Who Are You Really Talking To?

According to Morgan Giddings, creator of popular grant-writing resources and courses, you misunderstand the level at which you need to appeal to reviewers at study section. While you may think you’re speaking from the cerebral/rational (primate) part of your brain to the equivalent area of theirs, that’s not actually the level they’re paying attention on. To get funded, you have to convince the reptilian parts of your readers’ brains first. Have you ever gotten a bad score, but the reviews pointed out no fatal flaws, only nitpicks? It’s because you weren’t able to convince the reptilian brain that something really interesting was there under all the facts and figures. That’s the level that truly drives funding decisions.

Sound intriguing? Disagree? View Dr. Giddings’ whole argument in a 15-minute video.

Related Resources

Three (Grant) Peeves in a Pod: Write Better

Avoiding Barriers Between Your Work and Your Reviewer

How Study Section Works (and Why You Need to Know)