Deck 7: Persuasive Messages

Question 1

How will you create interest? What would inspire Jalisa to accept your idea?

Answer 1

In order to make JJ interested in the idea, the following aspects are crucial:
• It is necessary to bring into prominence the fact that there is a scope for the dealership in City C to improve its current performance.
• Any improvement that is achieved by this trip of the dealer in City C of state O would impact not only the dealer's return, but it would also impact the returns of the company.
• Given the cost, increase in returns would result in higher productivity.
Person JJ will be inspired if she sees that the visit will benefit the dealership and thereby would increase the profits of the company.

Question 2

Write a complaint letter to a business owner.
Think about a negative customer service experience you had recently. Write a letter to the business owner or the company's customer service department explaining what happened. Be sure to use a credible tone and specific examples to persuade the owner that your experience is valid.
Also find a way to encourage a response from the company. You may ask for reasonable compensation, if appropriate.

Answer 2

A sample of a complaint letter to a business owner is as below.
The Manager,
The BD Hotel
Respected Sir,
I am writing this complain letter to inform you of the mishandling of affairs that takes place in your hotel. I, as a customer, did not like the treatment that was being offered to the customers in your hotel. I, personally, am not desirous of visiting your hotel again.
The reservation made was for a group of eight people but the table that had been reserved was meant for only four people. Post clearing the confusion of the table when the order was served, it was absolutely cold. We tried to tell the waiter to replace it and bring in hot food. The response was that it could not be done under the same order, and that we would have to place another order. Consequently, we ended up paying extra for the new order.
The waiters were also not regular in taking the order. We had to call out at least 4-5 times before any waiter even responded. The experience was not one that can be cherished. The meal consumed at your hotel caused a severe case of food poisoning and we all had to incur medical expenditure. Due to this, I demand the hotel to pay our medical bills.
Thanking You

Question 3

Write an article on a blog to warn people about quick cash businesses.
To discourage people from signing up at the "Promise Cash Center" site discussed in Exercise 3, write an online article. Imagine that you'll post your article on a site that warns consumers about questionable business practices. Your objective is to convince people that-even though fast cash sounds good-it's not in their best interest in the long term.
Consider these questions as you draft your article:
1. What evidence will you use? Research outside sources to support your view. Include data, expert opinion, and examples where relevant.
2. How will you organize your article-directly or indirectly?
3. What will you write up front to capture and keep the reader's attention?
4. How will you address potential obstacles or objections from readers?
5. What is a catchy title for your article?
Exercise 3
Discuss the ethics of an advertisement.
On its website (Figure), a company promises to deposit cash into a customer's bank account within 24 hours. In small groups, discuss tactics this company uses to persuade its audience. How do you see credibility (ethos), emotional appeals (pathos), and logical arguments (logos) used? What is not being said that may ultimately turn out badly for a customer?

Answer 3

Introduction
Quick cash-Authentic business or fraudulent practices used by people to attain large percentage of wealth.
Article for warning people about Quick cash Businesses
Promise Cash Center has been drawing a lot of attention in the recent months. It is due to its attractive offers of earning cash without any apparent flow of service or condition. Subscribers all over the world are attracted to such lucrative offer. However, there are a few facts that have been omitted by the website and would definitely contribute towards influencing the decision of the subscribers.
Subscription fee
The site requires the financial details of the subscribers, which is mostly entered by them without any reluctance as it is a financial deal after all but this detail is in fact required to extract the fee.
Subscribers do not receive the cash
This case is not received by subscriber on time. On protesting it is revealed that the win is subject to a blind draw system and this information was mentioned in the online agreement form (the information is cleverly mentioned in veiled words).
A recent website has carried out a small survey of individuals. It reports that the win percent is much below one percent whereas the website promises a hundred percent payment guarantee.
Awareness of the true method
The appropriate working on the website will surely aid individuals in deciding whether or not they want to subscribe. This would also help them in knowing whether they want to be the recipients of cash or victims of deceptive promises.
Factors implemented in the above article:
In the present situation a direct approach would be best suited for its readers to appreciate the point. Due to the sensitive nature of the site, the readers are already predisposed to listen to the point (as they would like to know more about such a site). Also, the reader might become impatient if the idea is not apparent and in instead provided after a long preliminary report.
• Figures and references are helpful in overcoming protest and provide reliable information to the readers.
• A title which reflects the content of the article aids in drawing attention of the readers.

Question 4

Give feedback on someone else's letter.
After you complete Exercise 15, switch letters with a partner. Imagine that you're the business owner receiving this complaint. Use the following form to give feedback to your partner. Circle a rating for each question.

