Topic: Effective interpersonal communication skills (one-on-one, in groups, etc.)

Part 1: Persuasive Training Proposal

Applying the persuasion skills learned in this class, write a proposal to an imaginary VP of Training at a real company of your choice, asking him/her to hire you. Your proposal should include:

• a target audience for the training (what type/level of employee is the training designed for your target audience.
• an introduction to the training topic—supported by research—that shows that you have a solid understanding of the topic and its relevancy to the company and target audience
• specific goals for the training session (i.e., outline what will employees learn)
• a convincing explanation of the benefits of the training (i.e., how will the company and its employees be better off after your training?)
• an agenda for the training session, including a description of an interactive activity that will involve audience participation. Note: The agenda should outline the plan for your training, but not provide the actual content you will deliver; save that content for when you deliver this training for Assignment 5. Organize the agenda in five minute blocks of time.

You should tailor the training’s content and interactive activity for your target audience and company. Remember, you only have 20 to 25 minutes, so your proposed training should be realistic and not overly-ambitious. If you use videos, they should be used to illustrate a point and not take up more than a few minutes of your training session. Your team is promising to deliver a professional and tailored training experience; you don’t want the training to consist of general information that someone could quickly look up on the Internet.

The proposal should be 2-3 pages, single-spaced (1000 to 1500 words). Use headings to encourage readability and make the content “skimmable.” Judicious use of bullet points is allowed. Overall, the proposal should be professional and persuasive.

Evaluation Criteria for Persuasive Training Proposal

• Does the proposal evince thoughtful analysis of purpose, audience, context, scope, medium, and tone appropriate to the situation?
• Is the training tailored to a specific audience, organization, and industry?
• Does the training workshop contain clearly defined goals?
• Does the training agenda include a clear description of a relevant, interactive activity?
• Does the proposal provide credible support for the benefits and value of the training?
• Does the proposal include 8-10 in-text citations that use APA format?
• Is the proposal clear, concise, well organized, polished, and professional?
• Is the proposal appropriately persuasive, and does it strongly encourage hiring the team?

Part 2: Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources such as books, articles, journals, web pages, videos, or other materials. Each source has an annotation, which is a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph that includes a summary of the source and notes about its credibility, quality, limitations, and usefulness for the writer. Your annotated bibliography will include five annotated sources per person.