CHAPTER 10

Persuasive
Messages

Multimedia Instructor Version

© 2010 Thomson South-Western
 What is persuasion?
 Ability to use argument and discussion
to influence individual’s beliefs and
actions.
 Does persuasion involve coercion or
trickery?

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 2

 Effective Persuasion
Techniques
 Establish creditability
 Make a precise and reasonable request
 Tie facts to benefits
 Recognize the power of loss
 Expect and overcome resistance

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 3

 The Importance of Tone
 Avoid sounding parental
 Don’t pull rank
 Avoid making threats
 Soften your words when persuading
upward
 Be enthusiastic, positive, and likeable

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 4

 Writing Plan for a
Persuasive Request

Opening Body Closing

Capture the reader’s attention.

Describe a problem, state something
unexpected, suggest reader benefits,
offer praise or compliments, etc.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 5

 Writing Plan for a
Persuasive Request
Capture the reader’s
Opening
attention.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 6

 Writing Plan for a
Persuasive Request
Capture the reader’s
Opening
attention.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 7

 Writing Plan for a
Persuasive Request

Opening Body Closing

Build interest. Reduce resistance.

 Explain logically and  Anticipate objections.
concisely the purpose  Offer counterarguments.
of the request.  Establish credibility.
 Prove its merit.  Demonstrate competence.
 Use facts, statistics,  Show the value of your
and expert opinion. proposal.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 8
 Writing Plan for a
Persuasive Request
Build interest.
Body
Reduce resistance.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 9

 Writing Plan for a
Persuasive Request
Build interest.
Body
Reduce resistance.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 10

 Writing Plan for a
Persuasive Request

Opening Body Closing

Motivate action.
 Ask for a particular action.
 Make it easy to respond.
 Show courtesy, respect, and
gratitude.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 11

 Writing Plan for a
Persuasive Request

Closing Motivate action.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 12

 Writing Plan for a
Persuasive Request

Closing Motivate action.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 13

 Requesting Favors and Actions
When is persuasion necessary?
Requests for time, money, information,
special privileges, and cooperation
require persuasion.

© ISTOCKPHOTO.COM / ZSOLT NYULASZI

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 14

 Requesting Favors and Actions

Why are requests granted?

 Requests may be granted because the
receivers
• are genuinely interested in your project.
• see benefits for others.
• expect goodwill potential for themselves.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 15

 Persuasive Favor Request
Before Revision

Open letter
by clicking
icon at right.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 16

 Persuasive Favor Request
After Revision

Open revised
letter by clicking
icon at right.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 17

Persuading Within Organizations

Persuading subordinates
 Instructions or directives moving downward
usually require little persuasion. However,
persuasion may be necessary to
• generate “buy-in”
• ask workers to perform outside their work
roles
• accept changes not in their best interests.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 18

Persuading Within Organizations

Persuading the boss

 In requests moving upward
• provide evidence.
• don’t ask for too much.
• use words such as “suggest” and
“recommend.”
 Sentences should sound nonthreatening,
for example, “It might be a good idea if....”

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 19

 Persuasive Memo
Before Revision

Open memo
by clicking
icon at right.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 20

 Persuasive Memo
After Revision

Open revised
memo by clicking
icon at right.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 21

 Good and Bad Openings for
Persuasive Requests
Which of the following openings are effective?
1. To the vice president: As an employee who can
never find a parking place, I want you to know that
we must change the method of assigning spaces.
2. To all employees: Because of our concern for the
health and wellbeing of employees, we are
considering a wellness program with considerable
incentives to those who participate.
3. About 15 months ago your smooth-talking
salesperson seduced us into buying your Model RX
copier, which has been nothing but trouble ever
since.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 22
 Good and Bad Openings for
Persuasive Requests
Which of the following openings are effective?

4. We need a speaker for our graduation ceremony,

and your name was suggested.
5. We realize that you are an extremely busy
individual and that you must be booked up months
in advance, but would it be possible for you to
speak at our graduation ceremony June 7?
6. You were voted by our students as the speaker
they would most like to hear at graduation on
June 7.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 23

 Ineffective Favor Request

Open letter
by clicking
icon at left

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 24

 Improved Favor Request

Open revised
letter by clicking
icon at left.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 25

 Making Claims and Requesting
Adjustments (Complaint Letters)
 Avoid sounding angry, emotional, or
irrational.
 Begin with a compliment, point of
agreement, statement of the problem, or a
brief review of action you have taken to
resolve the problem.
 Provide identifying data.
 Explain why the receiver is responsible.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 26

 Making Claims and Requesting
Adjustments (Complaint Letters)
 Enclose document copies supporting your
claim.
 Appeal to the receiver's fairness, ethical and
legal responsibilities, and desire for customer
satisfaction.
 Describe your feelings and your
disappointment.
 Close by telling exactly what you want done.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 27

 Examine This Effective
Claim Request (Complaint Letter)

Open letter
by clicking
icon at right.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 28

 Ineffective Complaint Letter

Open letter
by clicking
icon at left

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 29

 Improved Complaint Letter

Open revised
letter by clicking
icon at left.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 30

 AIDA Writing Plan for
a Sales Letter

Opening Body Closing

Capture the ATTENTION of the reader.

