In our everyday business communications, we often find ourselves needing to emphasise the importance of our words. This could be a proposal about a new protocol, a presentation about workplace safety measures, or even requesting a promotion. In order to strengthen the things we want to say, we need to communicate information in a way that influences our target audience's opinions and behaviours. A surprising amount of business communication comes down to these persuasive writing skills.
What Can Persuasive Writing Be Used For?
A common use of persuasive writing is for marketing. How many advertisement slogans can you think of off the top of your head? Famous examples of catchy slogans like Nike's "Just do it" or McDonalds' "I'm lovin' it" not only stay in our heads, but also create an association with these products.
Persuasive writing can be used to achieve the same effect when communicating with our coworkers and clients. Understanding persuasive writing techniques can help us to get our points across effectively.
Here are five writing techniques that can improve your business communications and help push recipients to action.
1: Grab Your Reader’s Attention
The first line is critical. Your very first sentence needs to create an impression and interest your audience in the information ahead. In writing, we want our introductions to be strong and punchy, to instantly pull readers over to our side.
There are a few common ways to get a reader's attention. One method is starting with a question. Even if the question is simple, it gets the reader thinking about the topic at hand. For example, let's say we're making a presentation about utilising AI in the workplace. A basic question like, "What do you know about AI?" might get people thinking. However, a more interesting question would be, "If you could get AI to do one part of your job, what would it be?" This gets listeners to consider the practical, real-world uses of AI, and creates audience buy-in.
Another great way of hooking a reader's attention is to start with a statistic or fact. Imagine you're writing a staff-wide email about your company's new social media policy. Beginning the email with a relevant statistic, such as "77% of employees use social media at work", draws readers in and helps them to focus on the topic at hand.
Through these introductory hooks, you can immediately get your reader engaged with the article, and set the stage for them to be persuaded.
2: Write With Persuasive Structures
Most people have had some level of experience in writing a persuasive essay in school. The same persuasive structures can be used to make compelling arguments in business communications. By using writing structures with proven efficiency, you can strengthen your messaging. One example of a useful persuasive structure is as follows:
1. Introduction
As mentioned before, we should start with a strong hook to grab our readers' attention. Our introduction should include a thesis statement, which is a sentence that directly states your point of view on the main topic. This provides the main purpose of your message, and should be clear and succinct.
2. Main idea with supporting evidence
Once we've introduced our topic, we need to tell our readers why our main point is valid. This is where we bring up any facts and research that support our idea. The more supporting evidence we have, the better. This section should make up the majority of our persuasive message.
3. Summary of opposing arguments and our response
A good persuasive argument makes sure its balanced by addressing opposing ideas. By respectfully acknowledging opposing arguments, we assure our readers that we've thought through various possibilities. In this section, we also need to rebut these opposing ideas. Using a measured, objective tone, we should bring up sound arguments and credible evidence as to why these opposing ideas are not ideal.
4. Conclusion
Finally, we want to end our message on a high note so that we leave our readers with a strong impression. In the conclusion, we should emphasise the positive arguments for the point at hand and include a clear call to action.
3: Utilise Proven Psychological Triggers
An essential component of persuasive writing is tapping into our readers' psychology. We need to put ourselves into the shoes of our audience in order to sway their opinions. Psychological triggers are commonly used to achieve this in marketing and copywriting. These triggers are effective for creating compelling messages that resonate with readers, and can move our audience to action by appealing to their core needs and desires.
An example of a psychological trigger is social proof. People are more likely to do something if they know others are doing it too. Before buying a product, many of us read product reviews. We depend on ratings, reviews, and testimonials to make decisions. This can be implemented into writing by using referrals, case studies, and testimonials to vouch for your subject matter.
Authority is another psychological trigger that works well in persuasive writing. When we perceive someone as being an authority on a subject, it gives them more credibility. We listen to experts because they know what they're talking about, so it is important for us to highlight any credentials, qualifications, or endorsements from experts when trying to persuade readers.
4: Include Power Impact Words
Power Impact Words are words that trigger certain emotional responses and compel readers to take action. These include strong verbs, creative adjectives, and specific nouns. Marketing experts refer to power words as a cheat code for persuasion.
Let's say we are crafting an email to bild trust with clients. Some appropriate power words would be "proven", "guaranteed", "reliable", and "genuine". On the other hand, if we wanted to convince readers of the ease and convenience with which something can be done, we might go with power words like "effortless", "painless", or "accessible". Different power words work in different situations. They should be used strategically based on the context.
5: Make Relationship-Forming Statements
Trust is a crucial component of getting anyone on your side, and in persuasive writing, we use relationship-forming statements to build rapport with our audiences and gain their trust. One way we can do this is through personalisation. This involves tailoring our message specifically for the target audience. We have to make sure our statements appeal to the audience's personal tastes as far as possible. When readers feel like a message is speaking directly to them, as opposed to just a general group of people, they are more likely to be won over.
In the same vein, inclusive language is relationship-forming because of how it makes readers feel. This may mean using words like "we", "us", and "our". Using inclusive language is a strategy that indicates to our audience that we share similar values as them. People are more likely to agree with us if they see us as a team they can be a part of.
Learn to Write Persuasively With Aventis
There are numerous ways to enhance business communication and drive your readers to take action. By mastering these techniques, you'll be able to achieve greater results and influence your business environment. At Aventis Learning Group's course on The Art of Persuasion in Writing, we cover vital tips for business writing and help you get your ideas across fluently and influentially. Click here to find out more.
