Crafting GovCon Communication Clarity: Mastering Business Writing for Influence, Persuasion, and Compliance

Crafting GovCon Communication Clarity: Mastering Business Writing for Influence, Persuasion, and Compliance

Whether your task today is to craft a contract, claim, requests for equitable adjustments, protest, decision memo, source selection statement or any other contracting file documentation, this class will provide you with tools for clarity, persuasion, and comprehension.  In each of the six two-hour sessions, we will dive into a review and discussion that explores the art of drafting clear contracts, and persuasive supporting documents in government contracting. Your primary mission is to use your writing to bring business certainty to the transaction. Muddled writing works against that primary purpose, can result in excusable delays, jeopardize success in protests and claims, and generally mess up an otherwise good day. Clear writers are clear thinkers.

Instructor: Tom Reid, Certified Contracting Solutions

Course content includes:

1. Rules of grammar are not as static as you might think, yet adhering to grammatical standards often makes clear the message that was intended.
2. Government contracting, like any profession, has its own jargon and is famous for its extreme use of acronyms. Both of these can lead to confusion and misunderstanding unless you craft your sentences and word choice for maximum clarity.
3. Many documents are designed to persuade, whether that is a protest or claim response, a request for a decision, or a source selection statement. Tools of persuasion will be addressed and practiced.
4. Very little is worse than inheriting a file from another that does not clearly explain what has happened so far in the contract life-cycle. Certain documents are required by the regulations while others are important for continuity in administration. Maintaining clear and contemporaneous file documentation and consistency will be emphasized.
5. While also helping in the areas of persuasion, data must often be gathered and presented in a comprehensible way. Writing with confidence, reliance on sources, and accommodating those times when an ambiguity must be resolved mandate specific styles and content.
6. Crafting contracts and their associated statements of work is both an art and a science. Merely filling in a checklist of what such documents “should” contain will not necessarily meet legal standards and resonate with insight and clarity to ensure compliance and program success.
7. Understanding your audience, whether it is the other party to your contract, an auditor, GAO or Board, or an unfriendly press, compels you to write clearly without talking down to your readers. The art and style of addressing a variety of audiences will be presented and reviewed.

If you are a professional seeking to elevate your writing skills, join us to uncover the secrets of compelling business writing and harness the power to influence with every contract and document you produce.

May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, June 5, 2024
All Sessions 10:00am-11:30am ET

1. May 1: Using Grammar for Clarity– Elevate your writing skills to create impactful documentation for successful business outcomes.
2. May 8: Understanding your Audience by Using the Language of the Profession – Appreciate the nuances of word choice, grammar, and persuasive techniques. The art and style of addressing a variety of audiences will be presented and reviewed.
3. May 15: Persuading the Unconvinced – Using the tools of persuasion to negotiate, obtain approvals, and address audit findings. Gain the confidence to navigate complex negotiations with persuasion.
4. May 22: Preserving the Record – Create file documentation that is contemporaneous, correct, and complete. Improve your professional writing skills and stand out in the competitive world of clear and persuasive government contract documentation.
5. May 29: Presenting Data that is Understandable, Reliable, and Repeatable – While also helping in the areas of persuasion, data must often be gathered and presented in a comprehensible way. Write with confidence and understanding of the facts.
6. June 5: Crafting Contracts for Clarity and Compliance – Draft contracts that meet legal standards and also resonate with insight and clarity to ensure compliance and program success.