like you’re giving a lecture, you could very well lose people half way through.

Besides, “trying” to sound professional usually means you’re not and people will pick up on that. But if you can exude “voice qualities” in your writing that amplifies the confidence you have in your material, then your readers will hear it in your “tone” and be more apt to enthusiastically follow along.

Now that’s not saying you should come across as cocky. Arrogance is about you. You want to show your confidence in the material and how it’ll help your readers enhance their lives. You’re just the messenger unless you’re report is about your memoirs. And all I can say, if it is, is good luck with that!

You goal is to get information into the hands of your readers in a way that’ll share your enthusiasm for it with them. So think about how you’d relate your views of a new movie you saw with a friend (minus the expletives of course), or a new restaurant you’ve tried recently. That’s how you want to come across.

Naturally you wouldn’t want to take this to extremes and sound like a school girl ranting over a new boy in town. But you can easily balance fact and enthusiasm by putting some of your own emotion about the topic into it.

You can be friendly and still be informative, casual yet professional. It’s all in the frame of mind you put yourself into as you sit down to write. Think about picking up the phone and calling a friend to give them this information. You’ll be able to relate all the details and still maintain a personal rapport with the person on the other end.

Just remember, when you write publicly, you’re talking to people. If you write like you talk, you’ll keep people interested. Like yourself, most people prefer conversation to lecture. So converse!

This is a key element in learning how to write a report effectively. By putting your own feelings, and taking into consideration that your readers have feelings too, you’ll be making connections no technical paper could ever accomplish.

This involves formatting.

Whether you use Word, or OpenOffice, or any other word processor, you can easily change the format of your document by resetting the page view, the font, colors, headers and footers, etc.. The goal is to make it so your report will look good as a PDF, executable file, or even a web page.

Mind you, you’ll want to enhance these things, not to spread your document out so it appears larger than it is. But rather, you want it so people will find it enjoyable to read, and professional in appearance. You won’t fool anyone if you use large fonts with a standard format just to make your report 30 pages instead of 10.

But let’s talk about the font first.

The standard font in most word processors is “Times New Roman” set at 12 pixels. While this might be fine for a technical paper, there are several more appealing ones to choose from for an informative report. Look for a font with rounded corners like “Arial,” or “Verdana.” These are fonts that come as part of the default font packages on most, if not all computers. They’re easy to read and adjust nicely regardless of the size you opt for. Some fonts don’t look as nice if you bold or resize them, but these two usually do.

You can create a nice looking report by setting the font size to around 14 with headings set at 18 or 20 and sub-headings set for 16.

Be mindful to stick to the format you start out with. If you choose Arial or any other, stay with it throughout your report. Keep your text, headings and sub-headings the same size throughout as well. Likewise, if you opt to add color to your headings, then follow through with the same color coding to the end.

Some report writers use graphic images for their headings. This is fine as long as they blend in with the font and color of the rest of your document, and they follow the same pattern such as background color.

Margins are important too.

The average person’s eyes tend to focus on a central point when viewing a browser window or PDF document. If your text begins at the far left and carries over to the far right with very tiny margins it will cause more strain to the eyes.

Indenting your margins to leave a good inch on either edge of the page will make it easier to scan over and will keep your readers from having to scroll left to right with their eyes.

Keep your paragraphs short and to the point.

There’s no rule that says your paragraphs can’t be one sentence long. If that sentence makes the point you want to make and allows you to move on to the next point, then that’s fine. Think of paragraphs as groupings of thought. When the thought has been made clear, you can move on to the next, new paragraph.

The shorter and more concise your paragraphs are, the easier it’ll be to read and follow. By grouping your points into paragraphs, you’re also helping to assure yourself that your readers are “seeing” your message more in line with how you’re trying to present it.

Try to keep your paragraphs from running onto the next page too. If you’re displaying your report in PDF format, some older PDF readers tend to jerk when they flip to the next page which can throw off your readers’ concentration.

So there you have the basics of formatting a report. Don’t underestimate the importance of your report’s appearance. In this time of rapidly produced information products, we may tend to overlook this for the sake of expedience. But if you really want to learn how to write a report the proper way and assure yourself that people will appreciate it, then take heed of your report’s format.

It’s crucial that you understand at the outset that plagiarism is illegal, and in no way is this document recommending it. You should never use someone else’s words verbatim in any report or other document you write unless you’re willing to give them full credit and a link back to their site. You can however, use outside knowledge to strengthen your position if you’re able to adapt it into your own words.