Exercise 15
Write a complaint letter to a business owner.
Think about a negative customer service experience you had recently. Write a letter to the business owner or the company's customer service department explaining what happened. Be sure to use a credible tone and specific examples to persuade the owner that your experience is valid.
Also find a way to encourage a response from the company. You may ask for reasonable compensation, if appropriate.

Question 5

How can you justify your request? What evidence will you present to support your points? How can you quantify the costs? (Here's where you'll need some research-and some imagination.)

Question 6

Respond to a complaint letter.
Imagine that you own the business that is the subject of your peer's complaint in Exercise 15. Respond to the letter using principles discussed in this chapter. You may invent whatever details are necessary to win over the customer.
Exercise 15
Write a complaint letter to a business owner.
Think about a negative customer service experience you had recently. Write a letter to the business owner or the company's customer service department explaining what happened. Be sure to use a credible tone and specific examples to persuade the owner that your experience is valid.
Also find a way to encourage a response from the company. You may ask for reasonable compensation, if appropriate.

Question 7

Identify the organization of a persuasive letter.
When you graduate, you may receive communications from your school's alumni office. For example, the "Open Letter" from Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering is posted on the school's website (Figure). 12

How is the letter organized-using the direct or indirect approach? What specific examples in the text tell you it's organized in this way? Do you believe this is the best approach for this letter? Why or why not? Write a one-page summary of your analysis.

Question 8

Evaluate negative online reviews.
Find online reviews for a product you would like to buy. Which of the reviews influences you most? What about these reviews do you find persuasive? Discuss your analysis with a partner in class.

Question 9

What obstacles should you address in your email? Realistically, what objections might the regional director have (e.g., travel expenses)? How will you address these in the email?

Question 10

Write a negative review online.
Now rewrite your customer complaint letter from Exercise 15 for an online review. For your post to an online review site, you have a different audience: the public. Consider making changes for a broader audience, who, like the business owner, cares about your credibility, tone, and details. But, unlike the business owner, this audience may make a buying decision based on your review.
Exercise 15
Write a complaint letter to a business owner.
Think about a negative customer service experience you had recently. Write a letter to the business owner or the company's customer service department explaining what happened. Be sure to use a credible tone and specific examples to persuade the owner that your experience is valid.
Also find a way to encourage a response from the company. You may ask for reasonable compensation, if appropriate.

Question 11

Rewrite an email requesting a favor.
Rewrite Jamie Manor's email in Figure. Write a persuasive request using the guidelines you studied in this chapter. See whether you could do a better job to encourage your instructor to review your résumé.

Question 12

Respond to another student's review.
Give the review you completed in the previous exercise to a partner in class. Imagine that you're the proprietor of the business-the owner or a manager who would be responsible for responding to online reviews. First, decide how you would respond to this post. Would you ignore it, write an online response, or try to call or email the customer directly? Then, talk with your partner about your decision. Is this what he or she would prefer? Why or why not?
Next, assume that you'll write a response online. Draft your response, and again ask your partner for feedback. Would he or she be satisfied with the response?
Finally, rewrite the response to perfect it with feedback from your partner.

Question 13

Will you use the direct or indirect plan to organize the email?

Question 14

Write an email to a customer who posted negative feedback.
Imagine that you work for the Colonnade Hotel and Resort, and a customer posted a video of his negative experience checking into the hotel (Figure). The customer also posted a negative review of the hotel on a travel website (Figure).


Prepare an email to the customer, addressing his concerns. How can you win over this very angry customer?

Question 15

Write an email requesting a recommendation.
Imagine that you're interviewing for your ideal job. You're doing well in the process, and the HR manager has asked you for a letter of recommendation from one of your instructors. Write an email to the instructor who knows you best. You may invent details about the job for which you're interviewing.

Question 16

Rewrite a management response.
In this chapter, we saw that Amy, of Amy's Baking Company, didn't do such a good job responding to a customer's review (Figures 14 and 15). Rewrite Amy's response to get a better reaction.

Question 17

Write your opening paragraph. How will you describe your purpose and main points up front?

Question 18

Assess what is important to team members.
Think about a team you know well. It could be a volunteer organization, a small group at work, or a sports team. If you were introducing a new idea-one that team members might resist-what would be important to know about each team member that might influence how you tailor your message? You might consider questions such as the following:
• How long has this person been a part of the team?
• How important is the team to the person?
• What level of commitment to the team-rather than to the team member him- or herself-do you see?
• How might the person react to your idea?
• How will this person, specifically, be affected by the change?
• What questions or objections would this person have?

