Deck 12: Writing Persuasive Messages

Question 1

If you can't be sure which medium will be best to convey your persuasive message to a diverse audience, you should

A)choose the one that is most economical.
B)select the one that is easiest to use (such as email).
C)use two or more media at the same time.
D)choose one at random and see how well it works.

Answer 1

C
Explanation:C)If one medium doesn't seem clearly better than the rest, try using a combination of two or more media. For example, you might combine social media promotion with radio advertisements. When more than one medium is used, make sure that your campaigns complement one another with respect to approach and content.

Question 2

Marketers use quantifiable characteristics known as ________ and psychological characteristics known as ________ to help them understand the needs of an audience.

A)social graphics; intuitional data
B)demographics; psychographics
C)crowdsourcing; regionalism
D)psychometrics; cryptography

Answer 2

B
Explanation:B)To understand and categorize audience needs, you can refer to specific information, such as demographics (quantifiable characteristics)and psychographics (psychological characteristics).

Question 3

The purpose of the interest section of a persuasive message is to

A)capture attention.
B)show that your product is well-suited to your audience.
C)increase the audience's desire to take the action recommended in the message.
D)get the reader to act immediately.

Answer 3

B
Explanation:B)Building interest is largely a matter of showing that the product you provide is relevant and useful in some way to your audience. Audience members should come away from the interest stage thinking, "That item might be useful to me."

Question 4

When using the AIDA approach to persuasion, which of the following would be the best opening to your message?

A)How are you today?
B)I know you've heard this all before, but ...
C)Are you spending way too much on prescription drugs?
D)This is an important message.

Question 5

AIDA stands for

A)appeal, indirect, direct, action.
B)anticipate inquiry in doing adjustments.
C)assume, insist, describe, act.
D)attention, interest, desire, action.

Question 6

If a supervisor tells a worker who consistently arrives late, "I know you don't want to have your pay docked," the supervisor is addressing the worker's need for

A)safety and security.
B)acceptance.
C)status and esteem.
D)self-actualization.

Question 7

When you're composing a persuasive message, all of the following except ________ are common mistakes that you need to avoid.

A)using a hard-sell approach
B)promoting compromise
C)relying solely on great arguments
D)assuming that persuasion is a one-shot effort

Question 8

Which of the following is not an example of demographic information?

A)Age
B)Occupation
C)Lifestyle
D)Income

Question 9

An effective ending for a persuasive message would be:

A)Simply take the enclosed coupon to any of our service centers by June 15 for your free oil and filter change.
B)Please respond as soon as possible because this offer is not likely to last very long.
C)Wouldn't you like to save some money?
D)Be sure to tell all your friends about this exciting offer.

Question 10

As a human need that affects motivation, self-actualization involves the need to

A)cultivate lifelong involvement.
B)feel a sense of accomplishment.
C)reach one's full potential as a human being.
D)control situations or exert authority over others.

Question 11

In general, the best persuasive messages ________ the audience's motivations.

A)avoid mentioning
B)downplay
C)openly address
D)dismiss

Question 12

With regards to persuasive messages in social media, the AIDA approach is limited because it

A)cultivates long-term relationships.
B)focuses on one-time events.
C)lacks persuasive elements.
D)uses a multidirectional, conversational approach.

Question 13

Most persuasive messages combine

A)truth and falsehood.
B)current and very old evidence.
C)logical and emotional factors.
D)many major points all at once.

Question 14

When using the AIDA approach to persuasion, the closing should

A)urge the audience to take the action you are requesting.
B)provide additional evidence and detail not covered in the desire section.
C)explain the steps needed to implement your ideas.
D)do all of the above.

Question 15

Your success as a businessperson is connected closely to your ability to convince others to

A)accept new ideas.
B)change old habits.
C)act on your recommendations.
D)all of the above.

Question 16

When you're writing a persuasive message, you can encourage a positive response by

A)using polite and positive language.
B)taking steps to establish your credibility.
C)understanding and respecting cultural differences.
D)all of the above.

Question 17

In a ________, your goal may be nothing more than convincing your audience to re-examine long-help opinions or admit the possibility of new ways of thinking.

A)persuasive retrenchment
B)persuasive presentation of ideas
C)persuasive request for action
D)persuasive claim or request for adjustment

Question 18

When it comes to persuasive messages, the direct approach

A)is rarely used.
B)is often preferable with a receptive audience.
C)is used only by top management.
D)does not require inclusion of justifications or explanations.

Question 19

Personality, lifestyle, and attitudes are assessed through

A)demographic surveys.
B)psychographic studies.
C)inkblot tests.
D)examinations of census data.

