by David Seibert | Dec 28, 2017 | Proposal writing
In one scene of the movie, National Treasure, the main bad guy is carefully reviewing a letter, trying to decipher it’s hidden meaning. He astutely points to a word and asks, “Why is the first letter of this word capitalized?” One of his dopey henchman replies...
by David Seibert | Dec 28, 2017 | Proposal writing
When I was in school in the 80’s, formal business writing precluded the use of contractions. When I got my first job, contractions were not permitted there, either. But that makes sense because, after all, everything else was also formal. The office dress code...
by David Seibert | Jul 28, 2017 | Proposal development, Proposal writing
On the APMP discussion board some years back, there was a conversation about active voice vs. passive voice. One discussion participant, Frank Karlin, illustrated well what it sounds like when you’re using the passive. I’m paraphrasing, but he suggested the next time...
by David Seibert | Mar 27, 2017 | Proposal writing
If you use color graphs and charts to communicate information in your proposals, then the 8% of men and .5% of women who are colorblind may not understand your message. Background The term “colorblind” is a misnomer; it should be called color deficient, not color...
by David Seibert | Mar 6, 2017 | Most popular, Proposal writing
Business people are busy—far too busy to sit and read every page of every proposal they receive. That’s a fact, but it shouldn’t be suprising. Suppose you are on a committee that is reviewing proposals from seven different vendors. Each proposal you receive is...
by David Seibert | Jan 12, 2017 | Business development, Most popular, Proposal writing
I’ve received a number of questions lately from proposal professionals who want to know more about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and, specifically, whether they have to respond to an RFP before they’re able to submit a FOIA request. The short...
