Chapter 8 Delivering Persuasive Messages1

Chapter 8

Delivering Persuasive Messages

Learning Objectives

  1. Develop effective outlines and appeals for messages that persuade.
  2. Write effective sales messages.
  3. Write effective persuasive requests (claim, favor, and information requests, and persuasion within
    an organization).

Chapter Overview

The persuasive principles presented in Chapter 8 have application in face-to-face business relationships, as well as in written activities. The ability to persuade is useful to a variety of life circumstances in which students will need to motivate action, such as selling a product, a service, or their abilities; gaining acceptance of an idea; or collecting money. Various types of persuasive writing situations are covered.

Chapter Outline

PERSUASION STRATEGIES 122

Plan Before You Write 123

Use the Inductive Approach 124

Apply Sound Writing Principles 124

SALES MESSAGES 126

Gain Attention 126

Generate Interest by Introducing the

Product, Service, or Idea 127

Create Desire by Providing Convincing

Evidence 128

Motivate Action 131

PERSUASIVE REQUESTS 132

Making a Claim 132

Asking a Favor 135

Requesting Information 137

Persuading within an Organization 137

Key Terms

AIDA 124

Central selling point 125

Persuasion 122

PowerPoint Slides

  • Lecture Slides — Students can review key chapter concepts on the Lecture Slides (found on the companion website (Student’s Resources)). Slides can be downloaded for convenient printing of handouts for taking class notes.

Slide Number and Title

  1. Chapter 8Delivering Persuasive Messages
  2. Learning Objectives
  3. Before Composing a Persuasive Message, Know . . .
  4. How To Know Your Product
  5. Knowing Your Receiver
  6. Inductive Outline Used for Persuasive Messages
  7. Types of Persuasive Messages
  8. Apply Sound Writing Principles
  9. Gaining Attention in Sales Messages
  10. Introducing the Product, Service, or Idea
  11. Presenting and Interpreting Factual Evidence
  12. Ways to Convince Customers
  13. Subordinating the Price
  14. Motivating Action
  • E-lectures — Slides with engaging narration of key concepts—useful as reinforcement of lectures and exam reviews—are available through the WebTutor product.
  • Resource Slides — A larger deck of slides for instructors for displaying in the classroom; these slides for class enrichment and solutions to activities and applications are also available at the companion website (Instructor’s Resources) and on the Instructor’s CD.

Slide Number and Title

  1. Chapter 8Delivering Persuasive Messages
  2. Learning Objectives
  3. Learning Objective 1 Apply techniques for developing effective sentences and unified and coherent paragraphs.
  4. Before Composing a Persuasive Message, Know . . .
  5. How To Know Your Product
  6. Knowing Your Receiver
  7. Inductive Outline Used for Persuasive Messages
  8. Types of Persuasive Messages
  9. Apply Sound Writing Principles
  10. Learning Objective 2 Write effective sales messages.
  11. Gaining Attention in Sales Messages
  12. Introducing the Product, Service, or Idea
  13. Perfecting the Opening Statement
  14. Presenting and Interpreting Factual Evidence
  15. Ways to Convince Customers
  16. Subordinating the Price
  17. Motivating Action
  18. Perfecting the Call to Action
  19. Promoting a Product: What Does Not Work
  20. Promoting a Product: What Does Not Work (cont.)
  21. Promoting a Product: Why It Works
  22. Promoting a Product: Why It Works (cont.)
  23. Promoting a Service: Why It Works
  24. Promoting a Service: Why It Works (cont.)
  25. Learning Objective 3Write effective persuasive requests (claim, favor, and information requests, and persuasion within an organization).
  26. Making a Claim: What Does Not Work
  27. Making a Claim: Why It Works
  28. Asking a Favor: What Does Not Work
  29. Asking a Favor: Why It Works
  30. Requesting Information Persuasively: Why It Works
  31. Requesting Information
    Persuasively: Why It Works (cont.)
  32. Making a Persuasive Request: Why It Works
  33. Making a Persuasive Request: Why It Works (cont.)

