3 Reasons to Use Infographics for Reporting

Infographics provide a very interesting way of summarizing reports. Here is an infographic we developed to demonstrate their power. NB: Pop out the window to zoom in. 

Writing Powerful Reports– Lessons from Waki

Waki hands over his report to Kibaki | Photo:Daily Nation

Few reports in Kenya have had as much influence and stature as the famous Waki Report. Waki was the chair of a commission of inquiry that investigated matters relating to the Post Election Violence (PEV) that engulfed Kenya during the 2007 election cycle. While the Waki Commission could not claim any superiority compared to other commissions, its report proved to be more portent that any other report written in Kenya since independence. So what are the key lessons a report writer can learn from Waki when it comes to producing powerful reports?

Authority: A Powerful Report is Credible

Waki’s commission had one thing going for it. The commission managed to avoid perceptions of political influence, a fete barely achieved by any other commission of inquiry in Kenya. Even when you take into account the misgivings expressed by those who were adversely mentioned by Waki, it is hard to pin external influence on the work of the commission. Waki’s commission must have understood the immense responsibility they had towards the people of Kenya, and it seems the commission managed to retain its credibility throughout the process.

Consequence: A Powerful Report has a Life of its Own

Waki’s report had one clever element that many other reports lack. The report was “self-executing”. The commission designed its recommendations in such a way that almost no one could bar its implementation. Waki gave local processes first priority, but had an inbuilt “fail-safe” mechanism where the commission would hand over names of those suspected of crimes to the international criminal court (ICC). It is clear that the commission did not just gather facts to develop a report. The commission went ahead to analyze those facts and thought about the best mechanisms to ensure the resulting recommendations would be implemented. A great report doesn’t simply report facts, it uses those facts to provide recommendations of consequence, recommendations that cannot be ignored

Timing: A Powerful Report is Timely

Timing is everything. Wakis report demonstrates this truth beautifully. Waki’s commission came into being at a time when Kenya needed to get past the crippling impact of the PEV. The national mood indicated that those who bore the highest responsibility for the PEV events should be prosecuted. In this regard, the report not only came when the nation needed answers, but also when it was ready to hear those answers. Speak about striking while the iron is hot. Every great report became great because it was released at a time when everyone needed to hear what it had to say. Mastering the timing for releasing a report is a neat skill.

Naming : A Powerful Report has a Sweet Short Name

The last thing about the Waki report that made it great was that it has a nice neat name. What’s in a name? you may ask. The answer is quite surprising. If you ask an average Kenya about a national report he knows something about and give him these options; Waki Report, Ndung’u Report, Koech Report, or Akiwumi Report, which one will they pick. My bet would be on the Waki Report. While Waki’s report had other things going for it, a sweet short name helped. (Actually, the report has an official name, “(Report of the) Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence”, but who cares?) When you name your reports, give them a sweet short name. 

Rappid Report provides report writing and training services for a wide range of reports. Contact us 

Starting Difficult Reports: A Lesson from Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton (that’s the bright dude who “discovered gravity” by watching apples fall), came up with three laws that we currently call the Newton’s Laws of Motion. While we know Newton as a Physicist, he actually wasn’t just that. Back then, when you studied, you just studied. You threw in a bit of engineering here, everything on anatomy somewhere, some medicine over there, a batch of astronomy closely by, and then topped it off with a generous sprinkling of math. Therefore, had Newton been thinking about reports when he came up with the laws of motion, he could as well have named his laws, “Newton’s laws of report writing”. I don’t plan to bore you with the three laws of motion here and what’s Wikipedia for? 

Anyways, Newton stumbled on something so valuable in his first law of motion that I believe it is important enough for you to understand at least this first law of motion as a report writer. It will make it a lot easier for you to get started on your reports. Newton’s first law of motion stated gently reads, “Every item remains the way it is, whether moving or stuck, unless interfered with”. See the genius? Not yet? Hold on. 

See, when a car is packed, you must start and accelerate it before it moves. And when a car is moving, you must step on the brakes for it to stop. A stalled car remains stalled, and a moving car remains a moving car, unless you interfere. The same goes for your reports!

