8 Delivering Persuasive Messages
IN THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL FIND:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
KEY CONCEPTS
KEY TERMS
CHAPTER OUTLINE
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
REVIEW QUESTIONS & SUGGESTED ANSWERS
FEATURED ASSIGNMENTS
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS
CASE ASSIGNMENT
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1 Develop effective outlines and appeals for messages that persuade.
2 Write effective sales messages.
3 Write effective persuasive requests (making a claim or asking for a favor or information) and
persuasion within an organization.
KEY CONCEPTS
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 own abilities; gaining acceptance of an idea; or collecting money. Various types of
persuasive writing situations are covered.
KEY TERMS
TERM
PAGE
AIDA
132
Central selling point
132
Persuasion
131
CHAPTER OUTLINE
8-1 Persuasion Strategies 131
8-1a Plan Before You Write 131
8-1c Apply Sound Writing Principles 132
8-2 Sales Messages 133
8-2a Gain Attention 134
8-2c Use an Original Approach 135
8-2e Create Desire by Providing Convincing Evidence 136
8-3 Persuasive Requests 140
8-3b Asking a Favor 143
8-3d Persuading Within an Organization 144
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.”
• Discuss persuasion examples from real companies.
• Encourage students to share examples based on their own experience.
Plan Before You Write
Apply Sound Writing Principles
• Review elements of sound writing. Impress students with the balance that must be achieved
between including sufficient detail and keeping the interest of the receiver.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 2
Write effective sales messages.
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?”
• Discuss the specific inductive pattern for persuasive messages—the AIDA format. Remind
students to include all four parts and also discuss how the length of each step can differ.
Gain Attention
• 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.
Gain Interest by Introducing the Product, Service, or Idea
• Discuss the four major sections of a sales letter: gaining attention; introducing the product,
service, or idea; providing convincing evidence; and motivating action.
Create Desire by Providing Convincing Evidence
• Discuss the importance of satisfying the receiver’s needs and presenting factual and ethical
information. Ask students, “What are some ways you can substantiate the claims you make in
your message?”
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 3
Write effective persuasive requests (making a claim or asking for a favor or information) and
persuasion within an organization.
Persuasive Requests
• Introduce this section with current examples of the necessity for persuasion (inductive
approach) to achieve a specific goal.
✓ For example, political candidates use persuasive communication to convince voters
of their qualifications. 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.
Making a Claim
• Differentiate between a routine request and a claim for which persuasion is necessary.
• Ask students why a company should welcome claims.
• Discuss elements of successful persuasive claims.
Asking a Favor
Requesting Information
• Discuss elements of successful persuasive requests for 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.
Sales Messages
• Show students a product or present an idea and ask them to write a sales message in class.
This exercise is especially valuable because students have no printed words before them (as
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Critique of Sales Letters and Persuasive Requests Produced by Real Companies: Select an
unsolicited sales message you (or a friend) have received. List (a) the principles it applies
and (b) the principles it violates. Rewrite the message retaining its strengths and correcting
its weaknesses.
2. Effective Opening Paragraphs: Analyze the effectiveness of each sentence as the opening for
a persuasive message.
a. Instead of worrying about the starving in Africa, donate to the United Way and help the
needy in your own neighborhood.
b. John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do
for your country.” Support American capitalism by hiring Ivey Consultants to make your
business better.
c. You haven’t lived until you’ve owned a Nintendo Switch!
d. For an investment of $550, you can own the best high-pressure washer on the market
from Sims, Inc.
e. I am requesting a promotion to regional sales manager because I have a proven track
record of turning around sales revenues within two months.
3. Convincing Evidence: Analyze the effectiveness of the convincing evidence included in the
following sentences in a persuasive request.
a. Southside Recycling has four regional offices in each county in Texas, with headquarters
in Dallas. Our professional staff consists of 15 members at each location.
b. You wonder if you can get quality education at our school and still save money. Dollar
for dollar, tuition and fees at Carlton State give you the best education value for your
money.
c. The infrared transfer available on your handheld personal assistant is a must-have in
today’s information explosion. Just beam it up and you’re on your way.
d. Reorganizing the loan department will help us serve our clients better and cut costs.