Teaching Suggestions

Learning Objective 1

Develop effective outlines and appeals for messages that persuade.

PERSUASION STRATEGIES
  • Begin the chapter discussion by pointing out evidence of selling ideas in society.

─Discuss how environmentalists “sold” their ideas to manufacturers, who passed along those ideas to the consumers by labeling their products biodegradable or “recyclable.”

─Initiate a discussion about other persuasive campaigns that have resulted in pervasive changes; e.g., eco-friendly practices; health consciousness; fitness and nutrition; drug and alcohol abuse; violence; adult literacy; and political and advertising messages.

  • Discuss persuasion examples from organizations such as the Habitat for Humanity showcase.
  • Encourage students to share examples based on their own experience.
Plan Before You Write
  • Show the visual as you lead a discussion about the steps in planning a persuasive message.

Resource slide 4: Before Composing a Persuasive Message, Know . . .

  • Lead a discussion of the importance of understanding the product/service/idea and the customer/client. Point out the lengths employees at Gateway go to understand who is buying their computers.
  • Remind students that knowing about their audience is still important, maybe even more important in persuasive messages than in other types of messages.
  • Discuss with students the movie What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. Gibson plays an advertising executive challenged with getting to know products in the female market because of a new account the firm is pursuing. Consider showing scenes from the movie in class, particularly the scene where he goes to great lengths to try these products and “get inside the female mind.” And he does get inside the female mind when he shocks himself and can then hear every woman’s innermost thoughts.
  • Show the visuals below and relate knowing your product and your receiver to the movie.

Resource slide 5: How To Know Your Product

Resource slide 6: Knowing Your Receiver

Use the Inductive Approach
  • Remind students about the format of the inductive organizational pattern. Ask: Why should we use the inductive approach with persuasive messages?
  • Show the visual as you discuss the specific inductive pattern for persuasive messages—the AIDA format.

Resource slide 7: Inductive Outline Used for Persuasive Messages

  • Remind students to include all for parts but also discuss how the length of each step can differ.
Apply Sound Writing Principles
  • Refer to the list of writing principles on p. 125 of the text and the visual. Impress students with the balance that must be achieved between including sufficient detail and keeping the interest of the receiver.

Resource slide 9: Apply Sound Writing Principles

  • Keep a file of persuasive letters of differing lengths. Make transparencies of them or pass them around for students to see. In addition to writing complete letters, students gain from extra practice on certain critical parts. For several problems, have students write attention-getters only, price-stating paragraphs only, or action endings only.

Learning Objective 2

Write effective sales messages.

SALES MESSAGES
  • Discuss the differences between unsolicited sales messages and solicited sales messages. Remind students that when someone requests information about a product or service, the message should contain more information than a message that was not requested.
  • Discuss ways that unsolicited sales messages can be used as something other than to fill the trash bin.
  • Assign Activity 1. Project selected messages and invite comments on the way in which the stylistic techniques discussed in Chapters 3 and 4 are applied in the messages. Ask students to identify the steps in the persuasive pattern.
  • Use the “Check Your Communication” checklist as a basis for discussion. Alternately, ask students to share their documents in small groups and discuss what differentiates the well-written documents from the poorly written ones.
  • Use the following visuals as you lead a discussion of the four major sections of a sales letter: gaining attention; introducing the product, service, or idea; providing convincing evidence; and motivating action.

Resource slide 11: Gaining Attention in Sales Messages

Resource slide 12: Introducing the Product, Service, or Idea

  • Discuss the need to include a central selling point to unify the message. Remind students that all the other parts of the message—the attention-getter, the factual evidence, and the call for action—should relate to the central selling point.
  • Discuss where the central selling point should be located, reminding students that it will be spelled out specifically at least once with references throughout the message.
  • Assign Activity 2 and Activity 4 that require students to analyze the effectiveness of opening statements and paragraphs in a persuasive message. Discuss the assignments in class.

Resource slide 13: Perfecting the Opening Statement

  • Discuss the visuals as you lead a discussion of techniques to subordinate price.

