Fat Free Proposal Writing — Tips for a Winning Recipe - SPAC

SPAC 2 11Southern Proposal Accents ConferenceSPAC 2011Fat Free Proposal WritingTips for A Winning RecipeExecutive Chef: Betsy Blakney, PPF.APMPSponsored by Georgia, Florida, and Carolinas APMP Chapters1

MenuSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 2

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Unsurpassed Level of Service• Restaurant Offering– Quality– Variety– Great taste– Convenience– Friendly atmosphere– Great prices– Specials– Coupons– Catering– WE DELIVERIn business, as in yoga, more isn’t always better.Frances Cole Jones, Cole Media ManagementSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 6

Unsurpassed Level of Service• Evaluators’ Expectations– Quality (product & service)– Innovation– Right solution, low risk– Accessible - anytime, anywhere– Collaborative, responsive– Realistic, within budget– Added Value:– Discounts– Special requirements met– DELIVER RESULTS,on schedule, within budgetGrasp the subject, the words will follow.Cato the Elder, Roman orator & politician (234 BC - 149 BC)Sponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 7

A Lighter MenuWords and Phrases to Avoid– Ones that increase contract risk– Clichés– Gobbledygook– Jargon– Ones that have low nutritional(information) contentWorld classRight-sizeUtilizeClear theClutterA synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the word you first thought of.Burt Bacharach, American ComposerSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 11

A Lighter MenuBest Practices for Writing Better Proposals– Plan before you write– Follow structured process– Organize information so it is easyto read/score– Understand customers and their needs– Write to persuade– Provide distinctionThe safest words are always those which bring us most directly to facts.Charles H. Parkhurst, American clergyman (1842-1933)Sponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 12

SpecialtiesWhat a food critic (proposal evaluator) saysabout your cooking:Balance• Compelling theme statement• Features and benefits• Sentence lengthSimplicity• Clear, concise, convincingDiscipline• Follow the win strategy (recipe)• Focus on the customer rather than your companySay all you have to say in the fewest possible words, or your reader will be sure to skipthem; and in the plainest possible words or he will certainly misunderstand them.John Ruskin, English critic, essayist, & reformer (1819 - 1900)Sponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 13

SidesOvercoming Writer’s Block– Brainstorming – think first!• Let your mind wander– List making – understand your assignment• Get your ideas down– Gathering up – collect your details• Pinpoint your factsInspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop anapproach for the rest of the time... The wait is simply too long.Leonard Bernstein, US composer & conductor (1918 - 1990)Sponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 14

SidesTurning out a First Draft– Focus• Put yourself in the customer’s shoes• Identify key words and phrases customeruses throughout and mirror them– Sketch• Bottom Line on Top (BLOT) approach– Construct• Emphasize WHAT you do• Emphasize HOW you do itA writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.Thomas Mann, German writer (1875 - 1955)Sponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 15

Beverages• Use active voice• Use an editor• Reduce writing teamWordy, lacking in detail, allabout YOU not the customerChange of Authors Here• Design for visual impactClear, concise messagePeople often argue that writing can’t be taught….but revision – anyone can learn it.Richard A. LanhamSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 16

Cordials and Other MixersI don’t have to proofread, do I?Eye halve a spelling chequerIt came with my pea seaIt plainly marques four my revueMiss steaks eye kin knot seaAs soon as a mist ache is maidIt nose bee fore two longAnd eye can put the error riteIts rare lea ever wrong.Eye strike a key and type a wordAnd weight four it two sayWeather eye am wrong oar writeEye have run this poem threw itI am shore your pleased two noIts letter perfect awl the weighIt shows me strait a weigh.My chequer tolled me sew.AnonymousCourtesy of Shlomo D. Katz, Counsel, Brown Rudnick LLP, “Legal Implications ofWords,” APMP NCA Boot Camp, 2010Sponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 17

DessertsSweet Smell of Success– Follow the instructions– Organize response in themanner requested– Use the customer’s language– Explain how solution will benefitthem– Respond to the customer’sunderlying needs– Ask questions early– Write for impactStressed is Desserts spelled backwardsSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 18

Build Your OwnDeveloping and Using a Style Guide/Sheet– Purpose: to assist proposal writers, editors andproduction staff in creating professional, high-quality, andwinning responsesFormat for Style GuidePart I – Writing GuidePart II – Graphics GuidePart III – Editing GuidePart IV – Production GuideFormat for Style SheetTwo column templateAlphabet broken outNumbering conventionsAcronyms definedAppendix: ResourcesNever use a long word when a short one will do. George Orwell, British author (1903-1950)Sponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 19

