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Without words there are no proposals, reports, letters to donors, or emails that form the string of communication leading to the big gift.

Good words can help you make your case. They don’t have to be fancy, and they shouldn’t be complex or require a dictionary. (I’ve seen it.) A well-timed, well-placed word can:

• Better communicate your meaning
• Get attention
• Impress the reader
• Improve writing efficiency
• Inspire closer reading
• Help you stay within word limits.

Take an extra minute to make sure there’s no ambiguity in your message. In one proposal, I read that the applicant planned to “nurture its relationships with other organizations”. What does that mean? Provide funding or donuts? Have more meetings or hang out after work? Don’t risk losing points because the reviewer is confused, or worse, frustrated.

A few tips

• Stay away from jargon, like leverage, bandwidth, or (gulp) upstream that may leave the reader wondering if she missed the point.
• Be creative. I read about someone who was “trying mightily”, and had an immediate visual of focus, effort, and determination.
• Less is more. Try changing The area is overwhelmingly striking to The area is striking. In the first version, I’m distracted; what exactly does overwhelmingly mean in this sentence? The second version gets my attention—Wow, I want to see it!
• Link words together for a compact, novel description of, say, tradition-meets-modern.
• Have fun with it. I like to imagine my reader adjusting her glasses or putting down her coffee because an intriguing word caused her to sit up and take notice.

Find terrific words
Check a thesaurus. I often do. But you might not need to. Words are ubiquitous. Scribble down eye-catching words you like when you see them or record them on your phone. Then surprise your reader with an unexpected sparkler. This morning I read about the new leader of my alma mater, who was described as adept at managing the touchiest of situations. Right away I got it.

Why bother?
Does using a memorable word mean you’ll get the grant? Doubtful. Will your proposal get a closer look because the reader is impressed, and maybe even appreciates the time you took to make your document a little more interesting? Maybe not all of the time, but certainly some of the time.

Many of us face the prospect of writing a proposal, report, or other important document with trepidation, and maybe even dread.

Don’t! These projects are an outstanding opportunity to present your programs and new ideas with pride and confidence about how to do more and do it better. A positive approach can help you get—and keep—the ball rolling.

Get Going…

• Know your best writing time and use it. The earlier I’m at my desk the better.
• Prepare your writing space to help you get focused. I’m most productive when my desk is clear of paperwork, files and my to-do list.
• Get going. A rough draft is a great start. You can polish it up later.
• Copy existing, relevant material into your draft. This will save time, help you identify gaps, and generate momentum as the page begins to fill up.
• Turn off your email. When I’m writing I check my mail once an hour and then I turn it off again.
• Put a sign on your office door, like “Grant due—please do not disturb!” People get that.
• If you need quiet space, borrow an office, come in early, or work from home. The progress you make when uninterrupted will energize you to get the job done.

… and don’t get stuck!

• Early drafts can be a hodge-podge of previously written material and new ideas and content—a real mess. Don’t let that derail you. Clean up one section at a time and the sense of accomplishment will help you keep at it.
• If something isn’t working, try moving words, phrases, or sentences around to test new approaches and get back on track.
• Mix it up. Tackle one section today and draft the next one tomorrow. Some people start with the hardest part. You’ll know what works best for you.
• Get feedback. There’s no substitute for another point of view. You might find inspiration in a new way of looking at things.
• Don’t let required proposal responses hamper your enthusiasm. The donor wants to know your vision for the future. Keep the big picture front and center to help you through the tedium.
• If you’re just plain stuck, forget about your project for a while. Take a break, make a phone call, or work on something else and come back later. I’m always amazed—and relieved—by the benefits.

Writing is hard work. Create incentives. I worked with someone who planned a long weekend right after the deadline of a giant grant. The anticipation of an extra day at home in her pajamas kept this creative writer going through an arduous process.

And by the way, I got stuck while I was writing this article. My solution? Walk fast! When I get logy I head out for some brisk autumn air (or frigid winter temps) to get me going and clear my head. It usually works.

While Short Takes articles focus primarily on aspects of writing for donors, there are times when we have the chance to make the case for our programs directly to an audience. Unfortunately, we don’t always make the best use of our time. Talking points can help.

The challenge
I attended a concert that also served as an introduction to a nonprofit. It was a great idea. Concertgoers could learn about the organization and choose whether to support it.

The time came for an introduction to the evening’s nonprofit, whose representative began by saying there were five things she wanted to tell us about the agency. I groaned, and then I tuned out.

I didn’t mean to! The organization has a strong reputation. I didn’t know much about it and hoped to learn more. But my concern about the “five things” came true—the speaker took too long to provide too much information.

During intermission another representative from the organization took the microphone to provide even more information. This time my friends groaned with me. When she opened a multi-paneled booklet to provide more detail our group went outside for a walk. It was a lost opportunity.

Unfortunately this wasn’t my only experience like this. Too many people think that more information will help them make their case, when actually less detail highlights achievements and priorities, with more impact.