Resource slide 16: Subordinating the Price

  • Assign Activity 5 that requires students to analyze the effectiveness of the convincing evidence in a persuasive message. Discuss the assignment in class.

Resource slide 14: Presenting and Interpreting Factual Evidence

Resource slide 15: Ways to Convince Customers

  • Show this visual as you reinforce the principles of writing a strong call to action. Assign Activity 3 that requires students to select the best call to action. Discuss the assignment in class.

Resource slide 18: Perfecting the Call to Action

  • Show the visual and discuss with students the different types of persuasive messages. Remind them that the same principles for sales messages discussed above fit for other types of messages also.

Resource slide 8: Types of Persuasive Messages

  • Refer students to Figures 8-2 and 8-3 on pages 132-133 in the textbook. Show the visuals below and discuss the analysis points in class. Ask students to tell you what works and what does not work in each message and see how their ideas match the analysis.

Resource slide 19: Promoting a Product: What Does Not Work

Resource slide 20: Promoting a Product: What Does Not Work (cont.)

Resource slide 21: Promoting a Product: Why It Works

Resource slide 22: Promoting a Product: Why It Works (cont.)

Resource slide 23: Promoting a Service: Why It Works

Resource slide 24: Promoting a Service: Why It Works (cont.)

  • Assign Activity 6 to be completed in small groups. Allow students to critique the letter in small groups and report to the class and have them revise the letter for homework referring to the “Check Your Communication” checklist. Project the solution provided on the Resource slides as you review the weaknesses in the letter and its revision.
  • Assign one or more of the applications at the end of the chapter that require the writing of a sales message.

Learning Objective 3

Write effective persuasive requests (claim, favor, and information requests, and persuasion within an organization).

PERSUASIVE REQUESTS

  • Lecture booster: Introduce this section with current examples of the necessity for persuasion (inductive approach) to achieve a specific goal.

─Obama adviser and Chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Christina Romer, spoke on how health care reform could slow the growth rate of health care costs and would eventually lower the national deficit. Read the following article:

Heavy, S. (2009, October 26). UPDATE 2-Obama adviser: health reform to ease deficit. Available from

Ask students to discuss the persuasive points raised by this economic advisor in support of the efforts by President Barack Obama to pass a healthcare overhaul bill. What key points does the speaker use throughout the persuasive message? What evidence was used to counter arguments against the proposed healthcare reform? Is this evidence persuasive?

─Political candidates use persuasive communication to convince voters of their qualifications to promote a specific action on Election Day. Discuss with students a current election appropriate for your area or focus on a current national election. Consider asking students to watch a commercial for a political candidate or a news interview. Analyze the speaking style used, based on the idea of presenting evidence before asking for action.

─As another example, refer to the Steak and Ale example on page 138. Management used persuasive appeal to convince employees to support desired changes in service.

─Ask students to provide other current examples of the need for persuasion (e.g., political or legislative situations, controversial CEOs, and the ideas discussed in the chapter opener).

Making a Claim
  • Differentiate between a routine request and a claim for which persuasion is necessary.
  • Ask students why a company should welcome claims. (Refer to the text discussion of reasons and the discussion in Chapter 6).
  • Show the visuals below and refer to Figures 8–5 (poor example, page 135) and 8–6 (good example, page 136) as you lead a discussion of successful persuasive claims.

Resource slide 26: Making a Claim: What Does Not Work

Resource slide 27: Making a Claim: Why It Works

  • Assign Activity 7 to be completed in groups. Allow them to critique the letter and report to the class. Have them revise the letter for homework referring to the “Check Your Communication” checklist.
  • Assign Application 2 at the end of the chapter that requires writing a persuasive claim letter.
Persuasive Request
  • Show the visuals below and refer to Figures 8–7 (poor example, page 136) and 8–8 (good example, page 137) as you lead a discussion of successful persuasive requests.