Build Your OwnCondiments- PerfectIt – advanced proofing software by Intelligent Editing Ltd (UK),Microsoft add-in; focuses on abbreviations, capitalization, hyphenation anddashes, punctuation, spelling and typing mistakes, table and figurenumbering; www.intelligentediting.com; free 30-day trial; Std. edition -$49;Pro edition - $79 (single license); $40 upgrade (+VAT)- VisibleThread – identifies defects and gaps in response that lead tocredibility, delivery, and even litigation issues; offers better compliance usinglanguage scan (will, must…), red flags for loose and risky language;www.visiblethread.com; free trial; On Demand SaaS at $180/user/month;min. commitment 5 users/1 year; On-premise, perpetual model; UK (£) andEuro (€) pricing- Wordman’s Hiliter - concurrently check for multiple words and phrases, eachwith a different highlight color and search criteria, 30-day free trial; license:$50/copy, www.iamwordman.com; Dick Eassom, APMP FellowSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 20

Build Your OwnProposal Writing is Like Baking a Cake– You are asked to bake a cake– Find a recipe– Modify the recipe to suit their tastes– Grease the pan and heat up the oven– Review the ingredients, put them in order– Add the ingredients for the cake into the bowl– Beat it until smooth; test and repeat– Pour it in the pan and level it out– Put the cake in the oven until done– Test for doneness– Put it back and cook some more if necessary– Let it cool and add some frosting– Serve it up– Hope for positive reviewsRecipe provided (with permission) by Michel Theriault, How to Win More Business.comSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 21

Build Your OwnTweaking the Recipe– Find out what the cake is for –wedding/general/celebration– Try to identify if the customerhas any strong views aboutflavor or any other cake aspect– For your proposal create somemouth watering imagery of aprototype of your cakeAdditional ingredients provided by Steve PriceSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 22

Award Winning Recipes• Collaborative document review andco-authoring:- AppMaven’s Secret Arsenal— Tools& Apps to Achieve Victory by BethWingate, APMP Fellow, 2011 APMPConference Presentation– Weapons of Mass Proposals: Tools toIgnite Proposal Development byHeather Gray and Alex Napoli, 2011APMP Conference PresentationSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 23

Award Winning Cookbooks• Banishing Bureaucratese: Using Plain Language in Government Writing, JudithGillespie Meyers, Management Concepts, Inc., 2001– Provides specific, focused guidance for improving the use of language skills and writing methods• Campaign to Win: The 13 Commandments, Jay Herther, www.lulu.com, 2004– Ch.12:Twelfth (12 th ) Commandment – Follow the Writing Guidelines Religiously, Appendix I –Writing Guidelines• Handbook for Writing Proposals, 2nd edition, Robert J. Harper and L. Sue Baugh,NTC Business Books, 2010– Ch. 2: Nine-Step Proposal Process, Ch.4: Find Your Unique Selling Point; Ch.6: Writing the FrontMatter and Executive Summary• Powerful Proposals: How to Give Your Business the Winning Edge, David G. Pughand Terry R. Bacon. , AMACOM, 2005– Ch.6: Winning Executive Summaries; Ch. 9: Getting It Written, Getting It Right: Guide to CreatingCompelling Proposals• Proposal Writing: The Art of Friendly and Winning Persuasion, William S. Pfeifferand Charles H. Keller, Jr., Prentice-Hall, 2000– Ch.3: Preparing to Write; Ch.4: Writing• Shipley Proposal Guide, 4 th edition, Larry Newman, Shipley Associates, 2011– Active/Passive Voice; Choosing Correct Words; Clichés; Gobbledygook; Jargon; Redundant Words;Style and ToneSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 24

Award Winning Cookbooks• Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing to Win More Customers,Clients, and Contracts, 2nd edition, Tom Sant, AMACOM, 2004– Includes practical advice and rules on writing and language to make a proposalmore persuasive• Win More Business: Write Better Proposals, 1 st edition, MichelTheriault, WoodStone Press, 2010– Clear strategy-based method for writing winning proposals that gets betterresults from contributors and wins over evaluators; includes checklists, tips andexamples of the good, bad and ugly• Writing Winning Business Proposals, 3 rd edition, Richard C. Freed,Joseph D. Romano, Shervin Freed, McGraw-Hill Companies, 2011– Extensive discussion of a proposal’s generic structure and the methodology oneuses to persuade using the tools and techniques at your disposal; access todownloadable learning materials• Writing Proposals: Rhetoric for Managing Change, 2nd edition, RichardJohnson-Sheehan, Pearson Education, Inc., 2007– Writing in plain and persuasive styles; how to prepare; how to plan; how to write;readers’ expectations; the importance of trust, Ch. Nine – Writing with StyleSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 25

