As children, we learn through repetition, emulating adult language and weaving new words in to our vocabulary in order to broaden our world view. As adult proposal writers with a strong command of the English language, we understand that there are a myriad different ways of saying most things, and find a path through the dual nature of language in order to select words which best encompass our thinking, and put our point across in a clear and concise manner.

When proposal writers encounter a PQQ or RFP, it's likely that it will take some time to familiarise themselves with the language which is being used. Common examples of this include words for customers, which can include 'clients', 'service users', or a myriad different permutations on that theme. Even if, within their own organisation, a proposal writer is accustomed to refer to customers in a certain way, mirroring the language found within the RFP brings a number of benefits:

• It makes the recipient feel confident that the two companies share a similar approach and outlook, as they refer to words in the same way which represents a good cultural fit
• It makes the document easier to read, as words don't jar on the recipient, and they can skim through and find what they are looking for without hesitating over unfamiliar terms
• It shows a level of courtesy, in that the proposal writer has taken the time to understand the culture of the company which they are bidding to, and learned enough to emulate the style of language used.

That said, most proposal writers will recognise the uncomfortable feeling of encountering spelling errors within a customer document. It's common to find mistakes, and any writer worth their salt will start twitching at the prospect of leaving a spelling error in situ. The long-standing question for proposal writers is, do you correct the mistakes, or leave them as they are?

Opinion is divided on this. On the one hand, it highlights a lack of grammatical knowledge on the part of the proposal writer if they gloss over errors found when they reproduce the words within the RFP. On the other, it seems almost disrespectful to go along correcting errors when the RFP is essentially the first element of an ongoing contract with a customer who is 'always right'.

A good rule of thumb is to use your own judgement, without being too picky about it. If you see words which are obviously mistyped, then feel free to amend them as you go along. Don't copy typing errors within your own writing, and be discreet and subtle when it comes to calming those twitchy fingers and choosing to change glaring mistakes.

The bid process is all about empathy and understanding. By exercising sound judgement and more than a small handful of discretion, the best proposal writers find a happy path between the errors and linguistic challenges, and provide an empathic, professional and engaging response which closely mirrors the culture and language of the customer.