How To Write A Proposal Outline

Strategists, I am begging you to use an outline. Unless you prefer wasting your time, failing to persuade your client and having to do it all again for next week's meeting. I've seen a lot of strategists' processes, and thing that the most persuasive strategists share - regardless of title, tenure or style - is that they write a complete outline of their deck before they build a single slide. How does an outline make your strategy more persuasive? 3 ways: 1️⃣ Clarity A correctly written outline ensures your deck tells a story, with each slide leading seamlessly to the next. This helps your audience follow the story and lets your insights and conclusions hit with their full force. 2️⃣ Economy Building slides first often leads to content that doesn’t advance your story, but that you keep in anyway because you worked so hard on them. You know the slides I mean - you love that schematic, or think that insight is super interesting. So you weave your presentation around them, even if it makes your story less succinct and coherent. Outlines keep these narrative side quests out of your deck, making it easier for your audience to stay focused. 3️⃣ Efficiency An outline saves you a ton of time. By the time you begin making slides you know exactly how many you need to make, and what content each will contain. All the thinking is done, and thinking is faster when you’re writing than when you’re designing. This gives you a chance to review everything and tighten it up even further. How you build an outline is as important as why. It starts - like all strategy artifacts - with understanding the work it’s intended to do. An outline is to be the receptacle for all your thinking, and the place where your data and insights fall into place to make a persuasive story. To do that you only just need to remember: 🔶 Each item in your outline is a slide 🔶 For each slide, write out the single point that this slide contributes to your narrative When you’ve done this, you should be able to read your outline top to bottom and have the exact story you want to tell. If you can’t do that - if you’re reading through it and it doesn’t flow well but you still say something like “oh I know what I mean by that” you actually don’t know what you mean by that. Which means you don’t know what point that slide is contributing to the story, or the evidence the slide will contain to do it. Being very clear on the single point each slide makes is the key to a tight narrative. Then you can go back to each slide in your outline and add in the content that will allow you to make this main point. The rest is just knocking down pins. All those single points you made for each slide in your outline? They’re the headers for each slide in your deck. And you already know the data or quotation or schematic you need underneath them to support your point. After that, nothing. You’re finished, deck’s done. Nice work.

So you finally nailed your abstract for a 𝗖𝗙𝗣. Think you’re done? Not even close. Here’s what most people forget— (and why it’s the reason their talk doesn’t get selected) 👇 Save this before your next submission 🔹𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 Most people undercook this section. But this is where your talk really takes shape. I once had a killer abstract get 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝟯 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀— because my outline was 3 lines long. Think of it as the skeleton of your session. It tells the reviewer: →You’ve thought this through →You know how to structure →You’ll deliver something with real value 📌 𝗠𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀:  • Don’t settle for 3 vague bullets • Show the full talk flow, like you’re walking someone through your slides • Mention talk duration + breakdown by minutes • Highlight what happens, when, and why it matters • This is the meat of your proposal — don’t hold back 🍪 Baking example (of course): 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗟𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵: 30 mins + 10 mins Q&A 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼 (𝟮 𝗺𝗶𝗻): Why cookies matter (personal story) 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀 (𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗻): Ingredients and how they interact 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 (𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗻): Flat, dry, unbaked — and why 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗲 (𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗻): My tested go-to formula after 20 variations 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗶𝘁 (𝟲 𝗺𝗶𝗻): Chewy vs crispy vs cakey hacks 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼 (𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗻): Walkthrough/video 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀 (𝟮 𝗺𝗶𝗻): Cheat sheet, key takeaways 𝗤&𝗔 (𝟭𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗻): Live interaction 🎯 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀: → Show what they’ll walk away with → Include a 30/60/90-day impact line → What will they be able to do after your talk? 🔹 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗼 This isn’t just about “who you are.” It’s about showing why you’re the right person for this talk. ✅ Keep it short (100 words max) ✅ Lead with what matters most ✅ Write it like your audience has never met you before No previous speaking experience? That’s okay. If the topic is valuable, reviewers will take a chance on you. Your bio is your credibility checkpoint. Make it real. Make it relevant. Make it memorable. 🧠 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: Abstract = the pitch Outline = the plan Bio = the proof Get these right → and you're not just submitting. You're making it easy to say yes. ✍️ Happy writing! P.S. Missed Part 1? I linked it in the comments ⬇️ #CFP #CallForProposal #TechTalks #SpeakerTips #OutlineWriting #SpeakerBio #PublicSpeaking #KalyaniPawar

How I landed a new client with a killer proposal: When I first started freelancing, I had no idea that I had to send out proposals. Let alone what a proposal entailed. Now I’m landing clients thanks to loads of research and doing courses like Eman Ismail’s Like a Boss. A proposal is all about creating a document that sells you. If you’re winging it (like I was) or relying on your natural charm, let me save you some time (and potential lost clients). 𝟭. 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 You’re not just listing services. You’re selling yourself and addressing every potential objection before it even comes up. Think of it as your highlight reel: 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗢 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮: • 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗻: What’s the client struggling with? • 𝗔𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Why does it matter? • 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: How you’ll fix it. • 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲: What success looks like. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲: • Introduction (brief but punchy: who are you and why should they care?) • Project scope (clear deliverables = no future headaches) • Your process (show them you’ve got a plan) • Client expectations (set boundaries kindly, but firmly) • Timeline (when you’ll deliver, and when they need to deliver their part) • Pricing and options (tiers and upsells. Make it hard for them to say no) • Guarantees (if you offer one, flaunt it) • Next steps (e.g., “Sign here, pay the invoice, and we’re off!”) 𝟮. 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Even if you’ve already had a great chat with the client, write the proposal assuming they’ll forward it to someone who knows nothing about you. This keeps it simple, clear, and persuasive for any decision-maker. • Sprinkle in testimonials or a mini case study for credibility. • Offer 2-3 pricing tiers so their options are between you, you, and you. • Build a reusable template you can tweak for future proposals. Efficiency is your friend. 𝟯. 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 A good proposal doesn’t just sell, it also creates urgency. Keep the momentum going with these steps: • 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆: Tell your prospect when they’ll receive the proposal and stick to it. • 𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗶𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: I recommend 7 days. Mention it in the proposal and your follow-ups. Urgency drives action. • 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆: As the expiry date nears, send polite but confident reminders, such as: “Hey, just a heads-up, this offer expires in two days!” • 𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹: Clarify any in-depth questions on a call to avoid playing email tag. A killer proposal is part strategy, part psychology, and part presentation. Once you nail all three, you’ll be landing the kind of clients you’re actually excited to work with.