Chapter 6 1 THE PROCESS OF WRITING PERSUASIVE

Chapter 6 1 THE PROCESS OF WRITING PERSUASIVE MESSAGES DR. BONNIE DUNCAN 38 SLIDES ENGl 316 Business Writing 12/17/2008

2 u Compose a first draft of your message. u Revise for content, style, and correctness. Arrange documents in a standard format. u ENGl 316 Business Writing u u The Process of Writing Persuasive Messages Specify the purpose of your message and analyze your audience. Proofread your document for content, typographical, and format errors. 12/17/2008

3 General: What caused you to start the document, anyway? All messages have two levels of information: general and specific. If you aren’t clear on either, you aren’t ready to write. Specific: What do you want to know, get someone to do, or what them to know? In very specific, concrete terms, ENGl 316 Business Writing What outcome do you desire? What would constitute success? Why should the recipient want to help you? Have you made that as clear and logical to the reader as it is to you? What do you actually need and/or need to find out? What does the person you are writing need to do for you or clearly understand? Why is this important to you, to the recipient, and/or to your organization and theirs? What are the deadlines? 12/17/2008

4 General: The Purpose of a Routine Request: An Example To determine whether the Hewitt laser printer has the features I need. Specific: To get answers to four specific questions. ENGl 316 Business Writing 12/17/2008

5 General: The Purpose of a Persuasive Message To secure permission for my preschool students to tour a restaurant and have lunch. Specific: To secure permission for my preschool students to tour Salad Haven Restaurant and have lunch between 11 a. m. and 1 p. m. (its busiest time). ENGl 316 Business Writing 12/17/2008

6 No one is perfect. People need specific information. Most people are honest and reasonable. Remember this about your audience People don’t like to be “talked down to. ” People want to know what they will gain by taking action. Most people are likely to react to your message the same way you would if you had received it. ENGl 316 Business Writing 12/17/2008

Business and the Professions Use A Three-Step Writing Process Planning Analyze Situation Gather Information Select Medium Get Organized ENGl 316 Business Writing Analyze the Audience Compose the Message 7 Completing Revise Produce Proofread Distribute 12/17/2008

Routine Request Strategy Keep it clean and simple Chapt er 7 8 State the Request Explain and Justify Close the Message Practice Courtesy Important Questions Specific Request Assume Compliance Relevant Questions Contact Information Be Specific One-Topic Questions Appreciation/Goodwill Business Communication Essentials, 3 e © Prentice Hall, 2007

9 Types of Routine Requests Action and Information Recommendations Claims or Adjustments ENGl 316 Business Writing 12/17/2008

Action and Information State the Request Support the Request Offer Reader Benefits ENGl 316 Business Writing 10 12/17/2008

Recommendations State the Request Provide a Résumé Say “Thank You” ENGl 316 Business Writing 11 12/17/2008

Claims and Adjustments State the problem Explain the problem Provide verification Propose a solution ENGl 316 Business Writing 12 12/17/2008

Routine Replies and Positive Messages Overall Goals Positive Responses Communicate Information ENGl 316 Business Writing Goodwill Messages Answer All Questions Provide Needed Details 13 Make a Good Impression 12/17/2008

Routine-Message Strategy The Message Main Idea Relevant Details Cordial Close Receptive Audience ENGl 316 Business Writing 14 12/17/2008

Action and Information Be Pertinent Be Relevant Be Nice ENGl 316 Business Writing 15 12/17/2008

Action and Information Be Prompt Be Gracious Be Thorough ENGl 316 Business Writing 16 12/17/2008

Claims and Adjustments Who Is at Fault? The Company ENGl 316 Business Writing The Customer 17 A Third Party 12/17/2008

18 Ethos : Persuasive appeals are based on ENGl 316 Business Writing Credibility Pathos : Emotion Logos : Logic 12/17/2008

19 Avoid writer’s block ENGl 316 Business Writing • Choose the right environment. • Schedule a reasonable block of time. • State your purpose in writing. • Engage in free writing. • Don’t try to be perfect. • Think out loud. • Write the easiest parts first. 12/17/2008

20 Though sometimes we get rushed and The Editing Process Making It Better: Peer Review and Revision ENGl 316 Business Writing just have to send something out, that’s rarely the best idea. Some very embarrassing snafus can occur that way. Remember: If you embarrass your company, you will pay. Sometimes people proof directly onto documents electronically, as we have been doing (primarily in Microsoft Word in this class. Sometimes they do it in pencil or pen. There are some symbols editors use to speed that process. That’s only helpful, however, if both parties understand them. The next two pages provide some of those. 12/17/2008