(What specific advantages to clients and cost savings?)
4. Document for Analysis: Sales Message: Analyze the following letter promoting services of a
senior day services. Pinpoint its strengths and weaknesses, and then revise the message if
directed by your instructor.
The Senior Day Services Program at Forest View Hospital provides a safe place to leave
elderly members of your family when you cannot be home with them or just want to lead a
normal life. Enclosed you will find a brochure that gives you more information.
Call us at 662-555-2345 to make an appointment to visit our facility. Our counselors will tell
you about the different activities they plan each month. We also offer counseling, physical
The following summarizes organizational, stylistic and content characteristics.
Organization
• Uses inductive approach appropriately.
• Places the action statement in the middle of the message instead of near the end.
• Ends with information statements rather than statements promoting action.
Content
• Includes weak attention-getter.
• States the obvious.
5. Document for Analysis: Persuasive Claim: Analyze the following email persuading a sports
agent to reimburse a hospital for an acceptable substitute speaker. Pinpoint its strengths and
weaknesses, and the organizational strategy for an effective message.
Please send a refund of $3,000, one half of the speaker’s fee, for the unacceptable substitute
you provided for the grand opening of the Brookridge Healthplex.
We thought you clearly understood that John Dampier was our choice for the keynote
speaker for this long-awaited grand opening. Not only is John an Olympic gold medalist and
respected spokesperson for physical fitness, he is a native of nearby Kosciosko. Your
substitute speaker, Sharron Mabry, saved us from total embarrassment, but she failed to meet
the criteria we had established for this speaker. As you know, she is neither an Olympian nor
a native of our state. In fact, very few people at the event had a clue who she was. Many
voiced complaints that John Dampier was not present as we had promoted.
Considering the months of hard work we devoted to planning this event, we are sure
you can understand our extreme disappointment with the community’s response to this
substitute speaker and will willingly agree to reimburse us one half the speaker’s fee. Please
call me at your convenience to discuss this issue further.
The following summarizes organizational, stylistic and content characteristics.
Organization
• Uses deductive approach when the request for reimbursement should be near the end of the
message.
Content
• Begins with a writer-oriented attention-getter that provides no incentive to continue reading.
• Changes from first- to second-person and overuses “we” throughout the message.
• Expresses certainty when cannot be certain.
Style
6. Document for Analysis: Persuasive Request: Analyze the following memo written to
encourage employees to attend a meeting to gain additional information about financial
planning. The company hopes to increase enrollment of employees in its 403(b) plan that
allows them to invest 15 percent of their gross wages in tax-deferred annuities. Presently only
22 percent of the company’s employees have taken advantage of this plan. Pinpoint the
strengths and weaknesses of the human resource director’s memo, and then revise it if
directed by your instructor.
Despite our efforts, very few of you have taken advantage of the tax benefits afforded by
the 403(b) plan. Contributing to a tax-deferred annuity enables you to shelter a portion of
your income from current income taxes. The earnings in your annuity also grow tax free and
you don’t pay income taxes on these funds until you withdraw them at retirement.
A summary of errors follows:
Organization
• Uses inductive approach appropriately.
Content
• Does not begin with an attention-getter but states a fact in accusing manner.
• Is not developed around a central selling point; presents facts about various investments, but
REVIEW QUESTIONS & SUGGESTED ANSWERS
1. List the writing principles that are important in writing an effective persuasive message.
Effective writing principles include (a) using concrete nouns and active verbs; (b) using specific
2. What are the legal and ethical implications of persuasive messages?
3. Define “central selling feature.” Where should it appear in a persuasive message?
4. What are the characteristics of a good attention-getter? List five techniques for getting
receivers’ attention.
A good attention-getter (a) is related to the product/service/idea and its virtues, (b) introduces a
5. What types of words and phrases are effective in persuasive messages?
6. In addition to the general guidelines for sales messages, what specific guidelines apply to
sales-oriented email messages?
7. How should price be handled in a sales message?
8. Describe the characteristics of an effective action ending to a persuasive message.
9. What is meant by an “appeal” in a persuasive message?
10. When does one cross the line between being persuasive and being coercive or
overbearing?
