Business Writing
How to Write Better Executive Summaries with Google Gemini
May
Here’s the problem with CHATGPT and other AI tools: while you know they have incredible potential to generate images and generic blog posts, finding practical ways to use them at work isn’t always so simple.
I suspect one of the issues is that what they offer appears to be so overwhelming that it’s hard to get started. So, to address this, let’s look at a simple way you can start to weave AI into your daily workflow.
From what I’ve seen talking to colleagues, AI tools can be very helpful in drafting and reviewing executive summaries. Writing executive summaries plays to AI’s strengths in that it summarizes material you’ve provided and structures it accordingly. It has no reasoning or creative elements involved, which is where AI struggles.
So, with that said, let’s look at how to start writing executive summaries using Google Gemini, my personal go-to AI tool. You can follow the same steps with Claude and Microsoft Bing if you prefer.
AI Glossary of Terms
Before we start, if you’re new to AI, maybe you’re wondering just what is a prompt?
A prompt is another word for an instruction. It guides the language model, in this case, Google Gemini, to generate text. It can be a question, a statement, a specific theme, or even keywords. It provides Google Gemini/Claude, Copilot with the context and direction to produce relevant outputs.
Steps to Write Executive Summaries with Google Gemini
As mentioned, if you’re starting out using AI to help with writing tasks, here’s how you can get started.
- Open Google Gemini at gemini.google.com/app.
- In the “Enter a prompt” field at the bottom of the screen, enter the following text:”As a business writing expert, I want you to help me write an executive summary. Provide me with a set of simple to follow instructions that will help me give you the material you need to draft, edit, and review the executive summary in a collaborative way. I want you to follow industry standards, best practice writing style guides, and writing usability guidelines. Do you understand?”
Google Gemini Response
The response from Google Gemini acknowledges your request and provides some guidelines on how to craft the executive summary. This is helpful as it helps us understand how it ‘thinks’ and its expectations of the material you’re going to deliver.
“Absolutely, I understand. Here are some simple instructions to help us collaborate effectively on your executive summary:
Identify the Document and Audience:
Document: Share the full document that the executive summary will be summarizing. This could be a report, proposal, business plan, or any other relevant document.
Audience: Briefly describe the target audience for the executive summary. This will help tailor the tone and content to their specific needs and interests.
Provide Key Information
Problem/Opportunity: Briefly outline the problem the document is addressing or the opportunity it is exploring.
Methodology: Describe the methods used to analyze the problem or opportunity (e.g., research, data analysis, etc.).
Key Findings: Summarize the most important findings or results presented in the document.
Recommendations/Solutions: Explain the proposed solutions or recommendations based on the findings.
Benefits/Impact: Highlight the potential benefits and impact of implementing the recommendations.
Additional Information
Timeline/Budget: If applicable, provide a brief overview of the proposed timeline and budget for implementing the recommendations.
Next Steps: Outline the next steps or actions required following the executive summary.
Collaborative Process
I will use the information you provide to draft an initial executive summary.
We can iterate on the draft together, refining the content, structure, and language to achieve clarity, conciseness, and impact.
I will ensure the executive summary adheres to industry standards, best practice writing style guides, and writing usability guidelines.
Additional Tips
Clarity and Conciseness: Aim for a clear and concise writing style, avoiding jargon and technical terms that might not be familiar to the audience.
Focus on Value: Emphasize the key findings and recommendations that will provide the most value to the reader.
Active Voice: Use active voice whenever possible to create a more engaging and impactful summary.
Proofread Carefully: Ensure the final draft is free of any grammatical errors or typos.
This response is helpful to a degree. What we need to do next is gather the material and submit it to Google Gemini to start the collaborative process.
Creating the First Draft
To get started, I opened a short article I wrote a few years ago: “Using White Papers to Generate Sales & Grow Your Business.”
It’s about 600 words and would benefit from a nice exec summary to ‘set the stage’ for the main content. It was written as a blog post, which tend not to have summaries unless they go over the 1,000-word mark.
#1 Understand Google Gemini Upload Preferences
What I wanted to know next was how Google Gemini would like to receive the actual content. For longer documents, I’d use Claude as you can paste in PDFs directly.
