Comments on: #TuesdayTutorial: What to Include in Your Proposal

By: Luyi+Wang

Luyi+Wang — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 03:58:11 +0000

The Lynda’s videos gave me a brief idea of how to write a proposal and how to make it better. I never write a proposal before. Actually, I do not know what the purpose of writing a proposal before I watched those videos. I need to learn this because when you enter a company, your company most likely will not teach you this. That is the reason why we need to learn it.

By: Clement+Boateng

Clement+Boateng — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 22:27:36 +0000

The videos provide a detailed information of how a successful proposal. The video indicated that a memo is a type of proposal. At this point, a memo is the only type of proposal I have written. I have written memos in most of my classes and at my job as well. The information presented, such as executive summary, introduction, body parts, and ending, are key parts of a memo. The advice provided in the video gives more understanding of the how the parts have to be put together.
An elevator pitch proposal has to be short and precise. One only has few minutes to create an impression. It is more of a short executive summary where one has to put the most significant information together in order to impress whoever it is intended for.

By: Katie

Katie — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 18:55:51 +0000

I definitely agree with you that visuals can be helpful, but Mark is definitely correct in saying that money talks. The context is key for deciding what should be included in a elevator pitch. I think picking out what is most likely to stick in the mind of the person you are trying to persaude is most important. In the example of your office lobby, a picture is something that can simmer for days and walking through the lobby every day will remind the CEO or whomever of your proposal. But in some proposals, giving quick facts like “this will lower overhead capital costs by 10.6% annually” will allow the person a succinct but memorable summary of the proposal.

By: Faizal+Zulkifli

Faizal+Zulkifli — Sat, 17 Mar 2018 22:56:36 +0000

All the information given in the Lynda videos gave us many input of choices to be applied in our proposal and I certainly agree with what the others have comment on this post but I personally think that the info about Introduction and Ending is actually very essential. Based on my own reading experience, both of these parts play quite a huge role in guiding me to understand more of the reading.

For example, when I am starting to read on a certain topic in a textbook I will always start with the intro first to make sure I got a head start on it. I personally like an intro that besides putting out the main points to be discussed they also gave out some situations or stories that would relate to a certain topic as it helps me to be more immersed in the topic even before reading. This is also suggested by the video when it suggested us to include a certain experience that we or any of our peers have with that specific topic of discussion.

The Ending part is quite familiar as we are always used to making summaries in writing before this but what stands out for me is the inclusion of an action plan which I think is quite handy especially for solicited proposals. I would certainly include that in my assignment by telling the professor briefly about my plans if my proposal for a certain type of writing is accepted as it would show how confident and prepared I am with the proposal.

By: Casey

Casey — Sat, 17 Mar 2018 02:25:45 +0000

I think visuals potentially have a place in elevator pitches in certain contexts where you’re able to use them. In the same way that they can communicate something that would require a lot of text, visuals can stand in for more verbose verbal communication. And beyond brevity, sometimes visuals can flat-out communicate better than words can. Design and vision come to mind as particular areas where this is often true.

Take for example a proposal to redesign the lobby of an office in order to make it more accessible. A computer-rendered photo of how the lobby could look would communicate what you are proposing better than words ever could. It communicates your design immediately, and instead of describing *what* you are proposing, you can spend all your time on arguing *why* it should be done.

I could imagine literally standing in an elevator with a stakeholder, handing them a render of my proposal for increasing lobby accessibility, and explaining how moving forward on it will enhance the company image and social capital. As we part ways, I could then offer a copy of the full proposal. Having held the photo in their hand for the duration of my pitch, the proposal has become more real in their mind, which builds emotional buy-in. A similar strategy is used by street marketers who give you hand outs while they talk to you. It takes advantage of a number of psychological characteristics and social norms.

By: tengrrl

tengrrl — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 18:06:15 +0000

These specifics you give about civil eng proposals are important distinctions from the general proposal:
However, a methods section would be applicable for a project proposal because it describes the methods that the team will use to construct the project. Also, there will be more technical information and CAD drawings, etc.

By: tengrrl

tengrrl — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 18:04:17 +0000

Great observation: “I would absolutely include an executive summary. That is essentially your elevator pitch.”

Certainly you can reuse your prof bio. That was part of the goal for that assignment: You’d either have something that you could use or that you could tweak a little and use.

By: tengrrl

tengrrl — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 18:01:50 +0000

Danielle,
Thanks for noting that “The only major different thing is that the company I worked for included professional biographies about the employees who would be a key part of the project.” That’s handy information for me to know since I have students write prof bios as the first assignment. Makes those bios seem even more useful to me.
Traci

By: tengrrl

tengrrl — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 17:58:40 +0000

That’s a good point, Aaron. I suspect that if you break things down too much, that chart could be very ugly. The balance is what matters!

By: Rachel Cannon

Rachel Cannon — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 21:51:50 +0000

The advice that stood out to me as good advice was that all of the different sections are not required, but are used based on the content or the purpose of the report. Additionally, many companies or professions may have a set template of what to include in the report. I also liked the distinction that the videos set about goals and objectives. A goal is something that is more qualitative and cannot be measured, like “improving morale.” But an objective is something that can be measured. I would not have known the distinction between the two.

I think a distinction between the contents of the proposal in the video and in the civil engineering profession is the type of sections in a proposal. For example, the video described that most proposals do not include methods unless it is for research. However, a methods section would be applicable for a project proposal because it describes the methods that the team will use to construct the project. Also, there will be more technical information and CAD drawings, etc.