As you write, remember that proposals are fundamentally persuasive documents. Your job is to convince your reader that

• you understand their needs and goals
• you have a clear plan for meeting those needs
• you are qualified to carry out that plan
• the benefits of this proposal outweigh the costs

To help you as you write, keep the following tips in mind:

• Write proposals to “sell” an idea/concept to a specific audience - be sure to define your audiences' needs and interests so that you can target your "pitch" directly to their concerns

  • Clearly identify the readers' goals
  • Clearly identify the readers' values

  • Focus on what you can do for them

• Rely upon the three appeals to persuade:

• Ethos appeals to your authority or credibility as speaker or writer in order to persuade the listener/reader. You can create ethos through:
  -Known experience
  -Expertise
  -Credentials, certifications, professional standing
  -Polished presentation of your"self" or of your material (One easy way to build ethos is to spellcheck and proofread.)
  

• Pathos uses emotions -- the full range of them -- to persuade. When you see a commercial asking you to contribute money to starving children, that's pathos.
  Pathos persuades by inducing any of the following: Guilt, Love, Security, Greed, Pity, Humor.
  
  Keep in mind that while pathos often works well in brief marketing documents, it can easily be overdone, and appear as empty filler, in longer, more formal workplace proposals. Use pathos carefully in the workplace.

• Logos relies on logic. For critical thinkers, including most workplace managers and executives, logos is the most essential appeal. While we need to be acutely aware of the emotional, social, and psychological forces at work, we need to be most attuned to logic, facts, evidence, or what most of us will agree is "real" such as
  -Details in writing (like photographs in evidence)
  -Statistics, if gathered with reliable methods
  -Expert testimony (and it's ethos that establishes the expert's expertise)
  -Facts (often subject to definition)
  -Definitions as used in the discipline being discussed; Witness statements under oath.

• Clearly State what will be undertaken, by whom, how, when, and why - since proposals often become the basis for contracts, you need to make sure that you very clearly delineate what you will provide, who will provide it, when the "deliverable" is due, and other relevant details. Proposals shouldn't have any "gray areas" unless you explicitly identify them as such - e.g. "We can also provide additional support, pending further negotions or definition of the project."
  

Editing your work-->