We all have a desire for others to enjoy our company, laugh at our jokes and be influenced by our charmingly persuasive nature, if not by our well-crafted persuasive writing.
Persuasion is part of everyday life. We may wish to ask someone out, promote the virtues of a product, justify why a bank should lend us money, or persuade our partner that our latest misdemeanour was an oversight and won’t happen again – truly, it won’t. Our need to persuade never stops. It is part of life.
But it is also fraught with pitfalls. Some people manage to communicate with sincerity, charm and success. Yet for others, innocent attempts lead to misunderstanding and irritation.
It has always been so. Some people manage it. Others do not. Nothing has changed in the realm of human communication since the beginning of time. And that, remarkably, is near to where we should start.
Around 350 BC, speech-making in Athens was a renowned art. Some speeches had a pivotal influence on political thinking, philosophy and social behaviour. Some not. But all were studied and assessed for their persuasive quality by intellectuals, philosophers and scholars.
Foremost amongst the eminent assessors was Plato’s famous pupil, Aristotle. His focus was on the art of rhetoric – the use of language as a means of persuasion.
His studies of great and influential speeches brought him to the conclusion that there were three modes of effective persuasion:
- Ethos: Character and Reputation
- Pathos: Emotional Appeal
- Logos: Logical Argument
Ethos
Aristotle believed that the speaker needed to establish their ethos – their credibility and sincerity with their audience.
Winston Churchill gives us an example. Although Churchill had suffered numerous highs and lows in his early political life, he alone during the 1930s had consistently warned of the threat of war. On 10th May 1940 as Britain faced almost certain defeat, his level of credibility – his ethos – ensured that he was appointed Prime Minister.
The importance of ethos is not lost on more recent politicians as they lay out their character and beliefs for public scrutiny. Barak Obama published a memoir called “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance” as a means of preparing to launch his political career in 1995.
Gordon Brown produced a book called “Courage: Eight Portraits” prior to becoming Prime Minister in 2007. In 2013, Jed Bush delivered a jointly written book called: “Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution” prior to his intention to become a US presidential nominee.
In more recent times, Donald Trump demonstrated his ethos during his 2004 to 2015 hosting of the TV show, The Apprentice.
In the world of business, organisations demonstrate ethos with case studies, white papers, testimonials, and social media activity. Brand reputation is a major part of ethos – the outside perception of a company or brand. Brands relate to products and services, customer service, marketing and social media presence.
Elon Musk has taken things one stage further by owning the social media platform X to deliver the ethos he wishes to portray.
Ethos, then, is about having a positive reputation upon which persuasion can then be built.
Pathos
Aristotle’s pathos on the other hand is concerned with the emotions felt by the audience or market. Aristotle tells us that it is essential to affect the emotions of an audience to be persuasive.
“I feel your pain.” said Bill Clinton in response to AIDS activist Robert Rafsky in 1992.
In business, sellers can demonstrate pathos by listening to client needs and demonstrating their understanding of the client’s requirements through focused response.
Steve Jobs understood pathos – emotion – when he delivered his 2005 address “How to Live Before You Die” to Stanford University graduates. It included this extract:
“Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did.
You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.
If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
Jobs engaged with his young, intelligent, and aspirational audience by including the words: faith, love, lovers, believe, and heart – words which would align with their thoughts, hopes, beliefs, and above all their emotions.
Much later and to a completely different audience, Jobs conveyed an emotional message to businesspeople about the aesthetics, design, and style of the Apple Mac’s Aqua user interface when he said:
“We made the buttons on the screen look so good you’ll want to lick them.”
Three years later, when introducing the Macbook Air in January 2008, he called it
“The world’s thinnest notebook.”
Thinnest was a key message – thinnest was a market-attractive attribute; it was a competitive feature and was what his emotionally charged Apple devotees wanted to hear.
Jobs knew what would appeal emotionally, what would amuse, what would persuade, and what would create the greatest impact. He tailored his words to his audience, every time.
Logos
Finally, logos reverts to the core of the proposition. Aristotle recognised that an audience is more likely to agree with a proposition if it is irrefutably logical and well-reasoned. Logos is the time for facts, figures, and measured customer benefits.
