Copyright 2015 Mc Graw-Hill Education All rights

Copyright © 2015 Mc. Graw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of Mc. Graw-Hill Education. 11 -1

Chapter 11 Crafting Persuasive Messages ＠ Purposes ＠ Persuasive Strategies ＠ Threats ＠ Organizing ＠ Objections ＠ Acting Promptly Tone Varieties Sales / Fund. Raising Messages ＠ Writing Style ＠ Technology ＠ ＠ ＠ 11 -2

Chapter 11 Learning Objectives @ LO 11 -1 Identify the purposes of persuasive messages @ LO 11 -2 Analyze a persuasive situation @ LO 11 -3 Identify basic persuasive strategies @ LO 11 -4 Write persuasive direct requests @ LO 11 -5 Write persuasive problem-solving messages @ LO 11 -6 Write sales and fund-raising messages @ LO 11 -7 Use technology for persuasive messages 11 -3

Purposes @ Primary ＠ To have audience act or change beliefs @ Secondary ＠ To build good image of the communicator ＠ To build good image of communicator’s organization ＠ To cement a good relationship ＠ To overcome any objections ＠ To reduce or eliminate future messages on subject 11 -4

Choosing a Persuasive Strategy 1. What do you want people to do? 2. What objections will audience have? 3. How strong a case can you make? 4. What kind of persuasion is best for the situation? 5. What kind of persuasion is best for organization and culture? 11 -5

Three Aspects of Persuasion @ Argument—reasons or logic communicator offers @ Credibility—audience’s response to communicator as source of message ＠ Expertise, image, relationships @ Emotional appeal—making audience want to do as communicator asks 11 -6

Direct Request Pattern @ Audience will do what you ask without resistance @ You need response only from people who can easily do as you ask @ Audience may not read all of the message 11 -7

Problem-Solving Pattern @ Audience may resist doing what you ask @ You expect logic to be more important than emotion in the decision 11 -8

Sales Pattern @ Audience may resist doing what you ask @ You expect emotion to be more important than logic in the decision 11 -9

Why Threats Don’t Persuade @ Don’t produce permanent change @ May not produce desired action @ May make people abandon action @ Produce tension @ People dislike/avoid one who threatens @ Can provoke counteraggression 11 -10

Organizing Direct Requests 1. Ask immediately for the information or service you want 2. Give audience all the information they need to act on your request 3. Ask for the action you want 11 -11

Organizing Problem-Solving Messages 1. Catch audience’s interest by mentioning 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. common ground Define problem you share with audience Explain solution to problem Show that advantages outweigh negatives Summarize additional benefits of solution Ask for action you want 11 -12

Developing Common Ground @ Suggest you and audience have mutual interest in solving problem @ Analyze audience to understand biases, objections, and needs @ Identify with audience to find common goals 11 -13

Dealing with Objections @ Specify time, money required to act @ Put time, money in context of benefits @ Show that money spent now will save money in long run @ Show that doing as you ask will benefit something audience cares about @ Show audience need for sacrifice to achieve larger, more important goal @ Show that advantages outweigh the disadvantages 11 -14

Reasons to Act Promptly @ Show that time limit is real @ Show that acting now will save time or money @ Show the cost of delaying action 11 -15

Building Emotional Appeal @ Storytelling @ Psychological description ＠ Create word picture for audience’s senses ＠ ＠ ＠ Hear See Smell Taste Touch Help audiences imagine themselves doing, enjoying what you ask 11 -16

Tone in Persuasive Messages @ Be courteous @ Give solid reasons for requests @ Make requests clear @ Give enough information for audience to act @ Tone down requests to superiors I expect you to give me a new computer. ＠ If funds permit, I’d like a new computer. ＠ 11 -17

Varieties of Persuasive Messages: Performance Appraisals @ Cite specific observations, not inferences @ Include specific suggestions for improvement @ Identify two or three areas that the worker should emphasize in the next month or quarter 11 -18

Varieties of Persuasive Messages: Recommendation Letters @ Be specific @ Tell how well, how long writer knew applicant @ Give details about applicant’s work @ Say whether writer would rehire applicant 11 -19

Sales and Fund-Raising Purposes @ Primary ＠ To motivate audience to act (send donation, order a product) @ Secondary ＠ To build good image of communicator’s organization ＠ To strengthen commitment of audiences who act ＠ To make audiences who do not act more likely to act next time 11 -20

Organizing Sales/Fund-Raising Messages: Opener @ Makes audience want to read entire message @ Use of these main types Questions ＠ Narration, stories, anecdotes ＠ Startling statements ＠ Quotations ＠ @ Sets up transition to letter body 11 -21

Organizing Sales/Fund-Raising Messages: Body @ Answers audience’s questions @ Overcomes audience’s objections @ Involves audience emotionally @ Long letters work best: 4 pages ideal @ Short letters, e-mail work too 11 -22

Organizing Sales/Fund-Raising Messages: Body Content @ Information audience can use @ Stories about history of product or organization @ Stories about people who use product @ Word pictures of audiences enjoying benefits offered 11 -23

Organizing Sales/Fund-Raising Messages: Action Close @ Tells audience what to do @ Makes action sound easy @ Offers audience reason to act now @ Ends with positive picture @ May recall central selling point 11 -24

Using a Postscript @ Reason to act promptly @ Description of premium audience receives @ Reference to another part of package @ Restatement of central selling point P. S. read Many pe ople it fir st ! 11 -25

Strategy in Sales Messages: Satisfying Need @ Tell people of need product meets @ Prove that product satisfies that need @ Show why product is better than similar ones @ Make audience want to have product 11 -26

Dealing with Price @ Link price to product’s benefit @ Link price to benefits your company offers @ Show much product costs each day, week, or month @ Allow customers to charge sales or pay in installments 11 -27

Strategy in Fund-Raising Appeals: Vicarious Participation @ Use we to talk about the cause @ At end, use you to talk about what audience will be doing @ Show audience’s dollars help solve the problem 11 -28

Fund-Raising Messages @ Provide lots of information to ＠ Persuade audiences ＠ Give evidence to use with others ＠ Give image of strong, worthy cause to non-supporters @ Suggest other ways audiences can help 11 -29

How Much to Ask For @ Link gift to what it will buy @ Offer a premium for giving @ Ask for a monthly pledge Always send a Thank You to every donor 11 -30

Logical Proof in Fund-Raising Messages Body must prove that— 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Problem deserves attention Problem can be alleviated or solved Your group is helping to solve problem Private funds are needed Your organization will use funds wisely 11 -31

Writing Style 1. Make text interesting ＠ Tight ＠ Conversational 2. Use psychological description: vivid word pictures Describe audience benefits ＠ Describe problem product solves ＠ 11 -32

Writing Style, continued… 3. Make message sound like a letter, not an ad One person talking to another ＠ Informal: short sentences and words, even slang ＠ Create a persona—character who writes the letter ＠ 11 -33

Technology and Persuasion @ Television is traditional method to reach wide audience @ Many organizations are now using social networking and websites @ Smart organizations are getting people outside the company to be sales force 11 -34