The best way to keep your information fresh and up to date is to research current news on your topic. Google News is a perfect source of information that you can tap into to get it. What I recommend is to sign up to a feed reading service like Bloglines, go to Google and click on the News link, type in the keyword that your report is based on, and subscribe to that news page and send it to your feed reader.

This way you can check it daily to see what new information is coming through the wire along with other sources of material.

While you’re there on Google News, click on the blog feed link and subscribe to that too. As I mentioned in the introduction, part of your research should be to find counterpoints that conflict with your position. By subscribing to the blog feeds for your topic you can pull in what others are saying about it, and learn what your competitors may be teaching. This should provide you with plenty of material for your report in the way of answering objections.

Forums are another great source for finding the big questions people may have. Once again, go to Google and type “your topic”+forums in the search box. You’ll get links to all the individual posts that relate. You’ll also get a good dose of the answers people are giving.

Another source of research might be sitting on your computer already. If you’re the type who buys a lot of ebook products, there may be information in some of the older ones that you could update with the latest trends.

Whatever you decide to do on the lines of research, you’ll want to get as much as possible so you’ll have enough ammunition to present a complete guide. If your report leaves more questions unanswered than it supplies, chances are your readers won’t come back for more.

With the right amount of research, your report can become the definitive source for your topic. Having that under your belt will make you an overnight expert in your field which in turn will increase your reader base and have them eating out of the palm of your hand.

Not a bad position to be in!

Stay tuned for more information about how to write a report as we get into other aspects like style, format, and marketing it.

Articles tend to get scattered over the web and discovered by readers in various order. Though the points can still be gleaned easily enough, the thrust behind the message can get “watered down” when the reader is forced to jump around. Even if you number the articles as “Part one,”"Part two.” etc., there could be a time lapse between installments as the reader travels through cyberspace to find them.

But with a report, everything is encapsulated in one neat package and can be displayed in a web browser or PDF reader as a single unit. This makes it far easier to keep your readers on point, and bring them to a logical conclusion.

It also makes it a bit more difficult to master simply because you need to hold your readers’ attention longer.

So structure and style play an important role in writing an effective report. Balancing between being informative, logical, and interesting/entertaining is the key.

In researching your material, you’d want to look for points that are valid and up to date. The fastest way to lose a reader’s interest is to rehash old information that’s already common knowledge.

You’ll also want to research counterpoints to yours so you can disarm those who would disagree with your conclusions. This is also great for dispelling questions that may arise in your readers’ mind as they consider your points. Leaving “no stone unturned” in your material is essential to solidifying agreement and potential sales from your later recommendations.

Once you have enough information gleaned from your research, you then want to put things into a logical order.

Naturally the most logical order would be the “problem to solution” sequence where you’d list all the things your solution will address and then finish off with your argument for your position.

Through your research, you should know what the problems are, and which of them plague the most people. This will give you the “listing” order that you’ll make in your opening presentation.

Now some report writers will list each point and provide the solution right after, but the most effective method is to list all the problems or counter points and then address them later on. This creates anticipation in your readers, and gets everything on the table at once so people know what your report will be about.

Once the anticipation is present, you can then begin tearing down the walls starting with the most prevalent issues first.

By attacking the biggest issues first, you set your readers’ mind at rest that you’re someone who’s willing and able to take on the big problems and lead them to a viable solution. Not to mention that it also shows you know what the problems are in the first place.

But knowing what you’re talking about is only half the battle. Next you need to convince your readers on the “why” they should read your material instead of just going off searching for answers on other peoples’ sites.

You’ve done the research, you’ve put things into a logical order. That’s good! But what will keep people reading your findings?

Style!

Information is information, but the way you present that information can bring it to life. Adding some emotion, empathy, excitement and even some humor can transform a bunch of words into a piece of art that readers will enjoy.

Remember, you have the solution so you can afford to “lighten things up” and present yourself as a friend with an answer.

Now emotion doesn’t mean “hype.” Keeping things friendly will get you more results than coming off as trying to sell something at the outset. Be yourself, give yourself and your readers will appreciate that you’re on their side. There’s no rule against being a little entertaining.

We’ve just touched on some of the points we’ll be addressing further. Hopefully you now have the basics of how to write a report and will continue reading as I add more content for you. My intent in this introduction was to “whet your whistle,” but there’s plenty more to come.