by Steve Adubato, PhD

Communication and information are funny things. Many times we say we need more of them, but we actually need less. When we get a memo, e-mail or some sort of business communication, often we can’t figure out what is important and what’s not; what the sender wants highlighted or prioritized and what can wait.

Communication in the world of business often revolves around the written word. One of the most effective ways to communicate in writing is using “bullet points.” However, many people use bullet points incorrectly or work against their goal of concisely sending a clear message or call to action by making many common sense mistakes.

Consider the following tips:

--No bullet point should be more than two lines in length. Actually, your goal should be one line. Recently our firm put together a list of “12 Keys to Making the Connection” when communicating. The first bullet is “ATTITUDE is everything!” Clearly there is more to say about attitude, but when it comes to bullet points, you can’t try to give all the information about a particular item to your audience. That’s why the shorter “ATTITUDE is everything” will most likely be remembered by the recipient, because the more information in a particular bullet point, the more likely the audience is to forget your initial point.

--Highlight, italicize or put in bold certain words. If you notice, “ATTITUDE” is highlighted because that is the most significant word in the bullet point. Further, whatever tool you use to highlight a particular word, be consistent with that approach throughout the list of bullets.

--The same thing is true in my ninth key to making the connection. “CONFRONT…But Don’t Be Nasty or Negative.” The goal is to have people remember that while their ATTITUDE is key, CONFRONTING issues and/or people is critical to effectively communicating both at work and at home.

--Create “white space” in between each bulleted item as opposed to cramming everything together. Effective communication must be appealing to the eye. That is the beauty of having a one line bullet. It allows for more white space, which gives the recipient the chance to let the particular bullet point sink in or to write their own notes in between the bullets.

--How many bullets are too many? Frankly, after further consideration, “12 keys” in my making the connection list was too many. I should have gone with seven or maximum eight. Remember, Stephen Covey’s bestselling book is called “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” It is not called the 12 or 14 habits. Most people can only remember so many bulleted points, therefore, no matter how many points you think you want to make, really effective communicators edit their bullets down to a maximum of seven or eight. For certain business communication, that number should be three or four. It isn’t a question of how much information you have, but rather what are the MOST significant points for your audience.

--Before you press the send button on that bulleted e-mail or business memo, print it out, take a good look at it and ask yourself; “If I were receiving this list of bullets for the first time, what would my reaction be?” Be honest with yourself because too many of us become too close to our work and lose our objectivity. We think too much like the sender of communication and not enough like the recipient. Better yet, share your list of bullets with a business associate or friend you can trust and ask for his or her honest reaction. It may not be scientific, but it can be really helpful to get that feedback.

When writing in business, bullets can be best, but only when used in the best way.