Persuasive Contexts
Introduction
Persuasion is the art of presenting arguments designed to move, motivate, or change your audience. In earlier course material, we unpacked Aristotle’s definition of rhetoric: “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion” (Rhetoric, Book 1, Ch 2).
So, in other words, rhetoric means finding yourself in a particular situation, communicating to a particular audience, and making purposeful choices about content, organization, and style in order to get things done.
To be clear, almost every business communication situation is rhetorical, and even the most mundane correspondence is an opportunity to persuade your audience of your professionalism, credibility, and trustworthiness.
But persuasive writing requires a bit more consideration for audience and purpose, and requires you to employ whatever techniques might work best within the communication context. Persuasion can be subtle or brash, implicit or explicit, and can be ethical or unethical. (Actually, that’s a bit of a reduction since every writer, reader, and situation are different and people have their own sense of what is, and what is not, ethical.) While we may touch on ethics, the situations presented within the context of this course don’t call for comprehensive considerations of ethical decisions because the situations are routine, drawing from typical scenarios a professional might face in her or her daily work. Instead, we will focus on presenting your audience with arguments in order to motivate them to adopt your view, consider your points, change their behavior, or take action.
Motivation vs. Persuasion
Motivation is distinct from persuasion in that it involves the force, stimulus, or influence to bring about change. Persuasion is the process, or the means by which motivation is a compelling stimulus that encourages your audience to change their beliefs or behavior, to adopt your position, to consider your arguments, and ultimately, to act.
Sales vs. Persuasive Messages
All sales messages are persuasive, but not all persuasive messages are intended to make sales.
- writing your professor to ask for an extension on a school project
- emailing your manager to ask for Saturday off
- writing a cover letter to accompany your resume in the hopes of getting a job interview
- writing a personal statement as part of your application to graduate school
Those are all writing situations that call for persuasion, but they aren’t sales messages — at least not in the traditional sense. You are selling, but not goods or services. Instead, your selling a proposition to your readers (an extension), making an argument for special consideration (Saturday off), establishing your academic credentials and readiness for graduate-level study, or arguing for your fitness as a potential employee.
Sales Messages
Sales messages present products, services, or causes that are sufficiently valuable or worthy enough to reward or otherwise benefit the reader for taking action, and they can be solicited or unsolicited. Solicited sales messages contain information requested by potential buyers, clients, or supporters — people who are already interested in or curious about goods, services, causes, or actions. Unsolicited sales messages are written to audience members who have not requested information about the product, service, cause, or action — people who are not known to be interested.
In solicited sales messages, it’s not necessary to gain the reader’s interest in the opening because the reader has already expressed interest. For unsolicited sales messages, however, the opening should aim to catch the readers attention and generate interest because they haven’t expressed interest and/or aren’t known to be interested.
Persuasive Messages
Persuasive messages don’t necessarily attempt to “sell” products, services, or causes. Instead, non-sales persuasive messages are those which make reasonable requests that typically do not present considerable, immediate, or external value or benefit to the reader.
Sales messages may offer either extrinsic or intrinsic benefits. Non-sales persuasive messages usually offer intrinsic benefits.
Extrinsic Benefits are typically “external” rewards (money, time, sex, food, praise, etc.). Extrinsic benefits are added on — they cost money or additional resources, and there is no inherent or natural link between compliance and reward.
Intrinsic Benefits are more “internal” rewards which draw on our personal interests and values (pleasure, pride, health, wisdom, etc.). Intrinsic rewards are automatic — they cost nothing and are a direct result of compliance.
General Goals of Persuasive Messages
- To have the reader act.
- To provide enough information so the reader knows exactly what to do.
- To overcome any objections that might prevent or delay action.
Organization for Persuasive [Sales & Marketing] Messages
| A | Grab the ATTENTION of the reader. Offer something valuable, promise a benefit, ask a question, provide a quotation, etc. At the very start, convince the reader you have something useful or interesting to say; be engaging. |
| I | Build INTEREST, in part, to ensure the reader continues to read your message. Emphasize a central selling point; explain the relevance of the message to the reader; make rational and/or emotional appeals; establish or reinforce credibility. |
| D | Elicit DESIRE. For sales messages that draw on extrinsic benefits, reduce resistance by providing evidence of claims. In persuasive messages that draw on intrinsic benefits, frame compliance as just, right, rational, or “the right thing to do.” |
| A | Motivate ACTION. Summarize or highlight benefit/s; include information to make it easy for reader to act. Depending on whether the message draws more on extrinsic or intrinsic benefits, consider setting a deadline, guarantee of satisfaction, expression of thanks, etc. |
Persuasive Appeals
People will comply with requests or allow you to persuade them based on:
- ETHOS: The author’s (your) character and relationship to the audience (they trust you)
- LOGOS: The argument’s logic and evidence proving the benefits clearly outweigh the costs
- PATHOS: The audience’s feeling that they want to do what you’ve asked
Persuasive messages must establish your credibility and authority (“ethos” in classical rhetoric), must suggest you are trustworthy and know what you’re talking about.
We trust people who:
- Are members of our own group or clan or tribe or community; people who are “like us”; therefore, build common ground or “connect” with the audience in your opening
- Are trusted by people we trust; we trust those who can be “vouched for” by people we trust
- Are members of common trustworthy or prestigious groups or organizations; we trust people that other people have endorsed as trustworthy (college degrees, certifications and awards, members of associations or groups, religious or civic affiliations, etc.)
- Can provide evidence their trustworthiness and ability through previous action/s
- Are as smart or smarter than us; we trust people who are educated and can demonstrate evidence of that education; we trust people who can spell and punctuate
- Have titles, positions, and/or backgrounds that inspire trust; communicate expertise and/or experience
Logos is the use of logic, rationality, and critical reasoning to persuade. Logos appeals to the mind. Logos seeks to persuade the reader intellectually. Appeals to Logos affect audiences by evoking a cognitive, rational response. Persuasive messages must be obviously logical (the audience must perceive and understand the logic), showing the audience how the idea makes sense.
To employ logical appeals:
- Outline your logic; lead the audience through the thought process that arrives at the solution (action, product, service, etc.)
- Show how the requested action will directly or indirectly benefit the audience; provide solution to problem; outline specific reader extrinsic and/or intrinsic reader benefits
- Provide evidence that your claims/ideas are “true” or valid, real or factual
- Definitions of terms
- Explanation of ideas
- Cause and effect
- Details that come from objective reporting
- Logical reasons and explanations
- Citations from experts & authorities
Pathos refers to emotion or “feelings”, or an appeal to the audience’s emotions. Be cautious drawing on emotion in business writing, and when you do, be gentle. Readers resent having their emotions manipulated, particularly in negative ways that make them feel sad, angry, guilty, etc. Aim to make the audience feel good about helping us to achieve our purpose rather than doing it out of anger, regret, guilt, or worry.
Emotional appeals may:
- Make the audience feel good about being persuaded
- Make the audience feel bad about maintaining their current situation
- Gently draw on audience’s values (what the audience values, phrased in their language)
- Show how following the action or idea will alleviate pain and/or create pleasure
- Motivate and move readers to act by appealing to happiness, pleasure, love, compassion, desire, fear, guilt, anger, etc.
- Include motivating details
- Use figurative language and/or visual imagery
- Employ emotional tone (humor, sarcasm, disappointment, excitement, etc.)
To be effective, persuasive strategies must be adapted to specific audiences.
To be effective, reader benefits must be adapted to specific audiences.
THINK RHETORICALLY.
PLAN ACCORDINGLY.