Question 19

Write an email to suggest an idea.
Similar to Grace Lee's suggestion in Figure, write an email to a current or previous employer. Think of an idea that would improve the business: a new procedure, an upgraded system, an innovative product, or some other way to increase sales, improve service, or increase operational efficiencies. Choose something simple enough to convey in a short message. Using the direct plan, put your main point up front, and be sure to use a clear, specific subject line to capture attention.

Question 20

What is your main point? How will you clearly and concisely describe your request? Be as specific as possible.

Question 21

How will you summarize your main points and inspire action in your closing?

Question 22

Analyze use of ethos, pathos, and logos in a sales call.
In the movie Boiler Room, Giovanni Ribisi's character (Seth) is a trainee working at a "chop shop"-a shady brokerage firm that sells stock in fake companies. The movie is based on a real company, previously on Long Island. During a sales call to a prospective customer (Harry), Seth uses credibility (ethos), emotional appeals (pathos), and logical arguments (logos)-but not in a professional, ethical way.
On the DVD, the sales call is at 1:04:28-1:07:56 (in scene 18). You will also find the clip under "Videos" on the author's blog (www.bizcominthenews.com).
As you watch the scene, how do you see Seth using credibility, emotional appeals, and logic to convince Harry to buy stock? Write down specific text that represents each strategy for persuasion. You may use this form for your notes.

Question 23

Write a magazine subscription letter.
Imagine that you work for your favorite magazine. Write a sales letter to encourage new subscriptions. As you're planning your letter, think carefully about your audience:
• Why would they want to subscribe to the magazine? What benefits would they gain?
• What can you offer to make a subscription attractive?
• What are the potential obstacles to your sale? How can you overcome them?
• How can you personalize the letter to your audience?
You'll want to use an indirect style for this letter, so think of a creative, catchy opening that would make your audience read on.

Question 24

What are your communication objectives? What, specifically, do you want Jalisa to do after she reads your email?

Question 25

Write a fundraising letter to recent alumni.
Imagine that you're working for your college's alumni office. You're asked to write a letter to recent graduates (within the past three years) to inspire them to donate to your school. You may use the Georgia Tech example in Figure, but tailor the letter to your school-and to recent graduates. You also may consider that your letter will be sent directly to graduates; this is different from the Georgia Tech example, which is posted on the school website. Consider how this difference might affect the order, content, and tone of your letter.

Question 26

Discuss the ethics of an advertisement.
On its website (Figure), a company promises to deposit cash into a customer's bank account within 24 hours. In small groups, discuss tactics this company uses to persuade its audience. How do you see credibility (ethos), emotional appeals (pathos), and logical arguments (logos) used? What is not being said that may ultimately turn out badly for a customer?

Question 27

Write a fundraising letter to older alumni.
Now rewrite the letter you wrote for Exercise 11. Adapt it for a new audience: people who graduated between 30 and 40 years ago. What will you change to persuade this cohort to donate to your school?
Exercise 11
Write a fundraising letter to recent alumni.
Imagine that you're working for your college's alumni office. You're asked to write a letter to recent graduates (within the past three years) to inspire them to donate to your school. You may use the Georgia Tech example in Figure, but tailor the letter to your school-and to recent graduates. You also may consider that your letter will be sent directly to graduates; this is different from the Georgia Tech example, which is posted on the school website. Consider how this difference might affect the order, content, and tone of your letter.

Question 28

What are the key benefits of your idea-to you and to the company? How can you focus your email around these points?

Question 29

Analyze a sales letter or email you receive.
Be on the lookout for sales letters you receive at home or through email. Bring one to class so you can discuss the example with other students.
In small groups, discuss how the letter or email uses persuasion tactics discussed in this chapter. What works best about the example, and what could be improved? Will you-or did you-purchase the product or service being promoted? Why or why not?
Agree on the best letter or email within your group, and share it with the rest of the class.

Question 30

Analyze a scripted video message on MediaCurves.com.
On MediaCurves.com, you'll find several examples of persuasive messages and will see viewers' reactions. Choose one message and analyze how people rate likability, believability, and sincerity.
Pay particular attention to the points at which viewers' ratings increase or dip. What do you believe accounts for these sometimes subtle changes? Discuss your analysis with a partner.

Question 31

Write text for a small business website.
If you were starting your own business, how would you represent your product or services on your website? You can use whatever business you'd like: home decorating, house painting, car repair, food delivery, home organizing, résumé editing, personal shopping, photography, or anything else that interests you.
You might start by exploring other small business websites. How do they present their business to the public? How do they organize their message? How do they use vivid language to draw people in?
Write one or two paragraphs about your product or service.