Tricky Stuff

The government has caught on to us. Used to be, there were no page limits for a proposal. Then there were page limits, but no other restrictions. Now, we often get RFPs that not only prescribe page limits, but specify a particular font, font size, and margin settings. That doesn't give us much flexibility when we're trying to squash as much information as we can into a limited number of pages. If we can't change the margins or fonts, what can we do (in addition to editing) to make sure we stay within the page limits? Here are a few tricks:

• Reduce the spacing between lines. In Word, highlight your text, and then go to Format/Paragraph/Line Spacing. Select "Exactly" and then play with the numbers. You can use decimals, for example 11.9 pt. Voila -- you're able to fit more text on a page.

• Move your bulleted and numbered lists to the margin, instead of indenting them.

• Condense your text by reducing the spacing between letters. This doesn't always work well for blocks of text, but if you have a paragraph with only one word on the last line, you can try condensing just that one word so that it fits on the previous line. Select the word, then go to Format/Font/Character Spacing/Spacing and select Condense. Then play with the numbers.

• Change your paragraph settings. If you are double-spacing between flush-left paragraphs, change to single space and indent the first word of the paragraph. Or, reduce the spacing between your double-spaced paragraphs by using the Format/Paragraph/Spacing command. I like to set it at "before" - 0 pt. and "after" - 8 pt. It looks good and saves a lot of space.

• If permitted, use a smaller font size in charts, tables, graphics, and text boxes.

• Take out sentences that just refer to "the chart/table on the following page." You don't have to point out the chart for them to be able to see it.

• If the government says that you have to use a certain font size -- such as 12 pt. -- but doesn't specify the font, use a font that matches the size but takes up less space. One of the best ones that I've found is Elegant Garamond. You may have to purchase it, but it's worth the cost.

Do you know of some other tricks and tips? Let me know.