Writing findings people actually finish
Analysis that never gets read wastes the interview time behind it. Here is a structure we teach for short, usable findings.
Most analysis reports fail for a simple reason: they open with background the reader already knows. By the time the finding appears, attention has moved on.
In our classroom sessions we ask participants to lead with the decision at stake, then the evidence that changes that decision, then the uncertainty that remains. Background moves to an appendix or a linked note.
A useful finding names who should act, what changes if they do nothing, and which claim is still tentative. That last part matters. Overconfident language trains stakeholders to distrust the next brief.
Try rewriting your last memo with a three-line opening: decision, evidence, residual risk. Bring that rewrite to a peer critique—most teams spot gaps faster when the claim is short.