1. Lecturer: Gareth Jones Class 8: Persuasive Messages

2.  Persuasive Messages ◦ Complaint ◦ Reference Request 8th December 2009 2Business Communication (BUS-101)

3.  Used to change an Audience’s beliefs, attitudes, and actions  Present an argument that readers will agree with and support 8th December 2009 3Business Communication (BUS-101)

4.  Used when: ◦ We are trying to sell something ◦ Asking people to support an idea ◦ Asking for an increase in salary ◦ Asking your boss to use your ideas 8th December 2009 4Business Communication (BUS-101)

5.  Longer and more complicated than routine messages  Require much more planning 8th December 2009 5Business Communication (BUS-101)

6.  Planning  Writing  Completing 8th December 2009 6Business Communication (BUS-101)

7.  Analyse your purpose  Analyse your audience  Establish Credibility  Be ethical 8th December 2009 7Business Communication (BUS-101)

8.  Purpose  Difficult because: ◦ Audiences are busy ◦ There are competing requests 8th December 2009 8Business Communication (BUS-101)

9.  For these reasons, purpose must be clear, necessary and appropriate for the written channel 8th December 2009 9Business Communication (BUS-101)

10.  Audience ◦ Search for common ground ◦ Find points of agreement ◦ Show how you can satisfy their needs 8th December 2009 10Business Communication (BUS-101)

11.  Ask ◦ Who is my audience? ◦ What do they need? ◦ What do I want them to do? ◦ How might they resist? ◦ What other offers exist? 8th December 2009 11Business Communication (BUS-101)

12.  Appeal to your audiences needs!  Find out their age, gender, occupation, income, etc.  Change your message around this info 8th December 2009 12Business Communication (BUS-101)

13.  Credibility  This is your capability for being believed because you’re reliable and worthy of confidence.  Credibility = believability 8th December 2009 13Business Communication (BUS-101)

14.  Support your message with facts. ◦ Documents, statistics, research results  Name your sources ◦ Where did this information come from? ◦ If audience respects your sources, this is very effective 8th December 2009 14Business Communication (BUS-101)

15.  Be an expert ◦ Clearly demonstrate your knowledge of the subject  Establish common ground ◦ Highlight the beliefs that you share with the audience. 8th December 2009 15Business Communication (BUS-101)

16.  Be enthusiastic ◦ Be excited about your subject  Be objective ◦ Show all sides of the issue to present fair arguments 8th December 2009 16Business Communication (BUS-101)

17.  Be trustworthy ◦ Earn audiences trust with honesty and dependability  Have good intentions ◦ Keep audience’s interest at heart 8th December 2009 17Business Communication (BUS-101)

18.  Be ethical ◦ To be ethical is to do things in an honest, moral way. ◦ Are morals universal ( 普遍的 ) ？ 8th December 2009 18Business Communication (BUS-101)

19.  Do not try to manipulate or trick your audience.  Persuade your audience, but keep their needs at heart  Why? 8th December 2009 19Business Communication (BUS-101)

20.  Planning  Writing  Completing 8th December 2009 20Business Communication (BUS-101)

21.  Direct? Indirect?  Based on audience’s reaction 8th December 2009 21Business Communication (BUS-101)

22.  When to use Direct approach ◦ When audience is objective ◦ When a message is long ◦ When audience has little time 8th December 2009 22Business Communication (BUS-101)

23.  Since the purpose is to convince or to change our audience’s mind, we should usually use:  The Indirect Approach 8th December 2009 23Business Communication (BUS-101)

24.  Planning  Writing  Completing 8th December 2009 24Business Communication (BUS-101)

25.  Use the same techniques  Edit for style, content and readability  Correct Errors 8th December 2009 Business Communication (BUS-101)25

26.  4 strategies in successful persuasion ◦ Framing your argument ◦ Balancing your appeals ◦ Reinforcing your position ◦ Overcoming audience resistance 8th December 2009 26Business Communication (BUS-101)

27.  4 strategies for successful persuasion ◦ Framing your argument ◦ Balancing your appeals ◦ Reinforcing your position ◦ Overcoming audience resistance 8th December 2009 27Business Communication (BUS-101)

28.  Framing your argument  Similar to indirect approach, but even more involved.  Use the AIDA approach 8th December 2009 28Business Communication (BUS-101)

29.  AIDA – 4 step argument ◦ Attention (Opening) ◦ Interest (Body) ◦ Desire (Body) ◦ Action (Closing) 8th December 2009 29Business Communication (BUS-101)

30.  Attention  Begin persuasive messages with an attention getting statement that is: ◦ Personalised ◦ ‘You’ oriented ◦ Straightforward ◦ Relevant 8th December 2009 30Business Communication (BUS-101)

31.  Interest ◦ Explain relevance of message ◦ Give more details 8th December 2009 31Business Communication (BUS-101)

32.  Desire  Second part of your body  Provide evidence  Explain how change will help audience  Answer possible questions in advance 8th December 2009 32Business Communication (BUS-101)

33.  Action  Closing ◦ Suggest action for readers to take ◦ Repeat audience benefits ◦ Make the action easy 8th December 2009 33Business Communication (BUS-101)

