Got Style?

Creating and implementing your organization’s style guide

ygs | Published 12:29 pm May 7th, 2019

What Is a Style Guide, and Why Do I Need It?

Today’s proposals can include inputs from numerous sources, with assorted writing styles and formatting habits that can make your proposal look like a hodgepodge. A style guide defines your organization’s standards to be used in all documents, presentations, and other materials, ideally with examples. A style guide can ensure that content comes through with consistency in format and language regardless of who prepares the input. A style guide lets you focus on fine-tuning your message rather than worrying about whether to change “set-up” to “setup.”

Do I Have to Start From Scratch?

If your company already has a style guide—great! You can work with the document owner to add proposal-specific information, such as confidentiality and copyright notices. Check with your marketing, sales, or communications teams to see if there is an existing style guide. If, as is the case in most companies, your organization has never heard the term, you have a larger task. You can start with one of the dozens of style guides already published. The Chicago Manual of Style is commonly used, but it’s a large tome that covers far more than your industry and business. Refer to Chicago (or the timeless The Elements of Style) for a foundation, and then give your users a guide that is customized to your business. For example, if you do business in the United States only, use American English spelling and set your documents and slides for letter-sized paper. If you regularly propose internationally, consider switching to British English spelling (not everyone’s “favourite”) and to A4 media size.

Beyond common language usage, you will want to include information specific to your company and industry. Include your product name and what it does. If your product is “Acme Widgets,” be clear in the style guide: “Acme” not “ACME”; “AcmeWidgets” not “Acme Widgets.” Your respondents may refer to the same product by different names or capitalizations—increasing the time you spend fixing the text to maintain branding and professionalism. Rely on industry‑standard usage as much as possible and be consistent.

The language you use to describe your product or service should reinforce its brand. Are you proposing a product or a solution? Security software may “allow” a user to perform a task, for example, while a 12-in-1 wrench might “enable” the user. As you settle on spelling and usage standards, add them to your presentation and document templates to roll out to the team.

Also settle on the verb tense to be used in the document. For most proposals, it is best to write about the solution in the present tense (e.g., “The user interface is easy to learn”) rather than the future tense (e.g., “The user interface will be easy to learn”). Reserve future tense for features that need to be developed as part of the contract.

Work with your marketing group to ensure that all your documents have the same look and feel as the brand. If your logo is red and green with orange flecks, you may have to flow that color scheme into the various heading levels of documents. Specify the exact color characteristics (RGB is commonly used) so that everyone can use the correct shade. Similarly, work with your marketing group and graphic designer to settle on font families, cover designs, margins, and interior page and slide designs so that each element works together to reinforce your brand image. As with the language usage, build these into the presentation and document templates.

Implementation

The best way to ensure a successful rollout is to solicit input from respondents during the development phase. Let them know what a style guide is, its benefit to them and the company (better proposals in less time), and how it can influence the success of your proposals. Moreover, let them know that inputs will be edited using the standards of the style guide. The style guide is the place to explain your reasoning. The more examples that are provided in the style guide, the greater the likelihood that your respondents will use the guide.

Remember that the first version of the style guide will not be the last. Invite comments and contributions. You will certainly miss some items that you will want to include, and updating the guide regularly helps keep it fresh and relevant. A clear and concise style guide—especially when combined with strong templates—keeps the mechanics of your brand and message clear and frees you to focus on the all-important content.

Pamela Dickerson, CF APMP, is president of Apex Business Communications, a proposal and technical writing company based in Southern California. She can be reached at pamela.dickerson@apexbusinesscommunications.com.