1] Always proofread when you are at your daily peak. In other words, do not try it, if you are sleepy or distracted.You will definitely miss a number of errors. Proofreading requires concentration.

2] Read selection through and then read it aloud. Read it to a friend and have them read it to you. Read it backwards..that's what I said. You'll be amazed at errors in spelling you will encounter.

3] Use your computer's spell checker,but do not rely on it.Often, there are times checker will find errors but word meaning is different, such as "there" and "their". Use a dictionary to be sure of correct meaning of a word. 4] The thesaurus is helpful,but again range of words are limited,a book offers a broader list. Your choice of words does make a difference when others read what you have to offer, so go ahead and be choosy.

5] Be sure all beginning letters of a sentence are capitalized.Names of importance, within sentence are a must to remember.

It sings. It sells. And it flops!

What happened? You dribbled away your close. You whispered instead of shouting. You hung nice instead of tough. It never pays.

So, today, let's learn how to ‘kick-butt' when you close an Imcom to your boss or anyone else up command chain.

WHAT ACTION DO YOU WANT YOUR TARGET TO TAKE?

Forgive me. This seems almost too elementary to mention. But I'm convinced that 90% of people who write an Imcom don't give this question much serious thought.

It's a question you should ask yourself before writing first word of your Imcom. What EXACTLY do you want target to do? Call you? Bounce your idea further up command chain? Give you go-ahead on a project?

Don't assume target will know what you want. I learned this years ago when writing sales copy. I would tell prospect to fill out reply card or order form. I would tell him to use postage-free reply envelope. But so help me, if I didn't mention putting envelope in mail...response dropped.

The only thing I can figure is that we are not routine thinkers. So you have to be target's routine thinker if you want a timely response.

BE DIRECT, BE FORCEFUL AND SUGGEST URGENCY

Most people don't close effectively because they're afraid of offending someone. Trust me. This is not a problem.

Let's say you are writing a proposal for your boss to get approval for a new research program. You've gone through all why's and where's. It's time for a kick-butt close.