Posted by Jon under APMP & accreditation, Word play & writing | 
Although I’m travelling so extensively at the moment that it’s hard to get a moment to stop and think, I am beginning to really look forward to the APMP conference, which starts in Orlando in just a few weeks’ time.
As well as a session (“Proposal World”) from the main stage with BJ on the Thursday morning of the event, I’m presenting a slot on “The Excellent Executive Summary”. I submitted my final paper last week, and the good folks at APMP were kind enough to review it in detail.
They came back with the observation that they’d apparently found a “punctuation error”. The issue concerned was a box in which I’d used the phrase “e.g. RFP”, provoking them to observe:
there should be a comma after “e.g.” and before the RFP acronym, so it looks like “e.g.,”
This rather surprised me, so I thought I’d check it out. After all, if “e.g.” without a comma is incorrect, I’ve made proofreading errors in pretty much every document I’ve written over the years! And a reliable online source made for interesting reading:
For American English usage, you should always put a comma right after both “i.e.” and “e.g.”, as shown in the examples above. For British English usage, do not put a comma right after either “i.e.” or “e.g.”.
Well, I never knew that! I’m used to the fact that spellings are sometimes different on opposite sides of the pond – but I’d never picked up on this particularly subtle difference in punctuation.
Of course, were the APMP conference a US event, I’d clearly translate my material into American English. But it’s not – it’s an international event that happens to take place in the States, with an audience drawn from across the globe. As such, I think it’s more appropriate to present in my native language! Yet even that’s an interesting point for debate…
Posted by Jon under Musings |
A little over a year ago, Vic and I moved home, from one end of the country to the other. (American readers please note: this is not quite as challenging an undertaking in the UK as it would be in the US!). A day or two after we’d arrived, a leaflet popped through the door advertising a new Indian restaurant, opening that evening about five minutes walk from our new house. Not having unpacked our cooking utensils by this stage – and having already tired of takeaway pizza – we decided to try it out.
The place was lovely. Nothing too upmarket – but with comfortable decor, friendly staff and truly excellent food. We loved it – and went back. Repeatedly. Indeed, before long we felt something of a moral obligation to return to offer them our support, so often was it the case that we were the only people dining!
Not surprisingly, something had to change if the business was to stay afloat. In came new waiters, new paintings on the wall – but, thank goodness, the chef and the food stayed unchanged. And still the residents of our town stayed away in droves.
Finally, shortly before Christmas, the owners gave in to the inevitable, and closed their doors… only to re-open them again, a month or so later, having completely redesigned the place. A sophisticated new name, trendy furniture, the coolest crockery, a leather-bound menu that had clearly been designed and produced at huge expense. And… wait for it… exactly the same chef and exactly the same food. Yet the prices had increased drastically – by 25% or more.
Guess what happened? After a year of nigh-on solo dining, we now find that we can hardly get a table, so busy has the place become. They’re queuing out of the door; reservations are required; the owners have already doubled their capacity by refurbishing the upstairs floor.
And what’s this got to do with proposals? Well, the restaurant’s always had a great product at its heart – the food. That’s not changed. It’s just the way that they’ve presented the story that’s improved, to suddenly hit the ’sweet spot’ of so many local residents. And revenues and margins have increased dramatically. Spot the similarity? No matter how good your company’s products or services, if you don’t package them up in a way that appeals to your customers, you’re destined to fail – and when you get it right, the buyers will flock to choose you.