Award Winning Cookbooks• BUGS in Writing: A Guide to Debugging Your Prose (Revised edition), LynDupre, Addison - Welsey, 1998– Using offbeat examples (bad, ugly, good and splendid), a book about writing that is a funand humorous read• Collapse of Distinction: Stand Out and Move Up while Your CompetitionFails, Scott McKain, Thomas Nelson, 2009– Explains why different is better and explores three strategies for creating differentiation;offers access to website, eBook and an audio version for the price of the hardcopy• Elements of Influence: The Art of Getting Others to Follow Your Lead, TerryR. Bacon, AMACOM, 2012• Learn the basics you need to know to generate more positive outcomes; learn how tochoose the right approach or change your course of action if the technique you are usingisn’t working• The Elements of Style (4th Edition), William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White,Boston & New York: Allyn & Bacon/Longman, 2000– Used by everyone: a classic, accessible, brief exposition on style and grammar• The Elements of Style Illustrated, William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, Boston& New York: Allyn & Bacon/Longman, 2007Sponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 26

Award Winning Cookbooks• The Language of Success: Business Writing that Performs, Persuades andGets Results, Tom Sant, AMACOM, 2008– Simple, practical steps to eliminate the “Fluff, Guff, Geek, and Weasel” fromyour writing, to write more effectively and to understand the core principles of thelanguage of success• The Language of Trust: Selling Ideas into a World of Skeptics, MichaelMaslansky, Prentice Hall, 2010– Learn what words to use, what words to lose, and how to structure your messageto overcome skepticism and keep the trust of your audience• Selling to the Government: What It Takes to Compete and Win in the World’sLargest Market, Mark Amtower, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011– Actionable primer about embarking on a B2G successful journey; Ch.8 –Differentiation Is the Key• WIN: The Key Principles to Take Your Business From Ordinary toExtraordinary, 1st edition, Dr. Frank I. Luntz, The Word Doctors, LLC, 2011• A review of the 15 attributes of winners applied to the 9 principles of winningSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 27

Award Winning Cookbooks• Government Proposals: Cutting Through the Chaos, RebeccaL. Shannon, Management Concepts, 2001– Ch. 8: Building the Proposal Text –Developing Win Themes and Discriminators,Theme Statements and Action Captions; Developing Storyboards and Drafts• How to Say It ® Style Guide, Rosalie Maggio, Prentice Hall Press, 2002– The 18 Elements of Effective Writing, A-Z style guide and Troublesome Words andPhrases• Webster’s New World Vocabulary of Success, Mike Miller with William R.Rodd-Mancillas, Macmillan, 1998– 365 sets of words to use in a specific circumstance, Top 20 list of key words as quickreference short cuts• What Not to Say! Linda J. Beam, Sweetwater Press, 2004– Commonly confused words, misused words and phrases, redundancies, Top 10mistakes, abuses and misuses• Words that Sell: The Thesaurus to help You Promote Your Products,Services, and Ideas, Richard Bayan, Contemporary Books, 1984– Instant access to the key words (arranged by category) that make the difference inselling, tips on word usage, advice on targeting words to your specific marketSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 28

Award Winning Cookbooks• Edit Yourself: A manual for everyone who works with words, Bruce Ross-Larson,W.W. Norton & Company, 1996– For anyone who wants to improve what he/she has written; how to recognize words andphrases that should be cut, how to shorten cumbersome sentences, how to be consistent inspelling and punctuation, how to lookout for a better word• Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators Rulebreakers, and Changemakers; DaveGray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo; O’Reilly Media, Inc., 2010– Gamestorming is a set of best practices…condensed into a lightweight, low-tech toolkit thatapplies tools and rules to the problems of collaboration and teamwork. A practice made ofpeople, paper and passion. http://vimeo.com/18880751• How to Swat the KILLER BEs Out of Your Writing: A Short and SimpleGuide, Nancy Owens Barnes, Rushing River Press, 2009– A short and simple guide on how to change passive voice into active voice• The Longman Guide to Revising Prose, A Quick and Easy Way to Turn GoodWriting into Great Writing, Richard A. Lanham, Pearson Education, Inc., 2006– Eight simple techniques (The Paramedic Method) to help streamline writing• Rewrite Right! : Your Guide to Perfectly Polished Prose,(2nd Edition), Jan Venoliaand Ellen Sasaki, Ten Speed Press, 2000– Writing and editing in the 21 st century, explains the difference between First-Level Editingand Second-Level EditingSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 29

