Business is a fast-paced field. There are tons of developments happening in real-time that require you to make quick decisions. There simply isn’t enough time to sit down and read about the new happenings. That’s why documents like reports, proposals, and plans need to have a summary that helps the executives quickly understand the salient points and take action accordingly.
Today, we are going to teach you how to create summaries of business documents. We will check out two different methods: a manual one and a tool-assisted one. Both methods have their benefits and drawbacks which will become apparent on their own.
Steps for Writing a Summary Manually
Let’s see how you can create the summary of a business document manually. This requires you to do everything yourself. It is a slower process, but it is more accurate. So, it should be used when summarizing potentially sensitive and important business documents. Given below are the steps to create a summary manually.
1. Read Through the Business Document Thoroughly
Before you can summarize a business document, you need to have a thorough understanding of it. This understanding can only be achieved by reading through the entire document carefully.
Here are some tips for reading that will help you to get a better understanding of the business document.
- Read in a distraction-free environment. In an office, this could be your cubicle or an empty conference room.
- Read the text aloud. Reading audibly makes you focus on the text. When reading mentally, you may skip over things accidentally, but when you have to speak to them too, nothing will be skipped.
- Be sure to read all the sections in order and not skip over to sections that seem easier to understand.
At the end of it all, you will have a better understanding of the entire document and what message it is conveying.
2. Reread it and Highlight Points of Interest
The first thorough reading was just for understanding what the main point of the document was. The second reading is for finding out what points have been made in the text that support the central argument.
For example, in a proposal about a new project, the points that support the document will be:
- Favorable forecasts
- Market research showing a demand for the project
- And a feasibility report
Data like that supports the document. Your job is to find such data and highlight it. Everything that seems important to the central point of the document. Don’t worry about selecting only the most relevant and important data during this stage. Anything that seems even remotely important should be highlighted.
3. Narrow Down the List of Points
Now that you have a list of points, it is time to shorten it. Now you will go through the list and rate the points for their relevance and importance to the document. Many points will be removed during this process, and you will be left with a handful of points. This is the shortlist that you will use to create your summary.
So, the question remains how do you determine which points are more relevant and worthy of being included in the summary? Well, here are a few tips to help you with that.
- Statements and figures that provide evidence for the central argument are must-haves in the summary.
- Statements with key terms and phrases that are important for the document are a good candidate for shortlisting.
- Statements that provide relevant and important information that can help with decision-making are must-haves for the shortlist.
- Personal judgment. You as a human must have your own thoughts and opinions about the document. Make your own decision about which points are important for the summary.
In this way, you can shortlist the points to make the summary.
4. Write the Summary Using the Shortlist
Now, it is time to write the summary. There are two types of summaries, extractive and abstractive. Extractive summaries do not paraphrase anything. They use verbatim statements from the source material in the summary. They only make minor changes to the text so that all statements feel cohesive and readable.
Abstractive summaries are those in which the text is paraphrased in the writer’s own words. The information provided is the same, but the text is in the writer’s style. Which style you want to write in is up to you.
Some people have an easier time writing an extractive summary, while others find it easier to put the summary in their own words. Just make sure the tone is formal and you don’t make the summary casual in any way.
5. Proofread the Summary to Ensure its Accuracy
Finally, you just have to proofread the summary to ensure that it encapsulates the business document accurately. An inaccurate summary provides incorrect data and paints a false narrative. An accurate one does not.
To proofread the summary, put it beside the original document and read them both one by one. If you find any discrepancies then that means the summary is inaccurate. Simply, rewrite the inaccurate parts to make them more in line with the business document and you’ll be golden.
Steps for Writing a Summary with a Tool
This is the automatic method. It takes way less time, but it trades accuracy for time. So, you will have to proofread it more thoroughly. Here are the steps for creating a summary of a business document with a tool.
1. Search for an Online Summarizer
Most summarizing tools are found online, so that’s where we will go. To find a summary generator online you only need to do a Google search. Just use the term summarizer and you will be showered with tons of results.
Just choose a tool from these and you will be set.
2. Input Your Business Document into the Tool
Now, the second step is to input your content into the tool. Just a simple copy-paste will work, but some tools also support file uploading. So you can try that too. Another option also exists but it is very rare, cloud import files from online storage. Whichever method you prefer, you can use it and then move on to the next step.
3. Tweak the Settings and Get the Summary
Most summarizing tools have a variety of settings and options that you can choose from to get the best kind of summary. For example, in the following screenshot, you can see the summary generator has two modes and a bar for adjusting the length of the summary.
Tweak such settings to your liking and you will have a splendid summary. The summary is generated in just a few seconds so you don’t have to wait long at all.
There are also other options in most summary generators that let you reformat the output. For example, you can make the summary appear as a list of bullet points. Use the format that serves your purpose and then move on to the last step of the process.
4. Proofread the Summary to Check its Accuracy
As always you will need to proofread the summary to ensure that it is in accordance with the original business document. Summary generators may be great at creating summaries quickly, but they can occasionally make mistakes. So make sure that you proofread their results carefully.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, how to write a summary for a business document. We discussed two methods for doing so and it is up to you which one you use. Our advice is to use the manual method if you are not pressed for time and the automatic method if urgency is required.
