One reason I stress writing skills is that your words, written and spoken, are a key link between the people your organization helps and funders. This role doesn’t go away in the face of audio-visual presentations; DVDs don’t replace the words. In many ways, using video and other media, from Facebook to Twitter, actually makes those words more important.

You’ve heard the phrase "sound bite." Often sound bites are derided because when they are misused they lead to oversimplification. Despite this reputation, sound bites thrive. Why? Very simply, they work. A good sound bite sticks in your mind like an old friend's name.

In advertising your success depends upon the stickiness of your sound bite. That stickiness, a concept that Malcolm Gladwell notes in The Tipping Point, relates both to the pithiness of the language and what people believe is true. The same concept works in grant proposals.

When you present your proposal to a program officer she must represent that proposal to the next level of decision-makers. Often that is in a meeting where she is asked, "What is this proposal about?" While your full proposal is at hand, your success depends upon the program officer being able to provide a succinct and compelling summary: a sound bite.

When that staff person searches for the words to quickly summarize what you propose, would you like to give her those words or do you want her to make them up on her own?

This idea is based upon research about how readers read. Joseph M. Williams, who taught in the University of Chicago writing program, looked at research in how readers read when he formulated the lessons in his Style books. What he observed is that a short way into a document a reader wants to understand what the full document is about.

Williams shares one example where he asks students to point to an actual sentence in their work that sums up what their document (letter, essay, etc.) is about. That is where the concept of a sound bite emerges in writing.

How does this apply to you? Let’s say you are writing a proposal letter to the XYZ Foundation. Do you, early on in the letter, say that "…we are writing to ask for a grant of $50,000…" or should you say "…we are writing about an opportunity to dramatically improve the quality of life for seniors in our community…" and only much later mention how a $50,000 grant from the Foundation would help?

One approach makes your proposal about a $50,000 grant while the other approach is about a proposal to help seniors in your community. Which sounds more compelling?

Obviously, the sound bite, those few words that sum up what your proposal is about, is not the end of the story. Funders will read your entire grant proposal. But when they have to talk about it to others, which proposal will be easier to talk about?

You educate readers when you start with what they know and understand and then move to new information and ideas. Sound bites work for you when they create that connection. Used well, they create memorable and accurate impressions of the work you represent in your community.