Even though the deadline comes last in our document, we’re going to take a look at it first. Why? Because most writers don’t even include a deadline in their writing. This happens because readers and writers think about deadlines quite differently.
Without a deadline, readers will wait for one. “We’re busy enough, thank you.”
We might ask ourselves, “How do I give my boss’s boss a deadline?” The answer is carefully—always with tact, for everyone. But does your boss’s boss want a deadline? Listen to your self-talk here. Of course the answer is “yes.” Writers often miss the boat on giving deadlines simply because they haven’t thought about their importance to the reader.