Formatting and Structure

Headings and Lists

• Use a clear heading hierarchy

• Keep headings short, specific, and concrete; favor phrases that signal the main idea (“Safety First,” “Comfort and Joy,” “A Place at the Table”).

• Use bulleted lists for non-sequential items and numbered lists for steps or ordered criteria.

• Keep bullets concise; each bullet should convey one main idea.

• In lists, all items must end with punctuation, or no items may end with punctuation.

Content Types

Research Reports

• Include: Executive Summary, Findings [Challenges, Solutions, or both], Next Steps, Appendix.

• Use “In Short” to summarize each challenge or solution section in 2–4 sentences in plain language.

• Use “Consider” for reflective questions that invite leaders to act or make a decision.

• Use “DORIS Insight” sparingly to insert interpretive commentary or pattern-spotting that goes beyond descriptive findings.

Blog Posts / Thought Pieces

• Mirror the report tone: research-backed, example-rich, with short sections and descriptive subheads.

• Lead with a real situation or question clients ask (“What actually drives culture?”), then connect to data and stories.​

Technical Documentation / Method Notes

• Use more explicit structure (Objectives, Methods, Sample, Limitations) with short paragraphs and minimal storytelling.

• Keep terminology consistent with the main report but tighten voice (fewer rhetorical questions, less metaphor).

Email Newsletters

• Use a conversational tone, contractions, and short paragraphs.

• Lead with what changed or what leaders need to do, then link to full reports.

Visual Elements

• Images:

• Use visuals that clarify space, process, or examples (e.g., diagrams of “The System,” queue journeys, prototype photos).

• Sparingly use images or illustrations to create visual rest between concepts.