Tips On Writing An Award-Winning Narrative

To give you a few tips on writing award narratives and help you walk away with an ARDY, we are sharing a few suggestions from veteran judges.

1. Make your nomination count by including examples. Give details, specific results and measurable outcomes. Entries with typographical and grammatical errors send a message that the submission was not important enough to have multiple people review it.
2. Focus on specific accomplishments and not the general requirements of the job.
3. Be sure you are answering the questions being asked.
4. Present a narrative that helps the judge “meet” your nominee and appreciate their accomplishments.
5. Stick to the required page length.
6. Avoid using acronyms or initials that are only familiar to people in your company.
7. Try to make the person come alive on paper; a good writer can do this. Describe them in a manner that will make the judge want to meet them in person and exchange ideas. If you can’t hire a professional writer or publicist, use the best writer in your company. The quality of the writing is paramount to the success of the narrative and a huge factor in scoring high points. Thus a professionally aided nomination of less merit may overshadow a nomination written by someone with less writing skills.

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For design categories.

With as many as 100 design awards and related materials to review in a single day, judges agree that brevity of the narrative is important. When the write-up and the visuals appear to tell different stories or required elements are missing, this will hurt an entry. Without both “before” and “after” images taken from the same angle in the renovation competition, it is difficult to adequately judge such an entry. Quality photography is a key element to design award winners.

For advertising and promotion categories.

Collateral materials are required for certain categories so judges can see how all the pieces worked together. Even for something as straightforward as a logo, knowing its intended use helps judges decide its effectiveness. Collateral is of utmost importance since that’s the “deliverable” in advertising and promotional campaigns.

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Marge Lennon has been a publicist for the timeshare industry forever. Contact her at Marge@LennonCommunications.com.