Chapter 16

Crafting Persuasive Messages

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright 2010 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Purposes
Primary
To have audience act or change beliefs

Secondary
To build good image of the communicator To build good image of communicators organization To cement a good relationship To overcome any objections To reduce or eliminate future messages
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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 organization and culture?

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Building Credibility
Be factualdont exaggerate Be specificif you say X is better, show in detail how it is better Be reliableif project will take longer or cost more than estimated, tell audience immediately

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Three Persuasive Patterns of Organization

Direct Request Problem-solving Sales

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Why Threats Dont Persuade

Dont produce permanent change May not produce desired action May make people abandon action Produce tension People dislike/avoid one who threatens Can provoke counter-aggression

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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

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Organizing Problem-Solving Messages

Catch audiences interest Define shared problem Explain solution to problem Show that advantages outweigh negatives 5. Summarize additional benefits 6. Ask for action you want 1. 2. 3. 4.
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Tone in Persuasive Messages

Be courteous Give solid reasons for requests Make requests clear Give enough information for audience to act

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Sales and Fund-Raising Purposes

Primary
To motivate audience to act (send donation, order a product)

Secondary
To build good image of communicators organization To strengthen commitment of audiences who act To make audiences who do not act more likely to act next time
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Organizing Sales/Fund-Raising Messages: Opener

Makes audience want to read entire message Types
Questions Narration, stories, anecdotes Startling statements Quotations

Sets up transition to letter body

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Organizing Sales/Fund-Raising Messages: Body

Answers audiences questions Overcomes audiences objections Involves audience emotionally Content usually includes
Information any audience can use Stories about history of product/organization Stories about people who use product Audience benefits

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Organizing Sales/Fund-Raising Messages: Action Close

Tells readers what to do Makes action sound easy Offers readers reason to act now Ends with positive picture

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Using a Postscript
Reason to act promptly Description of premium audience receives Reference to another part of package Restatement of central selling point

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Writing Style
1. Make text interesting 2. Use psychological description: vivid word pictures 3. Make message sound like a letter, not an ad

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