1. Strategies to Persuade Your
Chapter 3
Strategies to Persuade Your
Audience
This chapter is based on the latest findings in rhetoric, social science, and communication
theory. Treated here are interpersonal problems routinely confronted by writers in the
workplace. Students need to understand that any piece of writing can be redefined by each
reader—depending on that reader’s biases, preferences, motives, or attitude. To introduce
the notion of interpersonal problem solving, consider saying something like this:
Your suggestions or ideas might impress one reader while enraging or
offending someone else. Your major task as a writer is to do everything you can
to ensure that your document has the effect you intend on your audience. Even the
clearest and most informative communication can spell disaster if a writer has
ignored the situation’s political realities.
Audiences are wondering “What do I think about the person making the
argument?” “Do I like and trust this person?” “Does this person seem to know
what he or she is talking about?” “Is this person trying to make me look stupid?”
Effective communicators are effective critical thinkers; they know how to ask for things,
or how to instruct or warn or direct or advise. They know how to avoid asking for too
much, how to respect a situation’s constraints, and how to support their claims convincingly.

2. Learning Objectives
Appreciate the role of persuasion in technical communication
Identify a specific persuasive goal for your document
Anticipate how audiences may react to your argument
Respect any limitations such as company rules or legal constraints
Support your argument using evidence and reason

3. Learning Objectives (continued)
Understand that cultural differences may influence audience reactions
Prepare a convincing argument

4. Persuasion
Persuasion means trying to influence someone’s actions, opinions, or decisions. In the workplace, we rely on persuasion daily.

5. Implicit and Explicit Persuasion
Almost all workplace documents have an implicit or explicit persuasive goal:
Implicit persuasion assures readers that the information provided is accurate, the facts are correct, and the writer is fluent, competent, and knowledgeable.
Explicit persuasion seeks to win readers over to a particular point of view about an issue that is in some way controversial.

6. Identify Your Specific
Persuasive Goal
Before you undertake writing a persuasive document, first consider what you want it to accomplish, and realize that goals may overlap. Do you want to:
Influence people’s opinions?
Enlist people’s support?
Submit a proposal?
Change people’s behavior?

7. Try to Predict Audience Reaction
and Expect Resistance
Also consider how your audience might react to your argument. Reaction depends on how controversial the argument is or if it conveys bad news. The audience will accept or resist.
Audiences will accept an argument for any of three reasons: compliance (acceptance under pressure), identification (acceptance for personal reasons), or internalization (acceptance because the argument makes good sense). Aim for internalization.

8. Try to Predict Audience Reaction and Expect Resistance (continued)
This graphic illustrates the three types of audience acceptance:

9. Know How to Connect with the Audience
Three ways of connecting with an audience are the power connection, the relationship connection, and the rational connection.

10. Allow for Give and Take
Make a balanced argument, with both sides of the issue considered evenly and fairly:
explain the reasoning and evidence behind your stance
invite people to find weak spots in your case, and to improve on it
invite people to challenge your ideas

11. Ask for a Specific Response but
Don’t Ask for too Much
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want when making an argument. Let people know what you want them to do or think.
However, remember that any request that exceeds its audience’s “latitude of acceptance” is doomed.

12. Recognize All Constraints
Constraints are limits or restrictions imposed by the situation when you make an argument:
Organizational constraints: Constraints based on company rules.
Legal constraints: Constraints based on the law.
Ethical constraints: Constraints based on honesty and fair play.
Time constraints: Constraints based on the right timing.
Social and psychological constraints: Constraints based on audience.

13. Support Your Claims Convincingly
The most persuasive argument will be the one that presents the strongest case—from the audience’s perspective. You must:
Offer convincing evidence: The evidence must have quality, use credible sources, and be reasonable. Types of evidence are factual statements, statistics, examples, and expert testimony.
Appeal to common goals and values: Consider what the audience also wants to accomplish and how they feel.

14. Consider the Cultural Context
Reaction to persuasive appeals can be influenced by a culture’s customs and values. Be aware of the following considerations:
Recognize that cultures differ
Understand the importance of face saving in all cultures
Learn all you can about various business cultures

15. Review Questions What is the definition of persuasion?
What is the difference between implicit persuasion and explicit persuasion?
What is identifying your persuasive goal important and what are three types of persuasive goals?
Why is it important to predict your audience’s reaction?
What are the three types of audience acceptance and how do they work?
Answers
1. The act of attempting to influence someone’s actions, opinions, or decisions.
2. Implicit persuasion assures readers that the information provided is accurate, the facts are correct, and the writer is fluent, competent, and knowledgeable. Explicit persuasion seeks to win readers over to a particular point of view about an issue that is in some way controversial.
3. Before you undertake writing a persuasive document, you need to first consider what you want it to accomplish. The four types of persuasive goals are 1) influence people’s opinions, 2) enlist people’s support, 3) submit a proposal, and 4) change people’s behavior.
4. If you can predict their reaction, you can know if they’ll accept or resist your argument.
5. Compliance (the audience accepts under pressure), identification (the audience accepts for personal reasons), and internalization (the audience accepts because the argument makes good sense).

16. Review Questions (continued)
What are the three types of audience connection and how do they work?
Why is it important to allow for give and take?
What are the five types of constraints on an argument and what do they each mean?
In what two ways can you support your claims convincingly?
What three things can you do to ensure you consider the cultural context in an argument?
Answers (continued)
6. The power connection (the audience accepts out of compliance), the relationship connection (the audience accepts out of identification), and the rational connection (the audience accepts out of internalization).
7. It allows you to make a balanced argument, with both sides of the issue considered evenly and fairly.
8. Organizational constraints (constraints based on company rules), legal constraints (constraints based on the law), ethical constraints (Constraints based on honesty and fair play), time constraints (constraints based on the right timing), and social and psychological constraints (constraints based on audience).
9. Offering convincing evidence and appealing to common goals and values.
10. Recognize that cultures differ, understand the importance of face saving in all cultures, an learn all you can about various business cultures.