34.  Perfect for indirect messages  Save main idea for action phase  Can be used in direct messages  Use main idea as attention getter 8th December 2009 34Business Communication (BUS-101)

35.  To be successful, narrow your focus ◦ Why?  Stick to one goal or objective  One action we want the audience to perform 8th December 2009 35Business Communication (BUS-101)

36.  Used when: ◦ We are trying to sell something ◦ Asking people to support an idea ◦ Asking for an increase in salary ◦ Asking your boss to use your ideas 8th December 2009 36Business Communication (BUS-101)

37.  Analyse your purpose  Analyse your audience  Establish Credibility  Be ethical 8th December 2009 37Business Communication (BUS-101)

38.  Credibility ◦ This is your capability for being believed because you’re reliable and worthy of confidence. ◦ Credibility = believability 8th December 2009 38Business Communication (BUS-101)

39.  Use Facts  Name sources  Be an expert  Find common ground  Be enthusiastic  Be honest 8th December 2009 39Business Communication (BUS-101)

40.  Be ethical  To be ethical is to do things in an honest, moral way  Do not try to trick your audience 8th December 2009 40Business Communication (BUS-101)

41.  AIDA – 4 step argument ◦ Attention (Opening) ◦ Interest (Body) ◦ Desire (Body) ◦ Action (Closing) 8th December 2009 41Business Communication (BUS-101)

42.  4 strategies for successful persuasion ◦ Framing your argument ◦ Appealing to the audience ◦ Supporting your argument ◦ Dealing with Resistance

43.  In order to persuade our audience, we must appeal to them in some way  We can appeal to the heart and to the mind

44.  Appealing to the audience’s heart is called an: ◦ Emotional Appeal ◦ This is when we try to persuade our audience by using their feelings

45.  Emotional appeals ◦ Use words like: success, free, savings, value ◦ This will make your audience comfortable

46.  Emotional appeals ◦ Make your audience think your idea is the right thing to do

47.  Appealing to the audience’s mind is called a: ◦ Logical appeal ◦ This is when we use evidence and facts to convince our audience

48.  Logical Appeals ◦ Have plenty of evidence ◦ Don’t attack your opponents ◦ Make sure your claims are true

49.  4 strategies for successful persuasion ◦ Framing your argument ◦ Appealing to the audience ◦ Supporting your argument ◦ Dealing with Resistance

50.  Increase your credibility with strong language  Use words that are strong and direct

51.  Ask for small changes  Prepare for opposition  Be specific  Create a “win-win” situation  Use stories to make your points

52.  4 strategies for successful persuasion ◦ Framing your argument ◦ Appealing to the audience ◦ Supporting your argument ◦ Dealing with Resistance

53.  Present all sides of your argument ◦ The good ◦ The bad  This will increase credibility

54.  Think about possible objections and think of ways to answer them  This will help make your audience believe you

55.  These are the four components of a successful persuasive message: ◦ Framing your argument ◦ Appealing to the audience ◦ Supporting your argument ◦ Dealing with Resistance

56.  Persuasive Requests  Sales Letters

57.  Persuasive Requests  Sales Letters

58.  When asking for something small, use routine message strategy  When asking for something larger, use the AIDA plan

59.  Keep the request specific and possible  Say the direct and indirect benefits

60.  Begin with an attention grabbing device.  Show the readers that you are concerned and have a reason for making the request

61.  Interest and Desire sections  Gain credibility for you and your request  Make readers believe helping you will solve a problem

62.  Action Section  Once the idea has been shown, provide a specific action including dates, times, etc.

63.  Persuasive Requests  Sales Letters

64.  Your purpose is to sell your product  To do this we must highlight features and benefits, obvious right?

65.  Features = something our product has  Benefits = advantages the user will get

66. Features  LCD Screen  100 free text messages  Prints 30 pages per minute  Wireless controllers Benefits  You won`t hurt your eyes  Communicate with friends  Get work done fast  Play games from anywhere in the house

67.  Use the AIDA approach  Remember the other strategies as well ◦ Appealing to the audience ◦ Supporting your argument ◦ Dealing with Resistance

68.  Attention:  We want to use an attention getter that gets our reader to read the whole message

69.  An interesting question  A sample of the product  A solution to a problem  Your product`s best feature  Anything to get the audience to read the message!

70.  “How would you like to travel the world?”  “Here is your free sample of Chanel perfume”

71.  “Tired of being alone? We have the answer to your problem!”  “New software types what you say!”

72.  In the interest section, we must highlight the best feature of our product

73.  To determine this, ask: ◦ What does the competition offer? ◦ What are buyers looking for?

74.  Describe the product in detail, focusing on all positive features

75.  Mention the main benefit of your product  Mention other benefits as well (price, convenience, etc.)

76.  Ask your readers to do what you want  Convince them to act quickly

77.  If you are successful, readers will want your product and do what you ask!

78.  In persuasive messages, as in all kinds of business, we must be ethical and honest  This means following the rules of business

79.  In sales messages ◦ Lying about your competition ◦ Making false promises ◦ Lying about your product

80.  Lying  Bribery  Stealing information  Giving gifts  Accepting gifts  Plagiarism  Selling bad goods

81.  We must follow the ethics of business and do business in an honest way.

82.  We will look at some ethical dilemmas  Dilemma = a difficult choice