Resource slide 28: Asking a Favor: What Does Not Work

Resource slide 29: Asking a Favor: Why It Works

  • Assign Activity 8 to be completed in small groups. Allow students to critique the letter in small groups and report to the class and have them revise the letter for homework referring to the “Check Your Communication” checklist. Project the solution provided on Resource slides as you review the weaknesses in the letter and its revision.
Requesting Information
  • Show the visuals below as you lead a discussion of successful persuasive requests for information.

Resource slide 30: Requesting Information Persuasively: Why It Works

Resource slide 31: Requesting Information

Persuading Within an Organization
  • Lead the class in a discussion of other examples of persuasion needed within specific organizations. Give an example of an internal proposal at your college or university.
  • Show the visuals below and refer to the persuasive email illustrated in Figure 8-9 on page 139 in the textbook.

Resource slide 32: Making a Persuasive Request: Why It Works

Resource slide 33: Making a Persuasive Request: Why It Works (cont.)

Summary

  • Assign selected activities and applications at the end of the chapter. Remind students to study the suggestions in the “Check Your Communication” checklist when planning and revising an assignment.
  • Assign the interactive quizzes for Chapter 8 that appear on the text companion website. Assure students that completing this assignment will be an excellent review for an objective test on the material and for completing future writing assignments successfully.

Chapter Review

1.List the writing principles that are important in writing an effective persuasive message. (Obj. 1) Effective writing principles include (a) using concrete nouns and active verbs; (b) using specific language; (c) letting receivers have the spotlight; (d) being certain the persuasive message presents the facts honestly, truthfully, and objectively; (e) stressing a central selling point or appeal; and (f) using an inductive outline.

2.What are the legal and ethical implications of persuasive messages? (Obj. 1)

Ethically, the writer should guard against becoming overzealous and painting less-than-accurate perceptions in the minds of receivers. Legal guidelines related to advertising provide clear guidance for avoiding the misrepresentation of products or services. Exaggerating or misleading in a document sent by the U.S. Postal Service may constitute the federal offense of mail fraud. Penalties can include significant fines and imprisonment.

3.Define “central selling feature.” Where should it appear in a persuasive message? (Obj. 1)

A “central selling feature” is the one idea that is stressed throughout the message. It is to the message what a theme is to a report. Good possibilities for a central selling point are a major advantage the product has over its competition or a major benefit a buyer would receive from owning it.

4.What are the characteristics of a good attention-getter? List five techniques for getting receivers’ attention. (Objs. 1, 2)

A good attention-getter (a) is related to the product/service/idea and its virtues, (b) introduces a central selling feature, (c) addresses the receiver’s needs, (d) sounds interesting, and (e) is original. Some ways to get attention include a (a) personal experience, (b) solution to a problem, (c) startling announcement, (d) what-if opening, (e) question, (f) story, (g) proverb or quote from a famous person, and (h) split sentence.

5.Why are sales letters normally longer than routine messages? What guidelines apply as to the recommended lengths for paragraphs? (Obj. 2)

Sales letters are typically longer than routine messages because specific, convincing language is necessary. This type of writing is space consuming. The first and last paragraphs are typically shorter than those in the middle of the message.

6.What types of words and phrases are effective in persuasive messages? (Objs. 1–3)

Superlatives are acceptable in persuasive messages if they are accompanied with supporting evidence. Unsupported or unsupportable superlatives are likely to do more harm than good.

7.In addition to the general guidelines for sales messages, what specific guidelines apply to sales-oriented email messages? (Objs. 1, 2)

Sales-oriented email messages should (1) be sent only when solicited (permission based), (2) provide links that take consumers directly to a purchasing website, (3) provide attractive graphics for readability but also provide a text email version, and (4) specify where the action asked for should occur, whether via email, Web, or postal mail.

8.How should price be handled in a sales message? (Obj. 2)

Effective techniques for presenting the price include the following: (a) introduce price after presenting the product, service, or idea and its virtues; (b) keep price out of the first and last paragraphs, unless price is the distinctive feature; (c) use figures to illustrate how enough money can be saved to pay for the expenditure; (d) state price in terms of small units; (e) invite comparison of like products, services, or ideas; and (f) use facts and figures to illustrate that the price is reasonable.