Persuasion in Written Communication
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Transcript Persuasion in Written Communication
Writing Winning Proposals:
Using Rhetorical Strategies
to Persuade Your Reader
by Lawrence J. Clark, Ph.D
What We’ll Discuss Today
Origin of rhetoric and Aristotle’s 3
“available means of persuasion”
Writing Proposals: Considering the
Rhetorical Situation
Reader-Centered Writing
Ethical and Unethical Uses of
Language
Part 1: Origin of rhetoric
A loooooong time ago . . .
When: 384-322 B.C.
Where: Ancient Greece
Who: Aristotle
The Marketplace
Aristotle
observed interactions between people
as they sold items, gave speeches, etc.
wondered why some people were more
successful than others in convincing
people to
buy their wares (action) or
support their political views (belief).
Taking Notes . . .
Aristotle
noted the different techniques that
people used to convince or persuade
others.
narrowed down all their techniques
down to three methods, which he
called the “available means of
persuasion.”
Ethos
Pathos
Logos
About the New Vocabulary . . .
Don’t worry too much about the
technical terms; focus on methods
that YOU can use as you write grant
proposals, fundraising letters,
newsletters, give presentations, etc.
SIDE NOTE: OTHERS use these
strategies in writing or in speech to
persuade, control, or manipulate
you.
Aristotle’s Means of Persuasion
Ethos: perceived character or
authority of the speaker
Pathos: appealing to emotions
Logos: appealing to logic or facts
Ethos
Using ethos is one way to persuade
the listener or reader. If the writer or
speaker is perceived by the listener to
be authoritative or of good
character, he or she will be believed.
Example: Michael
Jordan sells tennis
shoes; he says,
“Be like Mike and
buy my shoes.”
Kids look up to
him and believe
his shoes are
good, so they buy
them.
This makes Mike
very, very happy!
Good Ethos #2
Example of Poor Ethos
The “other” Michael
World-renowned superstar
Paid BIG MONEY for a 3-minute Pepsi
commercial in 1984
Would you buy
Pepsi from this man?
Pathos
Pathos is appealing
to the emotions of
the listener/reader.
Example: You are
reading a magazine
and come across an
advertisement for a
children’s relief
agency. You see a
picture of a starving
child, and the words,
“for the cost of a cup
of coffee a day you
can feed this child.”
This makes you feel guilty,
so before heading to
Starbuck’s for a $4.00
peppermint mocha latte,
you get out your
checkbook
and send a donation!
Other Pathos Examples
Other emotions that can be
played on include
happiness, love, security,
etc.
Love and Happiness
Sense of Well-Being
Safety and Security
Logos
Some people are persuaded neither
by the reputation or credentials of
the speaker/writer, nor by the appeal
to emotions.
These people need facts or logic in
order to be convinced.
Criminal Investigators
(Ma-am!)
Scientists and Engineers
90
80
70
60
Example: Instead of the
starving child and cup of
coffee argument
(pathos—emotional
appeal), use a chart or
graph with statistics
about the poverty level in
3rd world countries and
compare them to levels
in the U.S. (logos—
appeal to logic, use
of facts and figures).
50
USA
Europe
40
Indonesia
30
20
10
0
Income
level
Why is knowledge
of rhetoric important?
Whether you are reading a
newspaper or watching TV
or hearing a sales pitch,
knowing about the effective
use of ethos, pathos, and
logos can help you to avoid
falling prey to faulty or
deceptive arguments.
Also, when you are writing a
grant application or giving
a presentation, you can be
sure to choose the
appropriate method of
persuasion based on who
your audience is, and to be
sure your arguments rest
on solid ground.
Part 2: Writing a
Proposal:
Considering the
Rhetorical Situation
Proposals are about
Money and Power
Who does what?
For whom?
For how much?
For how long?
Interpretation
Use rhetorical strategies to
Ask the right questions
Impose mental structures on evolving,
uncertain, or chaotic situations
Assess and interpret the situation
Do research, separate the wheat from the
chaff (important vs. nonessential facts),
then create a plan to solve the problem or
manage the change
Impose order on the situation
Expression
Expression is the performance side of
rhetoric.
First interpret the situation, then
develop a rhetorical strategy to express
your ideas and persuade others.
Invent the content of the proposal
Describe the current situation
Set some goals
Promote the plan
The Rhetorical Situation
Subject
Purpose
Audience
Context
Objectives
Subject
What is the proposal about?
What is it not about? (scope)
What is “inside” the box?
What is “outside” the box?
Decide what will stay in the box, and what
you’ll need to put in the box (or leave out
of it) in order for your readers to make an
informed decision.
Subject
To determine subject, ask the three stasis
questions:
Is there a problem?
What exactly is the problem?
What type of problem is it?
Boundaries (scope)
What do my readers need to know?
What don’t they need to know?
Don’t frustrate the reader with non-relevant info!
Purpose
What outcome am I expecting?
What do I want to achieve?
Purpose
After reading your proposal, what do you
want the reader to:
Do?