Award Winning Cookbooks• Artful Persuasion: How to command attention, change minds, and influencepeople, Harry Mills, AMACOM, 2000– Step-by-step guidelines on how persuasion works; Ch. 4 – Persuasion starts withCredibility; Ch. 7 – Power Talk; Ch.10 – Power Pitches• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D., WilliamMorrow and Company, Inc., 1993– Organized around six principles – consistency, reciprocation, social proof, authority, likingand scarcity; how skilled persons use them to their advantage; how you can defend againstthem and how to put them to good use yourself• The Elements of Persuasion: Use Storytelling to Pitch Better, Sell Faster &Win More Business, Richard Maxwell & Robert Dickman, HarperCollins, 2007– Storytelling is key to most business communication; learn the five basic components(winning formula) of all successful stories• Persuasion: The Art of Influencing People, James Borg, FT Press, 2009– Process for learning and mastering persuasiveness with real-world examples• Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive, Noah J. Goldstein,Steve J. Martin, and Robert B. Cialdini, FreePress, 2008– 50 “secrets” / simple strategies supported by research that get others to think the wayyou want them to; question format such as #35 – Which single word will strengthen yourpersuasion attempts?Sponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 30

Award Winning Cookbooks• The BEST Words, Robert Hartwell Fiske, Marion Street Press, 2011– “More than 200 of the most excellent, most desirable, most sensible, most suitable, mostsatisfying words”• The Dictionary of Concise Writing: More Than 10,000 Alternatives to WordyPhrases, 2 nd edition, Robert Hartwell Fiske, Marion Street Press, 2006– “Your Guide to Fat-Free Writing!”• The Dimwit’s Dictionary: 5,000 Overused Words and Phrases and Alternativesto Them, 2 nd edition, Robert Hartwell Fiske, Castle Books, 2008– “The ultimate tool…to weed out common, tired language and replace it with crisp, concisewriting.”• Writing for Business: Expert Solutions for Everyday Challenges, DeborahDumaine, Harvard Business School Press, 2007– Start up strategies for writer’s block; Writing First Draft; Editing for Content, Style• The Wrong Word Dictionary: 2,000 Most Commonly Confused Words, DaveDowling, Marion Street Press, Inc., 2005– Arranged alphabetically entries explain correct usage with cross-referencesSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 31

Added Ingredients• www.bettercom.com / Deborah Dumaine [“Write tothe Top: Writing for Corporate Success”]• www.captureplanning.com / Carl Dickson [Freearticles vs. paid subscription]• www.dailywritingtips.com/50-problem-words-andphrases/ Mark Nichol• www.dailywritingtips.com/8-steps-to-more-concisewriting/ Mark Nichol• www.dailywritingtips.com/the-dictionary-concisewriting/ Mark Nichol• http://www.1ricci.com/propwrtr.html / Laura Ricci• www.goodcitations.com– ReferenceChecker , a macro that checks if all name-date ornumbered citations in a document are cited correctly; free 10-daytrial periodSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 32

Added Ingredients• http://howtowinmorebusiness.com/ Michel Theriault– Entertaining blog about proposal writing• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/543/02– Action Verbs to Describe Skills, Jobs and Accomplishments• www.plainenglish.co.uk/– The A to Z of alternative words (downloadable copy)/ Plain English Campaign,2001• www.proposalcafe.com /shop/shop-for-books / Chuck Keller– Provides information, resources, networking, and job leads for those who developcommercial, government, and grant proposals• http://www.proposalwritingsuccess.com– Targets writing and selling skills, 17 qualities of proposals and offers free proposalwriting evaluation (up to 20 pages); articles, training, and consulting• www.styleease.com/index/html– Software that automatically formats papers in APA, MLA, and Chicago/Turabian styles within Word or Mac; $35• www.vocabula.com / Robert Hartwell Fiske– A monthly online journal about the English languageSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 33

Added IngredientsURLhttp://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/http://grammar.netwww.bartleby.comwww.verbivore.comwww.wolinskyweb.net/word.htmwww.word-detective.comwww.wordcourt.comwww.m-w.comwww.dictionary.cambridge.orgwww.oed.comwww.dictionary.comwww.yourdictionary.comwww.visualthesaurus.comwww.oxforddictionaries.com/page/easilyconfusedContent- What is it?All your questions answered!Instant grammar checkerReference sourcesReference sources and related linksLinks to word sitesWord featuresWord features and originsMerriam-Webster DictionaryCambridge DictionaryOxford English DictionaryDictionaries and thesaurusesDictionaries and thesaurusesVisual thesaurusesCommonly confused wordsSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 34

Recipe ExchangeSponsored by Georgia, Florida and Carolinas APMP Chapters 35