A report that does not get started, remains "unstarted", and one that is underway remains underway until completed. So here’s the whole point of this post. The most difficult part of a report, even difficult ones, is getting started. Once you hack the “getting started” part, no one can stop you until its done. I guess Newton would have stated his law as follows had he been thinking of reports:

“Every report remains unwritten unless acted upon”. 

If you need any type of help getting your report started, just get in touch with us at Rappid Reports.

Why Report Writing Sucks

Image Courtesy: Commons.wikimedia.com

Whoever came up with the idea that people should write reports must have had a diabolic agenda against humanity. There is something about writing and reading reports that goes against our being as humans. You see, reports are supposed to be the documents that prove something happened. They are a recollection, or an analysis of events already experienced, sometimes with the hope of learning something new. In other words, reports are monkish in nature, yet only a handful people can handle monkhood. Here are two reasons why report writing sucks

Reason #1: The Past Sucks

First, reports are well, reports. They document the past. No one makes reports about the future, yet that is where we are all headed. If you struggle with writing reports, there is a chance that your crime is your commitment to the future. You instinctively want to move forward, but you find yourself forced to spend hours in contemplation poring over data and trying to extract meaning from them. The stronger your “lets move on” instinct is, the higher the chances that report writing will suck for you.

Reason #2: Writing Sucks

Then there’s the second point, the “writing” part. Did you know that in the past being a scribe was actually a profession? Not everyone learnt how to read and write. It was one of those things that you’d leave to the professionals. In our time, thanks to the fight against illiteracy, all of us are expected to know how to read and write, including writing reports. That explains why for many people, report writing sucks. Don’t you wish report writing was just “left to the professionals”? 

If you need any help getting over a report or two, or you just don’t want to spend your time looking at things you’ve already experienced, call us and we will step in for you. Rappid Reports takes on your report writing concerns to free you to pursue other priorities.

Does Writing Reports Kill You? Here’s Why

Lets face it, report writing isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Do you know people who would rather set their hair on fire rather than sit to write a report. If the thought of writing a report makes you feel like baking yourself in an oven, you are not alone. Here are three reasons why report writing can suck the life out of you.

1. Report Writing is a Skilled Job

Writing great reports, just like running a marathon, requires skill. You must be good at gathering information, organizing it, and then communicating it. Wait, did we mention you also need to have good typing speeds and document formatting skills? If you haven’t developed all these skills (and usually more), then you know why it kills you to write reports.

 

2. Writing Great Reports Takes Time

Just like a great meal, all great reports are great for one reason - someone took time to make them. I love chapatis. However, I want nothing to do with making them. For me, anything that takes more time to cook than it actually takes to eat, well I leave that to the professionals. Is this what you need to do with your reports? Do you have the time to make your reports sizzle with greatness?

3. Great Reports Demand Complete Focus

And nowadays, time to focus is a hard thing to find, especially at work. It is just a lot easier to tweet away the key learning points rather that create a report with an abstract, table of contents, methodology… and at some point a conclusion. Bad news is that donors, bosses, colleagues, and even the government still require reports. Writing relatively straightforward reports can be a drag if you can’t give them your full attention. By the time your report is done, you will have no idea what the introduction stated. 

There’s absolutely no reason for you to die because of writing a report. Rappid Reports handles a wide range of reports and can take on any reporting challenge you have. See our complete list of services here and let’s get those reports started.

Is a Report Robbing you of Sleep?

• Do you ever wish you had someone you could rely on to help you get your reports done? 
• Are you currently swamped with work, and still need to get time to put together an important report? 
• Is there a report you have been putting away for some time now that you know is going to be a problem for you in the next few days or weeks? 

What if you could find someone who had 

the time, the passion, and the skill 

to put together that report for you?

If you gave us the chance, Rappid Reports would be pleased to handle that report for you. We promise you professional-grade results, complete confidentiality, and a rapid conclusion to your reporting nightmare. Get in touch with us right away (by filling the form on the right) and let’s get that report started!