Question 20

Circular reasoning is a logical fallacy that involves

A)reducing a wide range of choices to a simple "either/or" scenario.
B)using irrelevant evidence to support your argument.
C)trying to support a claim by restating it in different words.
D)attacking an opponent's character, rather than countering his or her argument.

Question 21

If price is one of your strong selling points, you should

A)mention special offers, such as volume discounts, before actually stating the price.
B)decrease the perception that the price is high.
C)break the total price into smaller units.
D)give the price a place of prominence in the message.

Question 22

In marketing and sales messages, what is the primary difference between selling points and benefits?

A)Selling points are positive whereas benefits are not.
B)Selling points focus on the user rather than the product.
C)Selling points focus on the product rather than the user.
D)None of the above is correct.

Question 23

When preparing a persuasive request for action, it is vital to

A)show that you understand and respect the audience's concerns.
B)emphasize how you will benefit if the request is fulfilled.
C)emphasize the negative consequences of not complying with the request.
D)make yourself look good in the reader's eyes.

Question 24

Which of the following uses a deductive approach to persuasion?

A)Because the stock market has been falling lately, share prices of our company stock will probably also decline.
B)Because the stock price of our company fell, the entire market will probably also decline.
C)Our stock price is like a marathon runner, slowly making progress towards our goal.
D)None of the above.

Question 25

When you're writing promotional messages for social media, use ________ to initiate and facilitate discussions in your networked community.

A)traditional promotions
B)bait-and-switch tactics
C)conversation marketing
D)opt-in scenarios

Question 26

Successful marketing and sales messages begin with

A)an understanding of audience needs.
B)an awesome marketing campaign.
C)a persuasive call to action.
D)an all-out effort to recruit marketing personnel.

Question 27

When writing a persuasive request for action, you should

A)use the hard-sell approach.
B)demonstrate that helping you will solve a significant problem.
C)ask for more than you actually want so that you'll have a cushion for negotiation.
D)avoid flattery.

Question 28

An analogy lets you

A)reason from one specific piece of evidence to another specific piece of evidence.
B)reason from one specific piece of evidence to a general conclusion.
C)reason from a generalization to a specific conclusion.
D)do all of the above.

Question 29

An advertisement stating that a new resort offers "freedom and comfort along with $20 savings per month" is using

A)an emotional appeal.
B)an analogy.
C)an inductive appeal.
D)both logical and emotional appeals.

Question 30

The key to a successful action phase in the AIDA model is

A)getting readers to change their minds.
B)increasing the audience's awareness of your product or service.
C)making the action you propose simple and easy.
D)creating a win-lose situation, with you as the winner.

Question 31

Which of the following would not be an effective technique for gaining audience attention in sales messages?

A)Offering an exciting product benefit
B)Encouraging people to place an order
C)Offering a unique solution to a common problem
D)Appealing to people's emotions

Question 32

Using the AIDA approach with social media

A)requires the same steps as the AIDA approach with conventional media.
B)does not work at all.
C)requires a different, more interactive approach.
D)requires a more rigid approach.

Question 33

Whereas ________ focus on what the product does, ________ focus on what the user experiences or gains.

A)wants; needs
B)selling points; benefits
C)benefits; selling points,
D)actionable features; desirable benefits

Question 34

When writing a persuasive claim letter, you should

A)assume that the other person has no interest in helping you.
B)use a confident and positive tone.
C)mention as many additional complaints as possible about the company.
D)say you have already contacted an attorney (even if you really haven't).

Question 35

One way to overcome audience resistance to your message is to

A)use the hard-sell approach.
B)address all possible concerns that your audience has.
C)emphasize the positive.
D)do all of the above.

Question 36

The AIDA approach for persuasive messages should be used with

A)the direct approach only.
B)the indirect approach only.
C)either the direct or the indirect approach.
D)neither the direct nor the indirect approach.

Question 37

If the audience for your marketing or sales message promoting a new security system is made up of wealthy professionals, the consumer benefit you would most want to emphasize is

A)protection of the consumer's property.
B)the low cost of the system.
C)the low monthly payments for the service.
D)easy, do-it-yourself installation.

Question 38

A ________ helps a potential buyer move through the purchasing process without having to make an immediate decision; a ________ encourages a potential buyer to make a purchase decision immediately.

A)marketing message; product push
B)measured response; content quotient
C)persuasive appeal; purchase message
D)marketing message; sales message

Question 39

When writing persuasive messages, one way to avoid faulty logic is to

A)avoid induction.
B)avoid deduction.
C)avoid praising your opponent.
D)avoid hasty generalizations.

Question 40

In marketing and sales messages, the best way to handle potential objections is to

A)avoid mentioning them.
B)identify them up front and try to address as many as you can.
C)explain why the objections aren't really important.
D)suggest that anyone who has them simply needs to do more research.

