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Chapter 10 LECTURE NOTES
Persuasive and Sales Messages
CHAPTER SYNOPSIS
The ability to use argument or discussion to influence an individual’s beliefs or actions is called
persuasion. The art of persuading someone to take a specific action or change an individual’s
beliefs is an important skill that requires understanding and practice. This chapter explains the
major elements in successful persuasive messages and shows students how to use the 3-x-3 writing
process to create effective persuasive requests and sales messages. To be successful at persuasion,
business communicators must be familiar with the products or services they sell and the audiences
to whom they promote them. Therefore, this chapter emphasizes how to analyze the purpose of the
message, how to adapt it to the audience, and how to appropriately research and organize data. In
addition, the chapter explains how to use the traditional four-part AIDA strategy for creating
successful persuasive messages.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Explain digital-age persuasion, identify effective persuasive techniques, and apply the 3-x-3
writing process to persuasive messages in print and online.
2. Describe the traditional four-part AIDA strategy for creating successful persuasive messages,
and apply the four elements to draft effective and ethical business messages.
WHAT’S NEW IN THIS CHAPTER
• Inserted a relevant and current two-part opening scenario that emphasizes the importance of
persuasion and stimulates critical thinking.
130 Chapter 10 Lecture Notes
• Meaningfully enhanced and reorganized the discussion of contemporary persuasion theory to
cover changes wrought by communication technology and social media.
• Included new relevant and authentic model documents to demonstrate persuasive e-mail
marketing messages, press releases, and present-day sales letters.
• Added coverage of channel selection to illustrate how marketers use multiple channels to
send seamless messages that reach increasingly sophisticated and savvy target audiences.
• Added visuals and an infographic to create eye appeal and meet students’ visual expectations
and preferences.
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Understanding Persuasion in the Digital Age (p. 327)
PowerPoint slides 1-3
A. What Is Persuasion?
Definition: Persuasion is the ability to use argument or discussion in attempting to
change an individual’s beliefs or actions.
• Persuasion is a symbolic process.
Figure 10.1 Six Basic Principles That Direct Human Behavior
PowerPoint slides 4-6
B. How Has Persuasion Changed in the Digital Age?
• The volume and reach of persuasive messages have exploded.
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C. How to Persuade Effectively
1. Establish credibility.
Figure 10.2 Effective Persuasion Techniques
PowerPoint slide 8
D. Applying the 3-x-3 Writing Process to Persuasive Messages (p. 298)
PowerPoint slides 9-11
1. Analyzing the Purpose: Knowing What You Want to Achieve
Figure 10.3 Wholesome2Go Engages the Audience
2. Adapting to the Audience to Make Your Message Heard
• A persuasive message shows how your request helps the receiver fulfill key
needs or solve a problem.
3. Researching and Organizing Persuasive Data
• Collect data to support your message.
• Organize the message into a logical sequence.
Figure 10.4 The AIDA Strategy for Persuasive Messages
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PowerPoint slides 12-21
II. Blending Four Major Elements in Successful Persuasive Messages (p. 334)
The key elements in persuasive messages are (a) gaining your audience’s attention,
Figure 10.5 Applying the Four-Part AIDA Strategy to Persuasive Documents
A. Gaining Attention in Persuasive Messages
• When the persuader anticipates mild resistance, the opener should be low-key and
factual.
• When the persuader anticipates strong resistance, the opening should be
compelling and thoughtful.
B. Building Interest in Persuasive Messages
• Build interest and reduce resistance with a few paragraphs of explanation.
• Show how your request can benefit the audience directly or indirectly.
C. Eliciting Desire and Reducing Resistance in Persuasive Requests
• Anticipate resistance by asking What If?
• Counter resistance by presenting counterarguments in sentences that emphasize
benefits.
• Reduce resistance by establishing expertise, referring to credentials, or
demonstrating competence.
D. Prompting Action in Persuasive Messages
E. Being an Ethical Persuader
Figure 10.6 Persuasive Request
PowerPoint slide 22
Chapter 10 Lecture Notes 133
III. Writing Persuasive Requests, Making Claims, and Delivering Complaints (p. 338)
• When requesting a favor or action, think through your purpose and prepare a
thoughtful message.
• Use the indirect strategy for persuasive messages that request favors or actions.
A. Writing Persuasive Claims
1. Developing a Logical Persuasive Argument
2. Using a Moderate Tone
B. Composing Effective Complaints
Use a positive opening, a well-documented claim, and a request for specific action in
the closing.
Figure 10.7 Persuasive Claim (Complaint) E-Mail
PowerPoint slides 23-33
IV. Writing Persuasive Messages in Digital-Age Organizations (p. 341)
PowerPoint slides 34-36
A. Persuading Employees: Messages Flowing Downward
• Instructions moving from supervisors to subordinates require little persuasion.
Figure 10.8 Persuasive Organizational Message Flowing Downward
B. Persuading the Boss: Messages Flowing Upward
Figure 10.9 Persuasive Message Flowing Upward
PowerPoint slides 37-40
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V. Creating Effective Sales Messages in Print and Online (p. 345)
PowerPoint slides 41-51
A. Applying the 3-x-3 Writing Process to Sales Messages
1. Analyzing the Product and Purpose for Writing
2. Adapting a Sales Message to Its Audience
• Tailor the message to a specific audience.
