You have just finished reviewing a set of medical records. The client asked you to describe the injuries the plaintiff sustained in the crash. You want your report to contain natural-sounding writing.
Do you ever wonder if you are setting the right tone with your writing? When it comes to that, many LNCs freeze in their tracks. They’re afraid if they don’t use just the right (perfect) formula they won’t be effective in communication. They can get so frustrated that they want to give up and escape.
Natural Sounding Writing Flows
Writing reports for attorneys is just another form of conversation. It should not sound like you are charting in a medical record. Natural-sounding writing flows. It is smooth; it carries the attorney from one point to the next.
You have a natural-born talent to communicate – you have that skill already. Nurses have well-developed communication abilities.
You would not be in your role if you could not communicate well. Written communication should not be a stumbling block that it is for some LNCs.
How to Get Started: Outline or Free Flow?
You are sitting down to write a report. Pretend you’re in a restaurant about to tell your client about this case. Think about what you’d say to her. What would she ask you? Keeping your reader in mind as you write helps you focus on the message.
It is usually more effective to write in a rough form than to edit your work as you write. I’ll bet you remember having to turn in outlines of papers when you were in school. Our teachers made us do them because outlines really are helpful for organizing material. Start with an outline and then fill in the concepts under each main point you want to make.
Creating an outline is difficult for some. You might be more comfortable with a style that involves letting your ideas flow and then organizing and polishing them.
The process of refining your writing involves looking at word flow, the length of paragraphs, and the way you’ve connected your thoughts. This is also the point at which you can add headers, subheaders, bullets and numbered lists. Some of your clients love to read all the details. Some want to skim and get the key points.
Attorneys can sense your energy. It flows through in everything you write. If your writing is stiff you may easily lose your reader. (We’ve been trained to have short attention spans.) Read what you wrote out loud. Does it sound conversational? Is it natura-sounding writing?
Your clients appreciate well written reports. They will come back to you for more assistance. Your legal nurse consulting business grows. It is all good.
Pat Iyer created Report Writing Mastery to help LNCs polish their writing skills and create 5 sample reports to show to attorneys. Don’t wait another day to improve your writing skills. Invest in this online course and start today.