2.5 Writing To Persuade
Perloff (2017). Image: From Adobe Stock by foxfotoco / Education License – Standard Image
One prevalent misconception about persuasion is that persuaders influence us into doing things against our will. The notion is that they overwhelm us with numerous verbal tactics until we comply. However, the reality is that people persuade themselves to change their attitudes or behaviour. Perloff (2017) highlights that communicators provide the arguments, but ultimately, individuals make the decision to change.
Certain types of technical writing, such as proposals and recommendation reports, are designed to persuade readers to take a particular action. However, regardless of the genre, it is essential to always strive to persuade readers that your work is accurate, logical, and valuable (Balzotti, 2018).
You can consider persuasive writing as using three key strategies.
- Present compelling reasons why the audience should consider, act upon, or adopt the ideas or actions are supporting.
- Provide essential information that helps the audience comprehend your reasons effectively.
- Conclude by highlighting the benefits that will result from the audience considering, acting, or adopting the course of action you are proposing.
Employing this persuasive strategy can guide you in structuring various sections of your writing, both at the paragraph and document level.
Effective Persuasion Techniques
- Establishing credibility: To persuade you must engender trust. People must believe that you are telling the truth, are experienced, and know what you are talking about. Demonstrate your expertise in the subject matter by providing accurate and well-researched information. Acknowledge any limitations or uncertainties in your information and provide context for your audience to understand the full picture.
- Tying facts to benefits: Persuasion is most effective if your request is realistic, doable, and attainable. Line up solid information to support your view. Use statistics, printed resources, examples, and analogies to help people to understand. It is important to convert those facts into benefits for the audience.
- Expecting and overcoming resistance: Be prepared for resistance. Recognize any weakness in your proposal and be prepared to counter with well-reasoned arguments and facts. Anticipate potential objections and address them proactively in your communication. Acknowledge your readers’ concerns and provide reasoned responses.
- Recognizing the power of loss aversion: Loss aversion is a powerful psychological concept that can be leveraged in technical communication to persuade and motivate readers. Loss aversion suggests that people are more motivated by the fear of losing something than by the prospect of gaining something of equal value. In technical communication, this principle can be applied by highlighting the potential losses that readers might incur if they do not take the recommended action or follow the advice provided. For e