Prompt:
In Google Gemini, I typed: “Provide me with guidelines on how you want me to upload the content.”
Response:
Here are some options for uploading the content for your executive summary:
Google Drive:
This is a convenient option if you already have a Google Drive account. Upload the document you want the executive summary for to your Google Drive.
Share the document with me by providing the email address associated with my account ([email address removed]) and granting edit access. This will allow me to access and analyze the document directly.
Note: I don’t think this works. Maybe it’s scheduled for a future release.
Cloud Storage Services:
If you prefer using other cloud storage services like Dropbox or OneDrive, you can upload the document there and share a link with edit access.
Paste the Text:
If the document is short, you can directly paste the text into the chat window. However, this might not be ideal for longer documents.
Email:
You can email the document directly to [email address removed].
Note: Again, I don’t think this works. Maybe with the premium version.
Important Tips:
Ensure the document format is compatible (e.g., .docx, .pdf, .txt).
Remove sensitive information.
#2. Paste the Text into Google Gemini
So, in Word, I copy and pasted the content as it’s a short document.
#3 Review the Response
Here’s what’s interesting. When Google Gemini responds to a prompt, it usually provides several drafts. By default, I find the first the most generic and tend to avoid this. It’s usually a short opening sentence followed by bullet lists.
#4 Refine Draft 2
However, if you click on Draft 2, you’ll notice that the content is structured slightly differently. The opening paragraph is longer; it looks more formal. This is the draft we’re going to refine.
Prompt:
Write the following prompt: “My preference is Draft 2. I want you to revise this text as follows:
Expand the opening paragraph.
Identify the main benefit of writing white papers and weave this into the opening paragraph.
Remove jargon, such as ‘utilize’.
Recast the bullet list into a second paragraph.
This draft is closer to what I’m expecting.”
Response:
The updated response is as follows:
Executive Summary: White Papers: A Powerful Tool for Lead Generation and Sales Growth
White papers are often overlooked as a marketing tool, but they offer a powerful and cost-effective way to attract new leads and drive significant sales growth. This article delves into a case study where a single five-page white paper generated a remarkable increase in leads (from 23 to 77) within just three weeks, demonstrating the effectiveness of this strategy.
Key benefits of using white papers include:
- Targeted Lead Generation: White papers allow you to attract potential customers specifically interested in your niche or industry, fostering high-quality leads with a greater likelihood of conversion.
- Data Collection and Sales Follow-up: By prioritizing email address collection during the download process, you can efficiently follow up with qualified leads and nurture them through the sales funnel.
- Enhanced Brand Credibility: White papers establish your company as a thought leader within your field, showcasing your expertise and building trust with potential customers.
By following the practical steps outlined in this article, businesses can leverage the power of white papers to generate a steady stream of qualified leads and ultimately achieve significant sales growth.
You can now see that this is more formal and has a slightly ‘polished’ feel.
However, it’s still prone to AI-speak. Notice that it ‘delves’ into case studies. This term is a giveaway that this text is AI-generated.
So, the next step is to ask it to purge AI writing clichés from the summary.
#5 Remove AI Speak
To remove generic AI clichés, such as ‘delve’, provide the following prompt:
Prompt:
“This text uses cliché AI-speak, such as ‘delves’ and ‘case studies’. These terms are giveaways that this text is AI-generated. Please revise the text using a more natural writing style. Here’s an example of the kind of text you should emulate. Identify how he structures the articles, his copywriting techniques, style. After reviewing the material, update the executive summary.”
#6 Reviewing the Final Draft
At this point, we now have a more formal, easy-to-read executive summary. It’s well-structured, identifies the main points in the supplied article, and is free from generic AI buzzwords, such as ‘delve’.
#7 Next Steps
Did you find that useful?
What I’m trying to show here is that if you start small with AI writing tools, you’ll get a feel for how they think, how they prefer to collaborate, so you can start to weave them into your daily workflow.
Other examples of this might include writing high-priority emails, cover letters, status reports, case studies, and white papers.
How are you using AI? Does this give you an entry point into getting started? Let me know where it’s helping you move the needle.
In the following tutorials, I’ll show you how you can continue to refine the executive summary and also use AI in a practical, productive way.
As always, if there’s something you want me to cover, reach out to me on X or LinkedIn.