• Use mailing lists to increase response rate.
B. Crafting Successful Sales Messages
1. Gaining Attention in Sales Messages
• Offer
• Promise
2. Building Interest With Rational and Emotional Appeals
• Rational appeal—associated with reason and intellect
• Emotional appeal—relates to status, ego, and sensual feelings
• Dual appeal—combines rational and emotional appeals
3. Eliciting Desire and Reducing Resistance
• When price is an issue, delay mentioning price, show the price in small units,
4. Motivating Action at the Conclusion of a Sales Message
• Offer a gift.
5. Putting Together All the Parts of a Sales Message
Because direct mail is expensive, create sales messages that present complete
information in a personalized tone for specific audiences.
Figure 10.10 Channel Choice: Direct Mail and Social Media
Figure 10.11 HealthSelect Sales Letter
PowerPoint slides 52, 53
C. Writing Successful E-Mail Sales Messages
• Craft a catchy subject line.
D. Writing Short Persuasive Messages Online
• Tweets and other online posts can be used to influence others and to project a
professional online presence.
• Writers try to pitch offers, prompt specific responses, or draw the attention of
their audiences to interesting events and media links.
Figure 10.12 Analyzing Persuasive Tweets
PowerPoint slides 56, 57
VI. Developing Persuasive Press Releases (p. 355)
• Open with attention-getting lead.
• Include answers to the five Ws and H.
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Answers to Chapter Review Questions
1. What is persuasion as defined by communication scholar Richard M. Perloff? (Obj. 1)
Persuasion is a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to
2. List and explain the five components that make up Richard M. Perloff’s definition of
persuasion. (Obj. 1)
a. Persuasion is a symbolic process. Persuaders use words, signs, and other symbols
infused with meaning and understand their power to persuade, but they don’t use these
symbols to trick others.
3. List and explain the six psychological triggers that prompt us to act and believe. Include
brief examples. (Obj. 1)
a. Reciprocation. We seem to be hardwired to give and take. If someone does us a favor,
most of us feel obligated to return the favor. This rule is so binding that it may lead us to say
yes to a request we might otherwise refuse—for example, sending money to a charity that
provided a gift.
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4. What is the AIDA strategy, and what does the acronym stand for? (Obj. 2)
5. List six elements that might help you build interest in a persuasive message and show
that your request is reasonable. (Obj. 2)
a. Facts and figures
6. What are What if scenarios, and how can they be used to reduce resistance in a
persuasive request? (Obj. 2)
What if? scenarios suggest what might happen if the persuasive request is or is not met. They
7. When does persuasion become unethical and what is doublespeak? (Obj. 2)
Persuasion becomes unethical when facts are distorted, overlooked, or manipulated with an
8. Name five or more examples of typical situations requiring persuasive claim messages.
(Obj. 3)
Persuasive claim messages typically involve damaged products, mistaken billing, inaccurate
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9. How have shifts in authority in digital-age organizations affected the strategies for
creating and the tone of workplace persuasive messages? (Obj. 4)
Technology has empowered rank-and-file employees who don’t need their managers to be
10. When is persuasion necessary in business messages flowing downward in an
organization? (Obj. 4)
Directives from management flowing downward to employees may not require persuasion.
11. When might persuasion be necessary in messages flowing upward? (Obj. 4)
Subordinates might find it necessary to use persuasion in convincing management to adopt a
12. Before composing a letter to sell a product, what should the writer do? (Obj. 5)
The writer should study the product carefully, learning about its design, construction, raw
13. Name eight or more ways to attract attention in opening a sales message. (Obj. 5)
14. How can a writer motivate action in a sales letter? (Obj. 5)
A writer can motivate action by offering a gift, promising an incentive, limiting the offer,
15. List five or more topics that an organization might feature in a press release. (Obj. 6)
New products, new managers, new facilities, participation in community projects, awards
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Answers to Critical Thinking Questions
1. Reviewing a new critical marketing book, Adrian Wooldridge of The Economist cites
these three examples of how today’s “hidden persuaders” ply their trade:
Marketers have long known that the most powerful persuader is peer pressure. What is
new is that the data revolution and social media have hugely increased their ability to
start “social epidemics.” They create outrageous videos that “go viral”: Quiksilver, a
company that sells surfing clothes, produced one about surfers hurling dynamite into a
river and then surfing the resulting wave. . . .
SAS, a software company, analyses social-media chatter to find people whose online
comments influence others; companies can then target these “influentials.”
Firms such as Whole Foods turn anti-corporate fads such as organic food into marketing
tools.