11. How might a persuasive approach need to be modified when dealing with persons of
other cultures?
FEATURED ASSIGNMENTS
1. Grading Junk Mail: Collect a selection of marketing materials from a variety of companies
and read over them. One way to do this is collect junk mail for a week. Once you have a
significant amount of marketing content, you should analyze a selection of 6 to 10 items and
2. Channel, Medium, and Persuasive Messages: Think about situations you have experienced
for which writing a persuasive message would have been appropriate. Draft a list of
situations past or present and select one to use as the basis of this writing activity. Write your
message to the appropriate recipient and specify the channel and medium you would use.
3. Persuasive Messages and the Inductive Approach: Identify a situation in which you need to
create a persuasive message. For example, you might be looking for volunteers for a
particular organization, need to persuade an advisor about a paper topic, or want to
convince a friend to share an apartment. Once you identify their situation, craft a persuasive
speech to deliver to the class.
During each presentation, grade the speech against the elements of the inductive approach and
assign an overall ranking as to how persuasive the speech was.
Content may vary. Guidelines for evaluating the presentation:
1. Delivery techniques such as voice projection, eye contact, appropriate gestures.
3. Content focused on central appeal and backed by three points of evidence that interest
most of the audience.
5. Request for simple action or commitment from audience.
4. Persuasive Request: Company Logo: In groups of three to four, read the following scenario
and then complete the related exercise: Company logos are often the centerpiece of
advertising and a crucial tool for developing consumer recognition. Do you recognize the
logos of Under Armour or McDonald’s? Companies sometimes change their logos to project
a new image or to give the logo a contemporary look.
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS
1. Communication Success Stories: Conduct an electronic search to locate an article that deals
with the successful use of persuasive communication in a company or organization. Prepare
an abstract of the article that includes the following parts: (1) article citation, (2) name of
organization/company, (3) brief description of communication technique/situation, (4) and
outcome(s) of the successful communication. As an alternative to locating an article, write
about a successful communication situation in the organization/company for which you work.
Submit your abstract to your instructor as an email attachment. Be prepared to give a short
presentation in class.
2. Promoting a Service Message: Music Video. Read the scenario below, then complete the
activity that follows.
You have negotiated with Thunderbolt to create a music video. The draft you received from
Thunderbolt is unacceptable and must be redone.
Have students evaluate the following two responses. Compare the two responses, pointing out
differences and strengths of the revised example.
Poor Example:
We’ve just reviewed the first draft of the Thunderbolt music video and find it totally
unacceptable. It must be redone to our specifications.
Problems with response:
• Begins with request before presenting reasons.
• Uses writer-oriented language to present limited facts.
• Provides no appeal for taking requested action.
• Sounds demanding without presenting appeal.
Revised Example:
When Thunderbolt negotiated with your firm to produce our first music video, we were
impressed with the clips of other Harrelson videos and your proven performance record.
Especially intriguing to us was your video of the Indigos, with its subtle use of symbolism
in the graphic images along with creative shots of the musicians.
In our meeting with your creative team, we focused on the methods used in the Indigos
video and specifically asked for graphic symbolism juxtaposed with shots of the band.
After viewing the first draft of our video, we find the level of artistic expression
disappointing. This video closely resembles a concert, focusing primarily on live-concert
footage of the band and will have little appeal with our customers, the Youtube audience,
who demand innovative and exciting new approaches in entertainment.
With Harrelson’s reputation for creative productions, we are confident the video can be
revised to meet our expectations. The band will do its part to assist in reshooting footage
and will meet with the creative director at a mutually convenient time to discuss the kind
of graphic imagery appropriate for interpreting our music and its message. Please call
me at 555-3920 to schedule this meeting.
Improvements:
3. Persuasive Message Promoting a Program: What Happens Every 15 Minutes?: Read the
scenario below, then complete activity that follows.
Educational efforts about the effects of drinking and driving have positively affected high
school students in the last decade. One popular program, tailored to individual high schools,
is “Every 15 Minutes” (EFM), named for a mid-1990s statistic that alcohol-related traffic
collisions claimed a life every 15 minutes. EFM is a two-day program that challenges high
Develop a script for the first meeting of volunteers explaining the importance of the EFM
program.
