Engagement - Persuasive Messages

Persuasive writing motivates the reader to support an idea or take action. It takes skill to write a persuasive document. You need to overcome readers' resistance to change and make it clear how your idea could benefit them.

ersuasive writing motivates the reader to support an idea or take action. It takes skill to write a persuasive document. You need to overcome readers' resistance to change and make it clear how your idea could benefit them.

But you focus on being persuasive particularly when writing documents like a product brochure or sales pitch, a motivational memo, or a letter of recommendation.

To make persuasive writing effective, you should ensure you attract attention, stimulate interest, and maintain focus. You must also create a desire and prompt a response from the reader.

The following are characteristics of persuasive writing:

ATTRACT ATTENTION

An engaged reader is more likely to be persuaded. To attract attention, you should begin with a lead-in that's interesting and relevant to the reader. Once you've hooked the reader, you can introduce your idea.
The text states, "It is expected that more than 186,000 brain tumors will be diagnosed in the United States within the next year."

SIMULATE INTEREST

Self-interest usually plays an important role in persuasion. Personal advantages often convince a reader to agree with your message. Describe the pertinent points of your idea, but also explain how they will benefit the reader.
The text states, "The development of effective treatments for brain tumors depends on strong basic and clinical research programs. With your donation, funding for these research programs will improve significantly."

MAINTAIN FOCUS

To maintain focus, you should spotlight one key benefit and develop it more fully than the others. Focus on the benefit that's most important or motivating to the reader. This benefit may be specific to an individual reader or broad enough to appeal to diverse readers.
The text states, "Brain tumor patients have an urgent need for effective treatments that will improve their quality of life. Your contribution will support medical research to find ways to better manage patients' symptoms and to alleviate suffering."

CREATE DESIRE

Once the benefits are clear to your readers, you can create desire. You must convince your readers that they will feel satisfaction if they achieve these benefits. The benefits should either provide something desirable to the readers or help them to avoid something undesirable.
The text states, "By making a donation toward tumor research, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing a life was saved through your generosity."

PROMPT RESPONSE

The final step is to prompt readers for a response. Once they agree with your message, they must know what steps to take to show their agreement. You can make it easier for readers to act by taking responsibility yourself for any necessary action steps.
The text states, "To make a contribution to this worthwhile charity, simply call our office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at (555) 877-1111. Our staff will make the contribution process as easy as possible."

PERSUASIVE WRITING CHARACTERISTICS

The purpose of persuasive writing is to motivate the reader to support an idea or take action. To make persuasive writing effective, you should ensure it attracts attention, stimulates interest, and maintains focus. It must also create a desire and prompt a response from the reader.

Dear Homeowner,
[ATTRACT ATTENTION]

Three and a half million homes in the United States will be burglarized this year. Don't let yours be one of them.
[STIMULATE INTEREST]

When you have a SafeGuard Home Alarm System, there's no need to worry. SafeGuard protects your home from unwanted intruders so you can relax, knowing your home is safe.
[MAINTAIN FOCUS]

The SafeGuard Home Alarm system can detect unusual sound in any room. SafeGuard's scanner ignores everyday sounds like crying babies, televisions, or barking dogs. However, hostile noises, such as crashes or breaking glass, will trigger the alarm. Its 110-decibel siren is enough to deter any burglar while alerting your neighborhood to danger.
[CREATE A DESIRE]

A direct phone line connection to your local police station allows SafeGuard to contact the authorities instantly when alerted. Built-in batteries that recharge automatically keep SafeGuard active even during power failures. You can contact our technical support 24 hours a day by calling our toll-free hotline.
[PROMPT A RESPONSE]

Our Customer Service Department is waiting to take your SafeGuard Alarm system order at 555-227-SAFE, or log on to our user-friendly web site and place your order online. Enjoy peace of mind knowing your home is secure - order SafeGuard today.

Sincerely,

(Name and title of salesperson)

QUESTION 1

Which are examples of persuasive writing?

Example 1

Dear Staff,

The team-building activities planned for this weekend promise to be a huge amount of fun.

As the team lead, I strongly urge you to participate. This will give you an opportunity to get to know your team members and to build some team spirit, which will help us all manage the challenges ahead.

Please give your name to Melanie if you'll be attending.

Regards,

Amrit
Advertising team lead

Example 2

Hi Peter,

Research has shown that allowing employees to work flexible hours significantly increases employee satisfaction and productivity.

I'd like to propose we introduce this option for high-performing employees in our company. As well as increasing my unit's productivity, this is likely to reduce the high staff turnover rates we've been seeing.

I'm available every morning this week if you wish to speak to me about this.

Regards,

Todd

Example 3

Hi Christopher,

After their meeting yesterday afternoon, external stakeholders have requested that whenever you make an update, you log the change in the techlog.doc file on our network. You'll find this file in the Updates folder.

Thanks,

Debora

Example 4

Dear Mr. Miller,

We'd like to inform you that your application was successful. Your skills and experience match the requirements of the position perfectly and we look forward to bringing you on board.

Please let us know in writing if you wish to accept the attached offer.

Regards,

Erika Williams
HR manager

The first is an example of persuasive writing because its purpose is to motivate employees to attend a particular event.

The second is an example of persuasive writing because it uses motivational language and focuses on convincing the recipient to support a particular idea.

The third is an example of informative writing because it focuses solely on providing information.

The fourth is an example of responsive writing because it is a reply to a job application.

In business writing, it's vitally important to choose the right message type for your purpose, and then to write appropriately based on that purpose.

This will ensure you communicate as effectively as possible with your intended audience and prompt the desired responses.

Depending on its purpose, business writing may be informative, responsive, or persuasive. You need to determine your purpose, and then decide which is the best message type for that purpose.

QUESTION 2

A technical support manager must explain to staff that any hardware repairs or software installations must be recorded in a log file located on the network.

What type of message is required?

The manager's purpose in this case is to inform staff of a new requirement.

The manager doesn't need to respond to previous communication, but to transfer specific information to staff.

The manager's purpose isn't to persuade staff to support an idea or take action. Instead, it's purely to inform staff of a new requirement.

QUESTION 2

Which example is the best message for this situation?

Example 1

Hi everyone,

Hardware repairs and software installations are logged so we can keep track of all support tasks. Do you know how to do this?

Let me know,

Tracy

Example 2

Hi everyone,

Keeping clear records of tasks we perform makes it easier for others who have to troubleshoot network problems or track customers' queries.

If we all participate in doing this, it will result in fewer misunderstandings and a lot less duplication of effort.

As the process that's now officially recommended, we can log details of each hardware repair or software installation in a log file on the network. To use the file, you can simply enter the date, a description, and your name. The file is in the Admin folder.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,

Tracy

Example 3

Hi everyone,

From now on, please log all hardware repairs or software installations you perform in the IT_admin.doc log file located in the Admin folder on our network.

For each entry, include

1. the date
2. a brief description of the completed task
3. your full name
4. if relevant, details of any problems encountered

Thanks,

Tracy

The first message doesn't tell the readers what details must be logged or how. So it doesn't communicate the required information.

The second example is written using an approach more suitable for persuasive writing. Instead of attempting to motivate employees to comply with a new process, it should focus on communicating the required steps.

The third message is to the point, clearly organized, and effective in communicating the required information.

I have been teaching and training agents, team leaders, supervisors, managers and admins of call centers and other businesses in BPO related fields. This series, comes as a result of that experience. I have more than 4,000 modules that I plan on sharing here. This is # 004-07

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