Writing Incident Report

writing incident report"writing incident report"

Three Writing Tips To Improve Your Sba 8A Disadvantage Narrative

1. Don't write a report, make it personal - The narrative is a story, not a report.  Many of my college educated clients assume that the more facts and quotes you add, the better the narrative. This is not true.  The narrative is a personal story of incidents of discrimination and harassment that have kept you from reaching your potential.  Keep your narrative in the first person, recounting events in your personal and professional life.

Remember that the social disadvantage narrative is based upon negative experiences, I call this the "lemon story" versus the "lemonade story", so there is no need to add good news to make it appear you have "overcome obstacles".

2. Keep the quotes short - While it is good to include quotes to reinforce and enhance your narrative, keep them short, no more than a couple sentences. Be sure to give basic reference information,but you do not have to prepare a bibliography, again it is your story, not a report.  Do not include more than seven quotes in the total narrative.  Normally my client narratives range from six to ten pages in length.  The quotes should be reinforcing specific issues, for example: If you graduated from a high school with a very high dropout rate or if your community has a very high crime rate.

3. Be specific and detailed about incidents - When you are describing incidents from your personal or professional life, be as specific as possible.  Be sure to include:
-the month/year of the incident
-the name of your supervisor
-any witnesses to the event
-a summary of the event
-and most important the economic or financial fallout from the event. This is especially important if you do not have court documents to support your claims.  Here is an example:

In 1999, I met with John Smith of Acme ABC Prime Contractors in Houston, Texas to talk about partnering on the upcoming NASA contract. While he was intially interested in speaking with me on the phone, I noticed that in our face-to-face meeting he avoided making any promises to partner with my company. And he kept speaking directly to my assistant, John Jones even though John reminded him that I was the owner of the company.  It was apparent Mr. Smith would rather work directly with a male salesperson than a woman.  Not getting this partnership cost my company approximately $100K per month for five years.  See attached: A notarized statement from John Jones on his description of this failed sales meeting.

About the Author

Karen Miller is The 8a Mentor, helping small business owners successfully prepare their SBA 8a social /economic disadvantage narratives.  Get a free Special Report and save thousands of dollars in SBA 8a preparation at: www.The8aMentor.com

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writing incident report
writing incident report
writing incident report