Persuasive Writing

1. Introduction 4. ARGU Model

2. Importance 5. Steps and Examples
3. Traditional Method 6. Logical Fallacies
Persuasive Writing: Definition
Persuasive writing:
intends to convince readers
to believe in an idea or opinion and
to do an action.

Guillain, Charlotte (2016). What is Persuasive Writing?

Persuasive Writing: Importance
• When communicating technical information, you will write and speak
for many reasons.
• To inform
• To build rapport
• To instruct
• To analyse
• Or
• Persuade or convince or argue
 Persuasive Writing: Importance
• Professionally, you will need to use argument and persuasion daily.
• As a manager: to argue the merits of a company policy to an unhappy customer.
• Maybe you are asking your boss for a raise or promotion, for office
improvements, or for changes to the work schedule. Your task is to
persuade the boss to accept your suggestions.
• In these examples, you will communicate persuasively using any of the following
communication channels:
routine correspondence (memos, letters, or e-mail);
social media (blogs);
reports; proposals; or
oral presentations.
 Persuasive Writing: Importance
• Technical communication is more than hard, cold memos, letters, reports, user
manuals, and technical descriptions.
• Technical communication also has a soft side
—marketing (Persuasive Communication/ Writing).
• The bottom line is every company is in business to make money.
• Thus, every employee should perceive themselves as marketing personnel.
• That is why STC (The Society for Technical Communication) also recognizes the
importance of marketing for technical writers.
• Persuasive marketing materials are essential to technical communication.
 Traditional Methods of Argument and Persuasion
•
 Traditional Methods of Argument and Persuasion
• Ethical Argumentation (Ethos)
Arguments based on ethics (ethos) depend on your character.

• If you make arguments based on personal experiences, you must appear to be

trustworthy and credible as a writer or speaker.

• Your reliability can be based on years of experience, education, certifications,

publications, job title, client base, and more.

• To accomplish ethical argumentation, present information that is unbiased,

reliable, and evenhanded.
 Traditional Methods of Argument and Persuasion
• Emotional Argumentation (Pathos)
Arguments based on emotion (pathos) seek to change an audience’s attitudes and
actions by focusing on feelings.
• If you want to move an audience emotionally, you would appeal to passion. You
can do this either positively or negatively.
• To sway an audience positively, you would focus on positive concepts like joy,
hope, honor, pleasure, happiness, success, and achievement. You would use
positive words to create an appealing message.
• In contrast, you also can appeal to emotions negatively. Fear, horror, anger, and
unhappiness can be powerful tools in an argument.
 Traditional Methods of Argument and Persuasion
• Logical Argumentation (Logos)
Argumentation based on logic (logos) depends on rationality, reason, and proof.
• You can persuade people logically when you provide them the following:
• Facts—statistics, evidence, data, and research
• Testimony—citing customer or colleague comments, expert authorities, and
results of interviews
• Examples—anecdotes, instances, and personal experiences
• Strong, clear claims—including warranties and guarantees
• Acknowledgement of the opposing points of view to ensure that information is
balanced
ARGU Model for Organizing Your Persuasion

Refute
Arouse
opposing
audience Give proof Urge action
points of
involvement
view
 ARGU Model for Organizing Your Persuasion
• Understanding rhetorical triangle is important for a persuasive communicator.
• You have to decide how best to present your argument.

• ARGU approach will helps you organize your argument:

• Arouse audience involvement—grab attention in the introduction.

• Refute opposing points of view—in the body of your communication.

• Give proof to develop your thoughts—in the body of your communication.

• Urge action—motivate your audience in the conclusion.

 ARGU Model for Organizing Your Persuasion
• You have only about five to eight seconds to grab your readers’
Arouse audience involvement

attention in a
 sales letter,
 persuasive e-mail message,
 marketing brochure,
 speech, or any
 persuasive communication.
• You must arouse the audience’s interest imaginatively in the first
few sentences of your document or oral presentation.
• Try any of the following attention grabbers in the introduction of
your persuasive message.
 ARGU Model for Organizing Your Persuasion
• Attention grabbers in the introduction
Arouse audience involvement

1. Use an anecdote—a brief, dramatic story relating to the topic.

2. Start with a question to interest your audience.
3. Begin with a quotation to give your communication the credibility
of authority.
4. Let facts and figures enhance your credibility.
5. Appeal to the senses.
6. Use comparison or contrast to highlight your message.
7. Begin with poetic devices.
8. Create a feeling of comfort, ease, or well-being.
9. Create a feeling of discomfort, fear, or anxiety.
 ARGU Model for Organizing Your Persuasion
Refute opposing points of view

• It shows your audience that you have considered your topic thoroughly.
• You have considered alternatives and discarded them as lacking in merit.
• And by refuting opposing points of view, you anticipate negative
comments an audience might make and defuse their argument.