Question 41

Which of the following would be the best wording in a marketing or sales message?

A)The Never-Off whole-house generator requires professional installation.
B)The Never-Off whole-house generator provides either 110 volts for standard use or 220 volts for washers and driers.
C)The Never-Off whole-house generator automatically provides the 110 volt power your family needs during electrical outages.
D)The Never-Off whole-house generator smashes all your doubts about generators and tosses them in the trash.

Question 42

Successful professionals understand that persuasion is the attempt to get your audience to make the choices you want them to make-even if those choices are not in their best interest.

Question 43

Most persuasive messages combine logical and emotional appeals.

Question 44

The interest section of a persuasive message emphasizes the relevance of your product or idea to your audience.

Question 45

Deductive reasoning moves from specific evidence to a general conclusion.

Question 46

In the attention phase of a persuasive message, your goal is to make the audience want to hear about your idea.

Question 47

When it comes to persuasive messages, an up-front hard-sell approach is usually the most successful.

Question 48

Unlike more traditional promotional messages, those written for social media

A)are less interactive.
B)enable companies to engage in conversations about their products and services.
C)allow for less transparency and openness with customers.
D)save money by allowing companies to rely on the news media to distribute important messages.

Question 49

Demographic information includes people's psychological characteristics, such as personality, attitudes, and lifestyle.

Question 50

Regardless of the audience's specific needs, if your product is good and your message is clear, you will likely persuade them to make a purchase.

Question 51

An ethical persuasive argument

A)is a contradiction in terms.
B)focuses on how the audience's actions will benefit the sender.
C)includes any evidence the sender can come up with, whether or not it's relevant.
D)focuses on being both truthful and nondeceptive.

Question 52

Most persuasive messages take the direct approach.

Question 53

One of the best ways to gain credibility for your message is to support it with objective evidence.

Question 54

Induction refers to reasoning from a generalization to a specific conclusion.

Question 55

Marketers use ________ to track the online behavior of website visitors and serve up ads based on what their interests appear to be.

A)cyber stalking
B)crowdsouring
C)social convergence
D)behavioral targeting

Question 56

If you possess little authority in your organization, the direct approach will generally be best for the persuasive messages you send to colleagues.

Question 57

An example of faulty logic is to assume that one event caused another just because the two seem to coincide in time or place.

Question 58

The desire phase of a conventional marketing or sales message should

A)cut through "the clutter" to get your audience's attention.
B)build interest in the product or service that the message is promoting.
C)expand on your explanation of how the product or service will benefit them.
D)include a persuasive call to action.

Question 59

Using simple language in persuasive messages usually increases your credibility with a skeptical audience.

Question 60

The AIDA model can be used with both the direct and indirect approaches for persuasive messages.

Question 61

A marketing or sales message begins with an effort to gain the audience's ________.

Question 62

A good way to gain attention for a persuasive campaign for an electric car would be a series of graphs and technical data that show how efficient the car is.

Question 63

________ is reasoning that works from a generalization to a specific conclusion.

Question 64

________ information includes age, gender, occupation, income, and education.

Question 65

Most persuasive business messages involve requests for action.

Question 66

You usually do not need permission to use a person's name or photograph in a marketing or sales message.

Question 67

________ is the process of changing an audience's attitudes, beliefs, or actions.

Question 68

It is particularly important to establish ________ with a skeptical or hostile audience, in order to convince them that you know what you're talking about and that you're not trying to mislead them.

Question 69

Persuasive messages often follow a specialized four-phase format called the ________ model.

Question 70

If you anticipate objections to your persuasive message, it is best not to bring them up.

Question 71

In a message promoting a new laptop, a selling point would be the computer's lightning fast performance whereas a benefit would be, "never having to worry about having enough space for your photos, music, movies, and documents."

Question 72

If you are trying to persuade a hostile audience to take action, you should meet their hostility with your own belligerence to show that you are as tough as they are.

Question 73

When addressing a persuasive claim or request for adjustment, you should appeal to your audience's sense of fair play, goodwill, or moral responsibility.

Question 74

Successful marketing and sales messages match the product's selling points to the audience's primary needs or emotional concerns.

Question 75

Most persuasive claims and requests for adjustment use the direct approach.

Question 76

________ messages take a customer through the purchasing process without requiring a purchase.

Question 77

________ include information about an individual's personality, attitudes, lifestyle, and other psychological characteristics.

Question 78

________ reasoning is a logical fallacy in which you try to support your claim by using the premise of your statement.

Question 79

A(n)________ appeal is based on the audience's feelings or sympathies rather than its rational assessment of the facts.

Question 80

Because promotional messages are not legally binding contracts in most states, it is usually acceptable to imply offers or promises you cannot deliver.