Writing Persuasive Approval Papers

Here’s the story. When DR SUNNY GOH taught this programme under the same Title for the last decade, it was so successful that the Training Institute discussed sharing his Intellectual Property or getting him to conduct Training of Trainers to outsource his approval writing methods. It was a tempting idea, but concerned that his © AOS Plan and © PM Outline may not be correctly applied especially during the process of customisation, he declined the offer. Today, he has been using his succinct AOS methodology and successful PM pedagogy to conduct in-house bespoke courses.

The Good News is that an abridged version of this programme (from two days to one day without the extended writing practice) is now on offer as a public run for staff writers in both private and public sectors, as well as the academia and voluntary organisations.

Unlike discussion and information papers, a persuasive approval paper requires certain staffing to prep it, and certain skills to package it such that the approving authority cannot but support its content without much hesitation. The workshop will show you how Secondary Information, Additional Information and Essential Information – all different grades of inputs – can be synergised into one knowledge package. Next, the knowledge package will be structured into a narrative (there are different types) to ensure a seamless argument flow. Finally, the strategic versus technical content will be presented using their strengths and minimising their limitations in a qualitative-quantitative balance. Sounds complicated? No, it isn’t. It’s convincing.

Objectives

At the end of the one-day programme, participants will be able to:

1. categorise data correctly for the sole purpose of approval writing;
2. structure paper into an appropriate narrative; and
3. write a persuasive paper based on its qualitative or quantitative bias.

Outline

CATEGORISING INPUTS

• Secondary Information (General Knowledge Management)
• Other Information Requirements (Local Knowledge Management)
• Essential Elements (Tacit Knowledge Management)

STRUCTURING THE PAPER

• Establish the Action (Approving Authority)
• State the Objective (Primary aim and Secondary objectives)
• Outline the Structure (what-why-how process)

WRITING FOR THE TARGET AUDIENCE

• Strategic and Qualitative Persuasion
• Technical and Quantitative Persuasion
• Mixed Eclectic Persuasion

Testimonials

“Writing persuasive approval papers? There’s only one person I will always go to –  Sunny.”

-UOB Bank Group (Feb 2019)

“The Trainer is effective in delivering the course and his depth of knowledge in this area has facilitated it to be smooth running and paced suitably for learning. He has also included examples for the ease of our learning and applicability of the concepts.”

-LTA (Apr 2018)

“This course is not just a normal writing course on drafting, as it provides useful insights and policy considerations as well.”

-NParks (Feb 2018)

“The best practices and policy aspects were very well explained!”

-MOE (Mar 2018)

“This course has helped me to be more focused and think more when writing the approval paper.”

-Nikki Chan, Platform, IHiS (June 2023).

Who should attend

• Casual staff writers (Executives and above) who want to prep themselves ahead of approval writing assignments
• Writers (Managers and above) serious about progressing their professional careers where writing is an asset rather than a mere requirement
• Experienced writers (DDs and above) who want to learn the latest writing conventions and best practices