Some tips

• Prepare. Most of us find speaking extemporaneously – and convincingly – challenging. We need time to prepare our thoughts.
• Talking points are a sequential series of short, simple notes, often in bullet form, that help the speaker deliver an effective presentation. The act of preparing talking points helps you decide what you want to say and how you want to say it.
• Use notes. You don’t need to memorize your comments. I find that having my talking points handy keeps me on track and reduces my nerves.
• Keep it focused. Don’t go on and on! You may notice that people are paying more attention to their phones than they are to you.
• Do a test run. If you want to limit yourself to five minutes—or even three—practice. It might take a few tries to keep within the time limit.
• Get feedback. Ask a trusted colleague to listen to a practice presentation and give you frank feedback. You’ll be glad you did.
• Make it real. Tell a short—and I mean short—story to breathe life into your comments. Even one sentence can create a visual that strengthens your point and adds interest.
• Be positive. My attention plummets when a speaker starts complaining.

Brief, upbeat comments can foster interest and generate giving. Actually, it’s kind of like writing a proposal!

Writing email is such a ubiquitous part of daily life that I almost didn’t think of it as a Short Takes topic. However email’s outsize role in business and personal communication makes it worth the attention. Email is a big deal.

The case
Take the time to write effective emails:

1. Your email is a reflection of you and your organization. Make a good impression with a funder, colleague, or your boss with well-written emails.
2. Email is versatile. You can use it to communicate information, manage projects, make an introduction, build new relationships, or reconnect with former colleagues.
3. Email sets a tone. It can be formal or informal, business-like or friendly, and it can motivate action. You can set the tone you want to help achieve your goals for your email.

Tips

• Keep it short. People are busy, and a lot of people are really busy. Don’t lose your reader before he or she even starts reading your email.
• Say what’s most important first while your reader is paying the most attention.
• Organize longer emails with bullets and short sections with headings.
• Draft and then immediately edit your email. Make sure it’s clear and keep your paragraphs and sentences short. Leave a lot of white space. Then edit again.
• Convey your style. Email is a great way to get acquainted. Use words and tools that help the reader get to know you. Don’t be a serious emailer if you’re a fun-loving person.
• Learn from others. Recently I heard a wonderful way to begin an email: I hope this email finds you well. I love that it’s friendly and lyrical, and makes a sociable overture. Simple and brilliant!

Blunders
It’s probably happened to many of us. Email blunders range from minor glitches to major nightmares. Not long ago I forgot to attach a document to an email to a high level team. My omission necessitated a second email to these extremely busy people at a time when I wanted to make a good impression as the newest member of the team.

Then there was the time, years ago but seared in my mind, when I mistakenly copied the person I was complaining about – a senior manager – on an email intended for someone else. It ruined my day and required additional time to email her with a carefully prepared apology.

It’s preventable!
Take the time to get it right. After you draft your email, PAUSE. Put yourself in the shoes of the recipient. Is your message crystal clear? Did you forget anything? Are there nuances that might not be understood by the reader? Fix things now and save time dealing with unintended consequences later. You have other things to do—like writing more emails!

I have learned to appreciate character limits.

Character limits are those bothersome restrictions on the number of characters, or words in the case of word limits, that many funders impose on proposal narratives. They seem to get shorter and shorter, causing growing frustration and even panic among grant writers.

What accounts for my change of heart?

There’s nothing we can do about this trend and accepting it is a lot less aggravating than moaning about it.

More important, funders have good reasons for assigning character limits:

• It’s equitable. Every applicant has the same amount of space to make the case for our programs.
• Character limits help us get to the point. Often we can say what we need to say in fewer words. This can improve quality—a lot.
• Funders are busy. I believe they’re happier with short descriptions of our organizations, communities and programs. A happy funder is good for business.
• Short, crisp proposals that get to the point help the reader quickly understand your programs and their impact. This can be a huge advantage when facing stiff competition.

So how do we fit our writing within the confines—or shall we say the possibilities—of a small space?

Pare down. That’s about it! You wouldn’t believe how many characters I’ve deleted since my first draft of this article.

For example

Before: This usually makes the quality a lot better. (45 characters)
After: This can improve quality, a lot. (32 characters)

Before: The program provides opportunities for the development of 21st century skills. (79 characters)
After: The program helps clients develop 21st century skills. (55 characters)

Some ideas

• Delete any repetition or other clutter you don’t need to make your case.
• Use short sentences, short words and plain language.
• Be selective about using adverbs and adjectives.
• Put away your proposal and look at it tomorrow. You’ll quickly identify more words—or phrases or even whole sentences—you don’t need after you take a break.
• Ask an uninvolved colleague to review the proposal for brevity.
• Keeping it short takes time, so plan accordingly.

It’s not that different from cleaning out closets, and we all know how great it feels to get rid of stuff we don’t need.

So, change your attitude and have fun. And thanks for reading this article!