Offer something valuable, promise a
benefit, ask a question, provide a
quotation, and so forth.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 31

 Gaining Attention
1. Offer
Take your old cell phones to one of our
collection centers, and we'll recycle it
and donate a portion of the proceeds to
charity.
2. Benefit
You'll help our environment and help
your neighbors in the process.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 32

 Gaining Attention

3. Question
Microsoft has evolved. Have you?
4. Quotation or proverb
Opportunity seldom knocks twice.
5. Related fact
A virus is a computer program written to
perform malicious tasks.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 33

 Gaining Attention

6. Testimonial
"I never stopped eating, yet I lost 107
pounds."—Tina Rivers, Greenwood,
South Carolina

7. Startling Statement
Drunk drivers injure or cripple more than
500,000 victims every year.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 34

 AIDA Writing Plan for
a Sales Letter

Opening Body Closing

Build INTEREST.
Emphasize a central selling point.
Make rational and emotional appeals.
To learn more, click icon:

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 35

 AIDA Writing Plan for
a Sales Letter

Opening Body Closing

Elicit DESIRE.
To reduce resistance, use testimonials,
money-back guarantees, free samples,
performance tests, or other techniques.
To learn more, click icon:

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 36

 AIDA Writing Plan for
a Sales Letter

Opening Body Closing

Motivate ACTION.
Offer a gift, promise an incentive, limit
the offer, set a deadline, or guarantee
satisfaction. Include a P.S. with a
special inducement.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 37
 Examine This Effective
Sales Letter

Open letter
by clicking
icon at right.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 38

 Writing Successful
Online Sales Messages

 Communicate only  Make the message

with those who have short, conversational,
given permission! and focused.
 Craft a catchy  Convey urgency.
subject line.  Sprinkle testimonials
 Keep the main throughout the copy.
information "above  Provide a means for
the fold." opting out.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 39

 Tips – Effective sentences
 Complete sentences have subjects, verbs and
make sense.
 Short sentences are preferred.
 Emphasizing important ideas
A student uses a writing process Brandon uses Guffey’s 3-x-3 Writing
Process

Explore the possibility of leasing a site, Explore the possibility of leasing a site;
but also hire a consultant. but, most important, hire a consultant

All faculty and staff members at IU will On April 30th, all staff and faculty
meet on April 30th, at which time we will members will meet to learn about the
inform a new strategy of IU. new strategy

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 40

 Tips - Effective Sentences
The business report was written
by Mike
The report was completed before
April 30th
Mike wrote the business report
Robert completed his report
before April 30th

To win the lottery, the ticket must To win the lottery, you must
be purchased. purchase the ticket

Driving through Ba Ria, the ocean As we drove through Ba Ria, the

suddenly came into view. ocean suddenly came into our
view.

Dr. Phong interviewed only In the morning, Dr. Phong only

candidates who had great English interviewed only candidates who
speaking skills in the morning had excellent English speaking
skills

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 41

 Tips
 Express your ideas in complete sentences
• Because 90 percent of all business transactions involve written
messages. Good writing skills are critical
• Improved: Because 90 percent of all business transactions involve
written messages, good writing skills are critical

 Use tenses correctly

• How to express hypothetical ideas?  Please use ‘future in past’ tense
(ex: Will have, would have, was going to…)

 Use nominative case pronouns as subjects of verbs and as

compliments
• She and I (not her and me, not I and she) are looking for jobs

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 42

 Tips
 Make sure that pronouns such as “it, which, this, and that” refer to
CLEAR antecedents  do not make the readers confused.
• Our office recycles as much as paper as possible as it helps the
environment (Does “it” refer to paper, recycling, or office?)
• Improved: Our office recycles as much as possible. Such effort helps
the environment.

 Use a semi-colon (;) to join closely related independent clauses

• An wanted a luxury house; however, she could not afford the rent.
• He was rude; therefore, I kick him out of my room.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 43

 Tips
 Use a colon “:” after business letter salutations and to introduce long quotations.
Examples:
• Dear Mr. Bean:
• To Whom It May Concern:
• Mr. A said: “_____________”

 Capitalize the initial letter of principle words

• Do not capitalize articles (a, an, the) and prepositions (in, to, by, for) unless they begin
or end the title

 Use word form to express numbers ten and under and numbers beginning the
sentence
• You have six missed calls

 Use the word “percent”, instead of “%”

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 8, Slide 44

 END

Multimedia Instructor Version

© 2010 Thomson South-Western