The script should follow this general pattern:
2. Relate facts about the program. Every 15 Minutes (EFM) was named for a mid-1990s
statistic that alcohol-related traffic collisions claimed a life every 15 minutes. It is a two-
3. Explain that this program was presented three years ago to high school juniors and
seniors. It was very successful and sent a strong message to our students who talked
4. Describe the task of this E15M Steering Committee is to coordinate volunteers and plan
5. Remind the E15 Steering Committee that the program is challenging and effective with
4. Persuasive Claim: Your Dilemma: Identify a situation in which you believe an adjustment
is warranted but you doubt the company will comply without persuasion. Perhaps a retailer
5. Persuasive Request Promoting a Service: “Loaned Executives” Raise Funds: Read the
scenario below, then complete activities a through c, which follow.
United Way started in 1887 as an effort to coordinate fund-raising activities among local
charitable organizations. Today, United Way helps many communities raise funds for local
charitable needs. It coordinates fund-raising activities among local health and human service
organizations. United Way contributions help communities provide resources to those in
need: meals to the homebound, women shelters, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, after-school
programs, and counseling. The funds collected locally by United Way fund-raising efforts
positively impact each community that participates.
Local businesses within communities play a significant role in United Way annual
campaigns to raise funds for distribution to local charities. Many companies encourage
employees to make annual pledges or one-time contributions to the local United Way
Activities:
a. Develop a 30-second Public Service Announcement for your community’s United Way
campaign.
b. Develop an advertisement to appear in your local newspaper for this year’s United Way
campaign.
Creative elements may vary in a and b; text/script may include content and graphics similar to the
following:
• “Abused women, hungry children, drug problems…here in Goldsboro?” The person you pass
$1.5 million.
• Pledge or make a one-time contribution to this year’s United Way Campaign. Help those
6. Sales Message Promoting a Product: Achieve Financial Goals with State Farm: Read the
scenario below, then complete the activities that follow.
Many banks and insurance companies market a wide selection of customer services. This
now requires bank officers and insurance agents to be well versed in marketing products
other than traditional bank and insurance products. These employees need current, up-to–date
Review to help them plan their financial future. Many customers who receive this
personalized review choose State Farm products and services to help them achieve financial
planning goals. Go to the official State Farm website (www.statefarm.com) for additional
information.
Activities:
a. Design an ad for your local newspaper promoting State Farm Insurance products and
services. Creative aspects will vary. Suggest text follows:
✓ State Farm Insurance and Financial Review is a free personalized service that
puts you in the driver’s seat. Work with a State Farm agent to prioritize financial
b. Develop a telephone script that responds to a customer’s request for information on
financial planning services.
The script should follow this general pattern:
1. Remind the person that State Farm wants to serve customers by being the first
2. Explain that State Farm now offers the Insurance and Financial Review, a free
personalized service that reviews a person’s needs, priorities, and future goals.
3. Ask the customer about the best time to discuss further the Insurance and
7. Persuasive Claim for Replacement Product: No One Wants Another Bum Cell Phone:
Read the scenario below, then complete activities that follow.
Many families purchase a “family plan” from cell phone service providers. This plan is
particularly convenient and cost effective for parents with college students. Long-distance
phone charges are eliminated. Family members can easily stay in touch with each other. You
is discontinued and not available for new contracts because “there were problems with the
model.” However, the corporate policy states that the defective phone cannot be replaced
with a new model free of charge; the replacement phone must be the old model. The customer
is infuriated, saying “It’s unacceptable that the company would expect me to put up with
another ‘bum’ phone.”
Activities:
a. Develop a script for a phone conversation with (a) T-Mobile asking for a phone
replacement and/or (b) your parents explaining the problem.
Below are possible elements of student voice scripts:
• My family chose the family plan from Radio Shack because it has a reputation for good
8. Sales Message: Practicing Sales Pitches: Form groups and select a tangible item from a
collection provided by your instructor or one of your own choice (your PDA, purple stapler,
nifty white-out pen, cool backpack, or favorite t-shirt or accessory, etc.). Then, complete
activities a and b below.
