ABSTRACT
ASSIGNMENT Compose a ten minute oral proposal for either (1) a change in an organization of which you are currently a member or (2) a new course to be offered by the department of your major.
COMMENTARY When you present an oral proposal, you are formally recommending and defending a specific and carefully developed plan or course of action. Often the impetus for presenting a proposal may be your own-you have a good idea which you would like to have adopted. Other times, however, you may be called upon to develop a proposal at the request of your boss. Just as the reasons for making proposals vary, so do the possible audiences for these presentations. The audience may be a small group of your peers, or it may be a group of higher-level decision makers. In either case, you can usually count on the fact that your auditors have some amount of status and that they possess the authority to accept or reject your ideas. Because your audience will often be composed of leaders who manage their schedules carefully, you may find that you must make the case for your proposal within a particular time limit.