Of the three modes of effective persuasion, Aristotle concluded that logos was the most important mode if supported by ethos and pathos.
Persuasive writing
This now brings us to persuasive writing. Here is the process and structure:
Preparation
Audience definition
In simple terms, your required ‘modus operandi’ is to start with a good understanding of the needs, emotions, and motivations of those whom you wish to persuade. Only then do you stand a chance of knowing what topic is likely to appeal, tone to deploy and what offer to make.
And the only way for that approach to be right – for it to be well-received – is for you to take time to understand the person or people at the other end of your communication and know their needs, values, beliefs, interests, and emotions.
Situation definition
This could be an opportunity or a problem about which you need to be fully informed. It is the reason you are writing.
Structure
- Produce the Main Argument
State your main argument at the beginning and summarise the benefits that the audience will receive on implementation. Words matter. Use strong verbs, clear description, and concrete phrases wherever possible.
- Progress logically
Progress your ideas in order of importance and provide supporting evidence to include facts, figures, expert opinion, and testimonials.
- Establish Credibility and Sincerity (Ethos)
Refer to your reputation, knowledge, and the views of others about your capability.
Acknowledge options and counterarguments and consider them dispassionately in the context of your proposal and refute them fairly.
- Create Emotional Appeal (Pathos)
Produce examples to make your argument compelling, which describe and extol the benefits that others have received from your proposal, and the release from the pain they had previously endured. Link the benefits they received to the positive feelings that the recipients of your proposal now enjoy.
- Use Literary Techniques
Literary techniques can be powerful persuasive tools. When applied, some appeal to our emotions, others engage our imagination, and some ensure that we remember. Here are some techniques:
- Rhetorical Questions
- Repetition
- Storytelling
- Contrast or antithesis
I choose office space as a theme because it is something to which we can all relate.
Rhetorical Questions
Rhetorical questions can influence the reader to think along certain lines. Here are three examples of rhetorical questions which beg certain answers:
Here’s the first question… “Can we truly describe it as a productive workspace when the environment lacks the essential elements for creativity and collaboration?” This question rather begs the answer no.
Another question “Shouldn’t we prioritise the well-being of people by creating spaces that foster enterprise, innovation, and positive collaboration?” This question begs the answer yes.
And the third example question… “Do you think that business space, which also supports the needs of local people can benefit the whole community?” Again, this question rather begs the answer yes.
Rhetorical questions written within the beginning of a document can set the scene and position the reader to think along certain lines to which you can then respond and build your case.
Repetition
Repeating phrases or ideas can reinforce your message and make it more memorable.
- Creating outstanding places for people to work, live and visit
- Designing exceptionally attractive spaces for work, leisure, and community.
- We manifest appealing places for work, leisure, and community engagement.
Storytelling
In this instance this is a story about how new offices encourage teamwork, creativity and productivity.
New office space with bright, collaborative zones breathes energy into our environment in contrast to the isolation-engendering cubicles we endured in our previous office space. The new atmosphere encourages teamwork, fosters creativity, and improves our everyday productivity. For us, it instigates a transformative chapter in our business.
Contrast / Antithesis
Contrast can help businesses engage with their audience and communicate their competitive advantages. The following demonstrates the use of contrast as a comparison when focused on:
- Features and benefits
- Pricing
- Market positioning
Features and benefits
We replace the mind-numbing work environment of the past with vibrant spaces which breathe vitality into every idea, concept, and service.
The features are the ‘mind-numbing work environment’ contrasted with ‘vibrant spaces.’ And the benefit is the ‘vitality in every idea, concept, and service.’
Pricing
Our pricing is a beacon of affordability. Whilst others attempt to justify the unjustifiable, we champion value. Our pricing is testament to our commitment to deliver quality without breaking the bank.
Market Positioning
Whilst our competitors reflect the commonplace, we demonstrate the innovative to attract, encourage and inspire business and community.
- Call to Action
Complete your persuasive writing with a strong call to action and state the importance of taking action.
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