Activities:
a. Designate one member of the team as the buyer and one as the seller. The seller will
present a compelling sales pitch for the item to the buyer focusing on an appropriate
Evaluating the sales pitch:
• Chose appropriate central appeal for product and buyer.
• Identified the needs of the buyer.
• Achieved commitment to the concept of the product.
• Gave positive, confident eye contact, open gestures, and posture.
Evaluating buyer feedback:
b. Use the experience gained from the previous activity to deliver a one- to two-minute sales
pitch on a pet project or idea you genuinely support. Choose at least three points that
prove your case.
In one-way sales pitch to the class, observe:
• Delivery techniques such as voice projection, eye contact, appropriate gestures; no body
9. Tackling Your Own Persuasion Challenge: Read the scenario then do the activity that
follows.
In small groups, identify a situation in your work, educational experience, school or
community organizations that requires persuasion. How are you uniquely qualified for a
scholarship, award, internship, admission into graduate school or honorary organization, or
election to an officer position in a student or community organization? Could a fund-raising
event for a student organization or class project benefit from the development of a sales letter
and flyer? What changes could enhance services or operations on your campus (e.g., increase
number of concerts offered each semester, expand campus shuttle routes to locations off
campus, extend hours of operation for computer labs, etc.)? How could a change in a
procedure improve the quality and efficiency of your work? How could a particular software,
training program, or equipment improve your job effectiveness? Why should you be
promoted or your present job reclassified to a level of higher responsibility?
Group Activity:
As a group, write an outline of the persuasive message to the appropriate person, convincing him
or her to accept your idea or take the action you have recommended. Make a brief presentation to
the class.
Encourage students to choose situations that involve creativity in applying the inductive
CASE ASSIGNMENT
HOW TO GET OFF THE LISTS
The solicitation phone call interrupts dinner once again. The mailbox and the email inbox are
stuffed with the usual array of junk mail. What can consumers do about these unwelcomed
contacts? Nine out of ten households have received at least one telemarketing call, according to
the American Teleservices Association, an industry trade group. By some estimates,
telemarketers make 18 million calls a day, or 12,500 a minute. Additionally, consumer mailboxes
are crowded with catalogs, sweepstakes offers, and credit card solicitations. The U.S. Postal
Service reports that the average household gets 10 pieces of unsolicited third-class mail each
week. All that is necessary to get on solicitation lists is to get a credit card, open a checking
account, or complete a survey. But there are ways to get off the lists:
• Opt out. The first step in preventing unwanted calls and mail is to “opt out” of sales lists
through the National Do Not Call Registry launched by the Federal Trade Commission in
July 2003 and industry associations such as the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), which
• Maintain privacy. Though you might enjoy ordering from home, remember that companies
with whom you do business will keep you on their sales lists unless you tell them not to.
Once you are pegged as a buyer, an organization will sell your name to other companies and
• Be persistent. Laws do not prevent a company from sending you mail, unless it is
pornographic, sexually offensive, or involves fraud. In that case, contact your postmaster to
launch an investigation. If you continue to receive other unwanted mail, write directly to the
companies to tell them to stop. With first-class mail, you can print that request right on the
• Know the law. Even after removing your name from sales lists, you may still get calls from
telemarketers who simply dial random numbers. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act
(TCPA) of 1991 restricts residential telemarketing calls to between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. and
requires that telemarketers keep a do-not-call list. You can also place your name on the “Do
Not Call” national registry, which will enable you to be deleted from phone calling lists of
• Follow through. Keep a log near the phone to document calls. Write down the telemarketer’s
name, company, and time of call. If you have not done business with them before,
telemarketers are required to state their company’s address or phone number during the
• Protect yourself. Legally speaking, salespeople are not allowed to lie. Under the Federal
Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule, callers must disclose the company’s identity,
the purpose of the call, the product or service offered and any requirements for obtaining it. If
Activities
1. Prepare a presentation that describes current legal provisions that address the problem of
unsolicited telephone calls, mailings, and email. Make recommendations for enforcement of
2. Discuss the challenges faced by telemarketers. Prepare a list of suggestions for phone
3. Prepare a short paper in which you argue for the right of sellers to offer products and
services via telephone, mail, or email.