SUNDAY LINEUP --- WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? Communication Issues, Skills and Techniques AUTHOR:  Marie Davis, IDG Trainer/Speaker

There are a number of tools and techniques you can use to persuade your reader.  The most important is to ask yourself “What would I think/feel/perceive if I read this message not knowing my point of view?

In my classes, I use this example:

If you wrote my company asking for a refund, which of these two responses from me would you like better?

a.     We require that you come into the store with a valid, signed sales receipt before we can process a refund.
                                                           or

b.     So you can receive your refund quickly, please come into the store with your signed sales receipt.

Clearly, b is focused on the reader and getting them what they want.  Therefore, it’s more persuasive.  If you look at the two sentences, they say the same thing, but the perspective is different.

Another tool to help you persuade the reader is to know the reader.  The six journalism questions will give you some of what you need to help you write more effectively to your reader.  Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting articles about these six questions…stay tuned!