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Lecture 40
Lecture 40
Lecture 40
2.
Unlike routine positive messages, persuasive messages aim to influence audiences who are inclined to resist. Therefore, persuasive messages are generally longer, are usually more detailed, and often depend heavily on strategic planning.
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Persuasive messages require that you pay particular attention to several planning tasks. E.g. because your purpose is to persuade, making sure of your purpose is perhaps the most important planning task. When analyzing your audience for a persuasive message, you may want to delve more deeply than you would for other messages. Your credibility takes on extra importance in a persuasive message. So whenever you are trying to persuade someone, you must make sure your ethics are above reproach. Analyze your purpose Writing an external persuasive message is one of the most difficult tasks you could undertake. For one thing, your purpose is to persuade people to do something different or to try something new. But people are busy, so they are reluctant to act, especially if it takes time and offers no guarantee of any reward in return. Given the complexity and sensitivity of persuasive messages, you must be absolutely sure that your purpose is clear, necessary, and appropriate for written media. Analyze your audience Process of audience analysis is much more involved for persuasive messages. To write an effective persuasive argument, you need to search for common ground, points of agreement on which to build. That means you must shape your argument so that others believe your proposal will satisfy their concerns and bring them rewards. Gauging audience needs. Consider these important questions: Who is my audience? What are their needs? What do I want to do? How might they resist? Are there alternative positions I need to examine? What does the decision maker consider the most important issue? How might the organizations culture influence my strategy? To assess individual needs, you can refer to specific information such as demographics (the age, gender, occupation, income etc.) and psychographics (personality, attitude, lifestyle, and other psychological characteristics of an individual). Both types of information are influenced by culture. When analyzing your audience take into account their cultural expectations and practices so that you dont undermine your persuasive message by using an inappropriate appeal by organizing your message in a way that seems unfamiliar or uncomfortable to your audience. Considering cultural differences. Your understanding and respect for cultural differences will help you satisfy the needs of your audience and will help your audience respect you. Thats because persuasion is different in different cultures. In France, using an aggressive, hard sell techniques is no way to win respect. In Germany, people tend to focus on technical details, verify any figures you use for support, and make sure they are exact. In Sweden, people focus on theoretical questions and strategic implications. In the US people are concerned with more practical matters. As with individuals, an organizations culture or subculture heavily influences the effectiveness of messages. Establish your credibility To persuade a skeptical or hostile audience, you must convince people that you know what you are talking about and that you are not trying to mislead them. Your credibility is your capability of being believed because you are reliable and worthy of confidence. Some of the ways to gain credibility are:
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