1. CHAPTER 14 PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION MGT 3213 – ORG. COMMUNICATION Mississippi State University College of Business

2. What is Persuasion?  An act or process of presenting arguments to move, motivate, or change your audience  Motivation is distinct from persuasion  It involves the force, stimulus, or influence to bring about change  Measurable gain: A system of assessing the extent to which audience members respond to a persuasive message

3. Figure 14.1 - Measurable Gain

4. Principles of Persuasion  Reciprocity  The mutual expectation for exchange of value or service.  When one person gives you something, you are expected to reciprocate, even if by only saying “thank you.”  Scarcity  The perception of inadequate supply or limited resource.  We are all attracted to the rare, unusual, and unique.  Can be used to create a sense of urgency that motivates action.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xocWefokZx4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xocWefokZx4

5. Principles of Persuasion  Authority  We are persuaded by people who have credibility, who we trust.  Consensus  Why testimonials are powerful.  When we lack information, we trust the “herd” (why peer influence is powerful)  Liking  We trust people we like.  We like people who are similar to ourselves.  We feel safe with people who are similar to ourselves.  We are persuaded by people we trust and like.

6. Persuasive Messages: Plan Before You Write  Know your product, service, or idea  Know your audience  Know the desired action you wish your audience to take

7. How To Know Your Product  Read all the available literature  Use the product or watch others use it  Compare the product, service, or idea with others  Conduct tests or experiments  Talk to people who really use the product

8. How to Know Your Receiver  Identify basic demographics  Age, gender, educational background, income level, race…  Know receiver’s wants and needs  Consider how you can meet needs based on Maslow’s hierarchy

9. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Physiological needs Security and safety needs Social needs Ego needs Self-actualization needs

10. Maslow in Advertisements

12. Arbys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg05vToa7Zk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg05vToa7Zk Volkswagen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W5kUl1YUY0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W5kUl1YUY0 UnderArmour http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5bNyertg98 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5bNyertg98

13. Goals of Persuasive Messages  Stimulate (inspire, motivate)  Convince (change attitudes/beliefs)  Call to action (do something)  Adoption (buy a carbon monoxide detector)  Discontinuance (stop smoking)  Deterrence (don’t do drugs!)  Continuance (keep up your current exercise routine!)  Other potential “actions”: get more information, call a 1-800 phone number, visit a website, attend an event  Increase consideration (build awareness)  Develop tolerance of alternate perspectives (build awareness)

15. Inductive Outline Used in Persuasive Messages

16. Gaining Attention in Sales Messages Personal experience Solution to a problem Startling statement What-if opening Story/Quote/ Question Split sentence Analogy

17. Split Sentences  Imagine relaxing on a pristine, white sand beach in December … you can make that dream a reality with a Carnival Caribbean cruise!  Imagine a world where every child has a safe place to go after school … your donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Starkville makes that possible.

18. Introducing the Product, Service, or Idea  Be cohesive  Attention-getter must lead naturally to introduction  Stress a central selling point  Attention-getter must lead to discussion of distinctive feature  Be action-oriented  Place product in the receivers’ hands and allow them to use it

19. ‘Applewood-Smoked Bacon’ Just Tastes Better  Vivid menu descriptions increase restaurant sales up to 27 percent  “applewood-smoked bacon”  “Maytag blue cheese”  “buttery plump pasta”  Diners feel more satisfied after eating a Southwestern Tex-Mex Salad than after eating the same salad with a blander name **According to research by Brian Wansink

20. Use adjectives that are:  Vivid.  “Freshly cracked,” “light-and-fluffy,” “handcrafted,” “triple-basted” and “slow-cooked” paint pictures in the readers’ minds.  Those pictures are more compelling than, say, a plain, old omelet.  Sensory.  Applewood smoked bacon.  Descriptions like this engage the readers’ senses.  Emotional or nostalgic.  “Aged Vermont cheddar” evokes images of crusty New England dairymen rather than Kraft mega-plants.  “Boodie’s Chicken Liver Masala” and “Grandma’s zucchini cookies” also evoke emotion and nostalgia.  Specific.  “Wild Alaskan” salmon conjures up visions of vigorous, healthy fish swimming in pristine, unpolluted streams.

21. Build Desire Using Persuasive Techniques  Provide specific evidence to back up your statements (your claims)  Be objective, excluding exaggerations and subjective claims

22. Table 14.3 - Toulmin’s Three-Part Rhetorical Strategy

23. Convincing Customers with Testimonials, Guarantees, and Samples  Tell what others have said about your product  Provide guarantees or free trial offers  Allow customers to sample product before buying http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKLnhuzh9uY

24. Appealing to Emotions  Why do we do irrational things?  Emotions are often contagious  If abused, creates emotional resistance  Be cautious when sharing personal stories/experiences  Lack of emotional control damages your credibility

25. Subordinating the Price  Create desire for the product first  Use figures to show how the price saves money  State the price in small units  Invite comparisons with like products  Put price in a dependent clause combined with the central selling point Magic Bullet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZILNbEV91-ghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZILNbEV91-g Bose: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0Ywhw7S8v0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0Ywhw7S8v0

26. Motivating Action  Make the action clear and simple to complete  Restate the reward for action, relate to central selling point  Provide incentive for quick action  Discounts, coupons  Free gift with purchase offers  Must have a deadline for action!  Ask confidently for action

27. Packaging & Design  Chile's ADT security company has been sliding spring-loaded envelopes under people's doors.  The only text on the box, a note from ADT reading: "Breaking into your apartment is easier than you think."

28. Guidelines for Ethical Persuasion  Do not:  Use false, fabricated, misrepresented, distorted or irrelevant evidence to support arguments or claims  Intentionally use unsupported, misleading, or illogical reasoning  Represent yourself as informed or an “expert” on a subject when you are not  Use irrelevant appeals to divert attention from the issue at hand  Deceive your audience by concealing your real purpose, self-interest, the group you represent, or your position as an advocate of a viewpoint  Distort, hide, or misrepresent the number, scope, intensity, or undesirable features of consequences or effects  Use “emotional appeals” that lack a supporting basis of evidence or reasoning  Pretend certainty where tentativeness and degrees of probability would be more accurate

29. Table 14.5 – Fallacies

30. Table 14.5 – Fallacies (Contd.)

31. Other Potential Problem Areas  Are your comparative statements misleading?  http://youtube.com/watch?v=vY0YyiZfnGk http://youtube.com/watch?v=vY0YyiZfnGk  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruIpTQAIbLE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruIpTQAIbLE  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUC0fuVTX4E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUC0fuVTX4E

32. Other Potential Problem Areas  Have you offered a clear definition of offered product or service? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/303 2600/vp/46860128#46860128