• To refute opposing points of view in the:

Recognize and admit conflicting views.
Let the audience know that you understand their concerns.
Provide evidence.
Allow for alternatives.
 ARGU Model for
Organizing Your
Persuasion

• Most people require

details and supporting
evidence before making
decisions.
Give proof

• You can provide specific

details to support your
argument using any of
these techniques
 ARGU Model for Organizing Your Persuasion
• In the conclusion, you need to motivate the audience to action.
• This could include any of the following:
o attend a meeting,
o purchase new equipment,
o invite you to interview for a
position,
o vote on a proposition,
o promote you,
o give you a raise,
Urge action

o allow you to work a flexible

schedule, or
o change a company policy.
 Avoiding Unethical Logical Fallacies
• In corporate environment,
persuade logically but also ethically.
• Persuasive communication
must be honest and reasonable.
AVOID
• Inaccurate Information

• Unreliable Sources
E.g. Quoting a certified public accountant to support an important
healthcare issue is illogical.
 Avoiding Unethical Logical Fallacies
• Sweeping Generalizations
• Avoid exaggerating. Allow for exceptions.
E.g. All graduation students are careless.
• Either qualify this with a word like some or quantify with specific percentages.

• Either . . . Or
• Suggesting that a reader has only two options is deceitful if other options exist.
• Allow for other possibilities.
• E.g. “Either all employees must come to work on time, or they will be fired.”
• This blanket statement excludes alternatives or exceptions.
• Is the “either . . . or” statement true if an employee has a car accident, if an employee’s child is
sick, or if the employee is caught in heavy traffic due to a snowstorm?
 Avoiding Unethical Logical Fallacies
• Circular Reasoning (Begging the Question)
• “Some advertising executives are ambitious because they are motivated to succeed.”
• This statement is illogical and uses circular reasoning because it states the same thing
twice.
• Ambitious and motivated are essentially synonyms. The writer fails to prove the
assertion.

• Red Herrings
• If you focus on an irrelevant issue to draw attention from a central issue, this is called a
red herring.
• For instance, you have failed to pay fines following citations for the mishandling of hazardous
wastes. You contact the state environmental agency and complain about state taxes being too
high.
• This is an irrelevant issue. By focusing on high taxes, you are merely avoiding the central issue.
 Avoiding Unethical Logical Fallacies
• Inaccurate Conclusions
• When communicating persuasively, consider all possible causes and effects.
• Exact causes of events often are difficult to determine.

• A condition that precedes another is not necessarily the cause of it.

• This error is called post hoc, ergo propter hoc.
The contractor lost the bid, so he cannot expect to have increased revenues this
fiscal year.
• A condition that follows is not necessarily the effect of another. This is called a
non sequitur.
Because the manager is inexperienced, the report will be badly written.
Types of Persuasive Documents
1. Sales letters 3. Brochures

2. Fliers 4. Press releases

 Sales Letters
• In your sales letter, include letter essentials:
• letterhead address,
• date,
• reader’s address,
• salutation,
• text,
• complimentary close, and
• Signature.
• And accomplish the following objectives
relating to effective persuasion.
 Sales Letters: using ARGU
• Arouse Reader Interest.
• Tell readers: you want to
• increase their happiness or
• reduce their anxieties, for example
• Your introduction should highlight a reader
• problem,
• need, or
• desire.
• Arouse your readers’ interest with
• anecdotes,
• questions,
• quotations, or
• facts.
 Sales Letters: using ARGU
• Refute Opposing Points of View.
• Your audience will not always agree with your
assertions.
• To persuade the reader to accept your point of
view, anticipate disagreements or alternative
points of view.
• Consider opposing comments about your new
product or service.
• Think about what your competitors offer as
alternatives to your company.
• By mentioning competitors or alternative ideas
and refuting them, you emphasize your
product’s value.
 Sales Letters: using ARGU
• Give Proof to Develop Your Thoughts.
• In the discussion paragraph(s), specify exactly
what you offer to benefit your audience or how
you will solve your readers’ problems. You
can do this in a traditional paragraph. In
contrast, you might want to itemize your
suggestions in a numbered or bulleted list.
Whichever option you choose, the discussion
should
provide data to document your assertions, give
testimony from satisfied customers, or
emphasize your credentials.
 Sales Letters: using ARGU
• Urge Action.
• Don’t write“We hope to hear from you soon.”
• The concluding paragraph of a sales letter should motivate the
reader to act.
• INSTEAD:
• Provide your Web site URL;
• online help desk e-mail address; and
• social media links to the company blog,
• Twitter account, or
• Facebook site.
• Give directions (with a map) to your business location.
• Provide a tear-out to send to you for further information.
• Supply a self-addressed, stamped envelope for customer response.
• Offer a discount if the customer responds within a given period of
time.
• Give your name or a customer-contact name and a phone number.