TERM PRO1ECT

TEAM PROPOSAL REQUIRING WRITTEN AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS

LEARNING OB1ECTIVES

1. Encourages students to think as proIessionals

2. Puts persuasive writing skills to use in ways that students will identiIy with personally and
proIessionally

3. Allows students to test oral communication skills in areas oI their proIessional interests

4. Lends reassurance to students unaccustomed to oral presentations

5. Provides opportunity to observe what works eIIectively in others' oral and written
presentations through peer evaluation


ASSIGNMENT

This is a three-part assignment. (1) Working as a team, students will prepare a letter of
proposal offering the services of their small business (type to be decided by each team) to
the clinic, using persuasion to show why contracting their independent services would be
more beneficial to the clinic than hiring in-house employees. In the letter of proposal, they
will request a meeting with the administrative board. (2) Students will prepare an oral
presentation as follow-up to the written proposal, further selling their services. This
presentation may include visual aids and/or handouts. (3) As part of the assignment,
students will evaluate other teams for their presentations and each member of their own
team for the entire work process. (Assignment handouts and evaluation forms have been
provided with this module.)

Note the structure oI an oral presentation that applies to even short talks:

Introduction: Tell your audience what you are going to say.
Body: Say it.
Conclusion: Review what you've said.

Handout - FinaI Team Project

A new business is opening up in your hometown and a mutual Iriend has recommended your services to the
administrator oI the Iirm. You have received a letter asking you to provide inIormation that would support their
retaining your services rather than hiring employees Ior the same purposes. Assume that this letter may have gone
out to other local Iirms as well.

Working as a team, you will do the Iollowing two things:

a) AIter discussing and choosing a small business with your team, you will prepare a letter in eIIect, an inIormal
proposal) in response, oIIering your services to the Iirm.

b) Follow up with an oral presentation beIore the administration oI the organization to discuss and Iurther sell your
services to them.

On the date scheduled Ior the Iinal presentation, each student will be responsible Ior evaluating one team, as
assigned by the instructor, on their written and oral presentation. To help you prepare, a copy oI the student team
evaluation Iorm has been provided. Additionally, students will evaluate the contribution oI their Iellow team
members and themselves in developing the presentation. Evaluations will be taken into consideration in
determining grades Ior the project.

In preparing your written presentations, consider the following:

O What business services will you choose to provide to the Iirm? Billing, secretarial, computer, health,
landscaping?

O Who will present the letter to the organization`s administrators? Present your areas oI research in the
oral presentation. Team presentation) lass will play the role oI administration.)

O Who is your audience? How will you appeal to them? Will you use rational or emotional appeal? Are
they Iamiliar with the subject or will you need to be teaching as well as relaying inIormation? Does
that mean giving more or less inIormation? At what level will you need to present inIormation? Basic
level, Ior audiences with little or no prior experience who require teaching? Moderate level, Ior
audiences with limited knowledge who require some explanation? Expert level, Ior an audience who
knows as much as you do and requires minimal explanation?

O Are you anticipating resistance at all? Is persuasion needed?

O What inIormation about your company is most important to know and will be most eIIective as a
selling point?

O What inIormation will be most eIIectively relayed in written Iorm? In oral Iorm?

Elements to consider including in your letter:

O SpeciIic services that your business can provide, tailored to Iit the needs oI the client

O Procedures that will be Iollowed

O Why you are particularly well-qualiIied and suitable Ior their purposes and other selling points)

O osts

O BeneIits oI hiring your small business as opposed to their hiring employees, i.e. comparative costs,
convenience, time concerns, reliability, availability, staIIing problems, insurance, etc.

O onclude by summarizing, then suggesting a time when representatives oI your Iirm can meet with
administration to discuss your services Iurther.






Handout - InformaI ProposaIs


Include the Iollowing items in your proposal:
Introduction
Explanation
Proposal
StaIIing
Budget Excel chart)
onclusion

I will use the Iollowing guide to review your proposal:

'Overview.

Will the topic you`ve chosen be interesting or useIul to you outside oI the context oI this
course?
Is the topic centered in a business or organizational context? Even iI the topic is based on a
'Iictional premise, could the report be generated in a 'real liIe business or organization?
Will the topic ensure that there is going to be enough primary or secondary inIormation or
data to meet the proposal`s page requirement? Min 5 pages)
Will the topic require analysis?

In the 'Preliminary Research section oI the proposal, consider possible primary and secondary sources.
For primary sources, locate two 'experts in the research areas. Then, they must record these experts`
contact inIormation and explain why each expert would be an appropriate source oI inIormation Ior their
reports. Additionally, students are asked to consider two more ways oI collecting primary data other
than interviews) and explain why these methods might contribute to their proposals.

For secondary sources, students are asked to locate and present the Iollowing inIormation using the MLA
style: 1) a newspaper article, 2) a journal or magazine article or an abstract, and 3) three Web sites, or
Web-generated documents. Students are advised to use the databases available at the university`s library.

Writing Plan for Informal Proposals


Introduction: Begin by explaining the reason Ior the proposal and catch the
reader's attention with some oI the Iollowing techniques:

Hint at the outstanding results that your company can
accomplish, iI hired,

Promise cost breaks and/or quick turnaround.

Mention some special Ieature that only your
company has, such as particularly qualiIied staII, experience,
up-to-the-minute computers, round-the-clock staIIing, etc.

Promise a solution to potential business problems.

Explanation: Discuss background, details oI the business, and potential
problems to demonstrate your proIessional expertise.

Proposal: Discuss how you can handle the business. Take care not to tell
so much that they can live without you. Include timetable,
methods oI management and quality control, etc.

StaIIing: Describe credentials and expertise oI staII, including the
management, i.e. education, experience, bonding, insurance, etc.

Budget: List charges, perhaps mentioning competitive pricing or costs Ior
a speciIic package. Use caution! You can't raise costs iI the job
proves to be more than you bargained Ior.

onclusion: End with closing thoughts, reselling the idea oI hiring your
company, etc. and telling them you'll get back with them Ior an
appointment to discuss the matter Iurther.




FINAL PROJET SESSION #1

Due AIter Week 8 Positive Letter Writing

Name oI your small business:


Type oI service oIIered:



Team members:






FINAL PROJET SESSION #2

DUE AFTER WEEK 9 PERSUASIVE WRITING H 9

Now that you have studied persuasive writing, consider and list points oI
persuasion you may use to sell your services:

1)

2)

3)

onsider and list handouts that you may use during your presentation, i.e.
budget/savings charts, pamphlets, samples appropriate to your service, price lists,
business cards, etc:

1)

2)

3)