What is the author’s objection? Can you find evidence of it in your own life? (Obj. 1)
Writing as Schumpeter for The Economist, Adrian Wooldridge is reviewing Brandwashed:
Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy by marketing guru
Martin Lindstrom. Wooldridge focuses on the dimension that Robert Cialdini calls “social
2. What are some of the underlying motivations that prompt individuals to agree to
requests that do not directly benefit themselves or their organizations? (Obj. 2)
Many people and organizations agree to requests to donate money, time, equipment, and
expertise because they are interested in a project or because they see indirect benefits. For
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3. How are direct-mail sales messages and e-mail sales messages similar, and how are
they different? (Obj. 5)
Direct-mail sales letters and e-mail sales messages are similar in that both use persuasion to
attempt to influence beliefs or motivate action. Many of the techniques of the indirect
4. Why are magazine and newspaper editors or TV producers wary of press (news)
releases from businesses and reluctant to turn them into articles? (Obj. 6)
Traditionally, most self-respecting journalists would fiercely guard their objectivity and
independence from corporate, political, and other interests as their highest good that has
5. Ethical Issue: Two students at Cambridge University, England, were charging
businesses to have their logos painted on their faces for a day. The students raised
more than $40,000 toward their university tuition. Companies such as Volvo adopted
temporary tattoos in their promotions. Dunlop, however, went to the extreme by
offering a set of free tires to those who would have the company’s flying-D logo
permanently tattooed somewhere on their bodies. Ninety-eight people complied. Is it
ethical for advertisers to resort to such extreme promotions dubbed “skinvertising”?
Do you think it’s even effective? Would you participate?
Most Americans would probably recoil from such extreme marketing, as practiced by
Dunlop and others, for reasons of esthetics as well as ethics. People who acceded to
permanent tattoos cited the dire need for money. A Utah mother sold ad space on her
Chapter 10 Lecture Notes 141
ZOOMING IN
Going Green Makes “Cents”
Critical Thinking
• Why is using a moderate tone so important to persuasion?
Writers alienate their audiences when their tone seems accusatory or degrading. Good
• How do facts help make a convincing case?
Using facts can be persuasive in a number of ways. A startling fact can help gain attention.
• Why do good writers weave benefits into persuasive messages?
Persuasive messages are most effective when they appeal to the recipient’s needs. Good
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ZOOMING IN
Your Turn: Applying Your Skills at Natural Capitalism Solutions
The points Lovins makes occur at the beginning of the webinar. Encourage students to brand the
letter by capturing Natural Capitalism Solutions’ logo to create an attractive letterhead. They can
find the organization’s address at the bottom of each Natural Capitalism Solutions Web page.
Ethics Check Solutions
Ethics Check, p. 328
Subtle Persuasion in an Age of Social Media and Information Overload
Professional persuaders try to generate “a distinct kind of automatic, mindless compliance”
in people, a “willingness to say yes without thinking first,” believes psychologist Robert B.
Cialdini. The best-selling author of Influence cautions: “The ever-accelerating pace and
informational crush of modern life will make . . . unthinking compliance more and more
prevalent in the future. It will be increasingly important for the society, therefore, to
understand the how and why of automatic influence.” What does this mean for you as a
consumer and participant in social media?
Best-selling author Robert B. Cialdini decided to go undercover for three years to observe the
persuasive techniques of typical marketers and salespeople. He underwent all manner of sales
training to analyze the approaches to persuasion by various sales professionals. He published the
Ethics Check, page 339
Complaint Bullying
As any salesperson will tell you, some customers seem to believe that if they vent their
anger and make a scene at the store, they are more likely to get their way by bullying and
intimidating a fearful sales representative. Indeed, some sales staff may cave in, wishing to
Chapter 10 Lecture Notes 143
defuse the ruckus. Is it fair to resort to such tactics to get what one wants? Does the end
justify the means?
Some students may say yes, anything is fair to obtain the desired result. However, they should be
reminded that the saying “You catch more flies with honey” applies no less in business. Even if,
Ethics Check, page 348
Scare Tactics
Direct marketers sometimes resort to scare tactics, for example, to make us purchase alarm
systems and subscribe to monitoring services. They may also appeal to our compassion and
guilt before the holidays in soliciting money for the less fortunate. Are such emotional
appeals ethical?
Perceptive students will realize that such appeals are not unethical, as long as they are executed
Photo Essay Solutions
Photo Essay, page 335
The seemingly paradoxical full-page ad in The New York Times on Black Friday, the biggest
shopping day of the year, was just the beginning. Patagonia also posted the same provocative ad
on the Internet and e-mailed it to customers on Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day
of the year. The retailer made a splash with this campaign and was praised by many while also
being chided for what some perceived as hypocrisy. After all, Patagonia is in the business of
making money and wants people to buy its products. The outdoor gear company anticipated this
objection and countered it head-on in the ad copy: “What do we tell customers who accuse us of
hypocrisy? It’s part of our mission to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental
crisis. . . . It’s not hypocrisy for us to address the need to reduce consumption.” [Don’t buy this
jacket, Black Friday and the New York Times. (2011, November). The Cleanest Line. [Blog].
Retrieved from http://patagonia.typepad.com/files/nyt_11-25-11.pdf]
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Photo Essay, page 348
Student responses will vary, but research conducted on this highway safety video from the South
Wales Police Department was conclusive: the emotional impact of watching a happy occasion
turn to injury and death was highly persuasive. A full 86 percent of viewers said the PSA was
extremely effective; 80 percent said they would be less likely to text and drive after watching the