An article for translators: Effective titles improve proposals

Effective titles improve proposals

By Tim North

info@betterwritingskills.com
http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com

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"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

You'll find many more helpful tips like these in Tim North's much applauded range of e-books. More information is available on his web site, and all books come with a money-back guarantee. http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com