Effective titles improve proposals
ByTim North
"Titles distinguish the mediocre, embarrass
the superior and are disgraced by the inferior."
--George Bernard Shaw
It may seem trivial to tell you to choose a good title for your
next written work, but the importance of this task should not be
underestimated.
A good title can help to make a good first impression.
Here then are some guidelines for choosing a good title.
GUIDELINE ONE: AVOID BLAND, BORING TITLES
When choosing your title, avoid bland, generic phrases like "A
proposal for ..." or "A response to ..." or A "submission from
...".
Such titles are a lost opportunity to make a strong and
persuasive first impression.
GUIDELINE TWO: INCLUDE YOUR MAJOR RECOMMENDATION IN THE TITLE
While good detective novels will often keep the reader in
suspense right up to the very end, proposals should make
themselves clear as early as possible, and you can't get any
earlier than the title.
Look at these two titles:
1. A Proposal for XYZ Mining from TrainSmart
2. Lowering Accidents Rates via the Provision of Safety Training
The first employs a bland and uninformative title.
The second contains a clear statement of the proposal's key
recommendation and even a key benefit. It makes a very good first
impression, particularly when compared to the other one.
GUIDELINE THREE: RESTRICT COMPANY NAMES TO A SUBTITLE
If you must include your company name or the name of your client
in the title then you can do so via the use of a subtitle, like
so:
Lowering Accidents Rates via the Provision of Safety Training
(A Proposal for XYZ Mining from TrainSmart)
GUIDELINE FOUR: KEEP IT SHORT
Short titles are more memorable and have greater impact, so
remove unnecessary words like 'an', 'of' and 'the' where
possible. For example, consider this wordy title:
An improvement to customer relations via the provision of better training
This would be better if shortened to:
Improved customer relations via better training
Reprinted with permission from: Tim North. He can be reached through Scribe Consulting or BetterWritingSkills.com
© Copyright Tim North, Scribe Consulting. All Rights Reserved.
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