Proofreaders’ marks ENGl 316 Business Writing 21 12/17/2008

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Full Black Style: Standard letter format Center page vertically so it doesn’t all sit at the top of the page. Use default margins. Cute doesn’t cut it in business. January 19, 2005 4 Ms. Ella Shore, President Department of Journalism Mountainside College Great Falls, MT 59404 2 Dear Ms. Shore: [Note that this is always a colon in business letters, never a comma. ] 2 Subject: Yearbook Advertising 2 Thank you for thinking of The Book Mark when you were planning the advertising for next year’s yearbook at Mountainside College. We ENGl 316 Business Writing 23 12/17/2008

from taking a full-page ad, we are happy to purchase a quarter-page ad, as follows: 2 • The ad should include our standard trademark and the words “Welcome to The Book Mark. ” 2 • The ad should appear in the top-right corner of a right-facing page. 2 Our logo is enclosed for you to duplicate. I am also enclosing a check for $275 to cover the cost of the ad. Best wishes as you prepare the fifty-fifth edition of your yearbook. 2 Sincerely, Set up page breaks so that there are never 2 or fewer lines on the last page before the complementary close. If Joseph W. Dye you also number pages in your header or footer, the Sales Manager recipient will know she or he received everything. rmt [Note: these initials aren’t the author’s; they’re the typist’s (presuming of course this wasn’t typed by the author, in which case no initials here are necessary). ] 4 2 Enclosures (4) c: Advertising Supervisor ENGl 316 Business Writing 24 12/17/2008

Standard memo format Tab MEMO TO: Max Dillon, Sales Manager 2 2 FROM: Andrea J. Hayes DATE: February 25, 2005 SUBJECT: New-Venture Proposal 2 Center page vertically and use default margins. 3 I propose the purchase or lease of a van to be used as a mobile bookstore. We could then use this van to generate sales in the outlying towns and villages throughout the state. 2 We have been aware for quite some time that many small towns around the state do not have adequate bookstore facilities, but the economics of the ENGl 316 Business Writing 25 12/17/2008

length of our stay to the size of the town and the amount of business generated. 2 Please let me have your reactions to this proposal. If you wish, I can explore the matter further and generate cost and sales estimates in time for your next manager’s meeting. jmc 2 [Note: these initials aren’t the author’s; they’re the typist’s (presuming of course this wasn’t typed by the author, in which case no initials here are necessary). ] Attachment [Note: if there is more than one attachment, give the number of pages. ] ENGl 316 Business Writing 26 12/17/2008

Standard e-mail format 2 2 2 Note that you always make sure your readers know who you are and how to contact you 2 2 ENGl 316 Business Writing 27 12/17/2008

Key terms 28 audience analysis organization brainstorming primary audience drafting revising editing secondary audience free writing writer’s block mind mapping ENGl 316 Business Writing 12/17/2008

Proofreading 1 April 31, 2005 2 Mr. Thomas Johnson, Manger 3 Jo. Ann @ Friends, Inc. 4 1323 Charleston Avenue 5 Minneapolis, MI 55402 The abbreviation for the word ‘and’ is… for Minnesota is… The proper punctuation at the end of the salutation is a … 6 Dear Mr. Thomas, ENGl 316 Business Writing How are you doing catching these? Some are silly or obvious: 30 days hath Sept. , … 29 12/17/2008

16 Would you be willing to try this out on you own 17 workers and let me know the results. 18 Sincerly Yours 19 Mr. Michael Land, 20 Writing Consultant [Enclosure] ENGl 316 Business Writing 30 12/17/2008

Points to cover in memo Recommend job-sharing in this position. Provide background. Emphasize advantages. Subordinate the disadvantages. Ask for approval. ENGl 316 Business Writing 31 12/17/2008

LAB 6 test US URBAN SYSTEMS 1. Your lead editorial on May 19 2005 , lamented light pollution, , (DATE) , 2. which limits our views of the night sky. As a person who loves the 3. profound beauty of the night sky I thank you for spreading the word 4. (NONR) about the loss of this precious environmental resource. , (INTRO) ENGl 316 Business Writing 32 12/17/2008

US URBAN SYSTEMS 5. A retired lighting engineer, however from Louisville, Kentucky , , (TRAN) , (PLACE) , 6. disputed many of the points you made. He stated that streetlights 7. were not the problem and that the average streetlight is designed to 8. put 95 percent of its light on the street. While the best ones do they 9. are a small minority. Many spill a quarter or more of their light , (INTRO) 10. horizontally and upward. ENGl 316 Business Writing 33 12/17/2008

US URBAN SYSTEMS 11. The ultimate goals of lighting are security and visibility. 12. More light does not necessarily aid these goals and it can actually , (IND) 13. defeat them if the lighting is of poor quality. OBER, CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS COMMUNICATION, 6/E. COPYRIGHT © HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ENGl 316 Business Writing 34 6. 21 12/17/2008

US URBAN SYSTEMS 14. James Thurber stated “There are two kinds of light: the glow , (QUOT) 15. that illumines and the glare that obscures. ” We can preserve the 16. beauty of the night sky enhance our security and reduce our energy , (SER) , 17. costs. Fellow lighting engineers I challenge you to apply the crea- , (DIR AD) 18. tive dedicated energies of our profession to solving this problem. , (ADJ) ENGl 316 Business Writing 35 12/17/2008

Reviewing Key Points Using the three-step process Making routine requests Sending routine replies Sending positive messages ENGl 316 Business Writing 36 12/17/2008

37 STOP! One last thing: Even if you only made a small change or two… ENGl 316 Business Writing Before you send any paperwork anywhere, remember to run spell check. 12/17/2008

38 How did you do with this review? I hope it helped you catch things you didn’t pick up earlier, and remind you of fairly obvious things it’s easy to forget. The end ENGl 316 Business Writing 12/17/2008