Believe?
To make this more clear in your mind (and
eventually the reader’s mind) write out your
purpose in ONE sentence.
Write it on a a sticky note and stick it on your
computer screen!
Intended Audience
(Reader or Listener)
To whom will I address the proposal?
Who will actually read it?
Primary audience
Secondary audience
Audience
Analyze your intended/potential
audience/readers:
Primary readers
Person or people to whom the proposal is
addressed
Secondary readers
Committee members, accountants, attorneys,
etc.
Tertiary readers
Politicians, reporters, advocacy groups, hostile
attorneys, etc.
Gatekeepers
Your supervisor, CEO, company attorney
Audience
Analyze your intended audience
Generate ideas and use facts
effectively to persuade your audience
to accept your ideas
Use facts, logic, emotion, and
authority/credibility to persuade the
reader (logos, pathos, and ethos)
Use visual design to present your ideas
in a professional package
Context
In what situation will the proposal be
read?
How will the context shape the
reading/understanding/attitude
toward the proposal?
Objectives
What are some other goals, besides
the obvious purpose, that the
proposal should achieve?
Think about your readers’
Motives
Profit
Public perception
“the right thing”
Values
Attitudes
Emotions
Context
Physical Context
Economic Context
Ethical Context
Political Context
Objectives
What else would you like your
proposal to achieve?
Achieve long term goals
Change public’s perception of your
organization, an issue, or a cause
Affect greater community
Aid society in some way
Part 3:
Reader-Centered Writing
A means of delivering an easy to read
document that clearly states its
message
How to Create a Reader-Centered
Document
Avoid “I”
Focus on the reader’s needs, wants,
and desires, not yours
Choose Correct Words
Use the correct word in the right
place
Use words in their proper context
Understand the meaning of the word
Consider your readers and write to their
level
Don’t use fancy words to impress the reader
Getting the message across is more important than
showing off your high-falootin’ vocabulary
Example: most newspapers are written to a 5th
grade level
Use Plain English
Avoid:
Jargon
Industry-specific language
Technical terms
Slang
AGAIN:
Know your readers and write to their level of
understanding
Sentence Structure
Select words carefully
Write clearly and concisely
Avoid passive construction; use active
voice
NOT “the chocolate bar was eaten,”
But, “My wife ate the chocolate.”
This tells the reader not only
WHAT was done, but WHO did it.
Sentence Length
Reduce wordiness
Use 12 words instead of 20 to say the
same thing
Vary sentence length (long sentences
are sometimes necessary to explain
complex topics, but do your best to
limit their use)
List items in bullet points instead of
paragraphs
Avoid Errors—Proofread
Religiously!
Multiple errors make you or your
organization look unprofessional, or
worse, incompetent
Print a draft—errors can be missed on
screen
Ask someone else to look it over—two (or
three or four) heads are better than one!
Ask for feedback
Grammar, spelling, punctuation
Clarity
Does it send the right message?
Part 4: Ethics in Persuasive
Writing
Ethical considerations of persuasion
Logic fallacies
Cause and effect (post hoc ergo propter hoc)
Infers that because one thing follows another, it is a
result of the first
Drop in crime
Longer life expectancy
Personal attack (ad hominem)
Kill the messenger
You are a bad person, so your point is invalid
Logical Fallacies (cont.)
Bandwagon (ad populum)
Appeal to popularity
Everybody’s doing it, so you
should, too!
90% of dentists recommend
Crest
4 out of 5 would rather fight
than switch
Inference by association
Guilt by association
If a company makes one good (or bad)
product, all their products are good (or bad)
If some employees are bad or practice criminal
behavior (Enron) the entire company is bad
Other Persuasive Tactics
Plain Folks
I’m a regular Joe, so I wouldn’t lie to you
Jimmy Dean sausage
Old guy selling life insurance
Testimonials
Implies that the
person supports the
cause or uses the
product
Celebrity
endorsements
“Normal people”
giving testimonies
( I lost 50 pounds!)
Particularly effective for non-profit
fundraising
Transfer
Uses positive symbols to transfer meaning
to something else
American flag
Cross, Icthus (Christian fish symbol)
Unethical Language Use:
Language fallacies
Equivocation
Using one or both meanings of a word, then
deliberately confusing the two in the
audience’s mind
Jar of spaghetti sauce (4 oz. “FREE”)
Dan Rather will “resign” in March
Amphiboly
Using ambiguous sentence structure or grammar
to mislead
“New and Improved”
“Helps prevent heart disease”
Language Fallacies (cont.)
Emotive language
Using emotionally charged words to shift
response from the argument itself to the
images invoked by the words (similar to
transfer)
Freedom
Miracle
Powerful
Younger looking
Review
Remember Aristotle’s three means of
persuasion
Ethos
Pathos
Logos
Consider and analyze the rhetorical
situation in which you are writing your
proposal
Do your best to use language
persuasively, but ETHICALLY
Now go write
your
WINNING
PROPOSAL
and get the
money!