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1.5 Drive Home Your Message With Layout and Graphics
Take a Closer Look
To see some examples and get some guidelines for a variety
of visuals, see the Graphic Guidelines Tool.
Since the time of Egyptian hieroglyphics and early cave paintings, visual aids
have played an important role in communicating our thoughts, values and beliefs.
In this era of desktop publishing and presentation software, we can use graphics
and layout techniques to provide information more effectively than words alone.
The key is to use these techniques appropriately so that they enhance your main
points, not create confusion.
The Case for Graphics and Layout Strategies
When you're preparing your proposal you must present the information so that
it's easy for the investor to understand. Sure, you could explain everything in
text, but you risk losing your audience along the way. Also, some concepts are
hard to explain in words and the investor may quickly become confused.
Incorporating some graphics and layout techniques will improve your document in
several ways:
- conciseness — you can condense information without losing the meaning
of the message;
- simplicity — complicated data can be graphically presented in a way
that makes the information easier for the investor to read or visualize; and
- emphasis — you can highlight particular material as being worthy of
additional attention.
Here are two handy checklists to use when you've completed a first draft of your
proposal.
Proposal Formatting Checklist
| Have We...? |
|
Used headings to guide the reader's attention? |
Headings should pull readers into the content. Investors have the option to
read on or not, so use headings to capture interest and "sell" the
information that follows them.
|
Used numbered and bulleted lists for easy reading? |
Bullet points are good attention grabbers. Use numbers if order is important
(e.g. you are implying a sequence) or if you need to reference those items later.
Use bullets if all the points are equal.
|
Used underlining or bolding to highlight key information? |
The investor's attention will be drawn to underlined or bolded information.
Consider using underlining if you think investors are going to skim over a
section that you want them to read.
|
Used white space to increase attractiveness? |
Use wide margins and not too many graphics on one page. When a page is cluttered
with information, the reader may get confused.
|
Done all the simple calculations? |
Perform the obvious calculations such as additions and totals, and double check
to ensure accuracy.
|
Given charts and graphs captions or titles that tell
what they show? |
Don't leave the reader wondering what your visuals mean. And keep those visual
effects simple and clear. A line graph may not be as exciting as a distorted
three-dimensional bar graph, but which one communicates your sales figures more
clearly?
|
Proposal Visuals Checklist
For a closer look at some sample illustrations, see the
Graphic Guidelines Tool.
| Type |
Best Uses |
Tables |
Tables are usually good for grouping numerical data, especially for comparing
two or more variables (e.g. financial projections of your sales over the next
five years).
|
Flow Charts |
Flow charts will help the investor see the relationship between entities,
especially for representing hierarchies or outlining complex procedures (e.g.
organization charts).
|
Time Charts |
Time charts (a version of the flow chart) identify time relationships between
tasks; time lines can also be used to pinpoint milestones.
|
Drawings and Photographs |
Drawings and photographs are useful when you want to focus on a particular
feature, or when you need to emphasize details (e.g. highlight a new handle on
a car door).
|
Bar Graphs |
Bar graphs are often used for comparing quantities, especially magnitudes of
change (e.g. when there's a wide range in the data or sudden change in quantity).
|
Circle or Pie Graphs |
Circle or pie graphs are often used to represent percentages (e.g. market
share or distribution of resources).
|
Line Graphs |
Line graphs are often used to compare trends for more than one variable over
the same period of time (e.g. sales volume has been going up and employee
absenteeism has been going down during the same time period). Line graphs can
also be combined with bar graphs on the same axes — one variable is
charted on the line graph, the other variable on a bar graph.
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