Persuasive Writing

Before you sit down to write, you must first decide what you want to convince the reader to do or believe. Then determine whether you have a workable solution. No point writing, "Something must be done now!" if you don't know what that something is. If you do have a solution, be sure to define it clearly, so the reader will know exactly what he is expected to do.

Your first goal is to get the reader to sympathize with and relate to you. If they can see a bit of themselves in you, you become real and likable; your words become important. They think, If he did it, and he is so similar to myself, then I can do it, too.

The reader must trust you. A down-to-earth attitude coupled with brute honesty should accomplish this. If you write down to them, they will know it, and this is a major turn-off. The reader wants respect, not a pat on the head.

Don't belabor a point with many explanations; the reader will fall asleep. Be forward with your difficult points. This may offend people when you speak to them, but in reading it's a time saver, and they don't take anything too personal, (unless it's a letter addressed specifically to them!).

Be tactful. If you are writing an article on weight-loss, don't call people fat. Even if they are used to it, this term will bring back memories of school-age tauntings. On the other hand, do not shirk from telling them the dangers of obesity. They will sense you're leaving something out, and if they really want to lose weight, they will go elsewhere for help.

Address the reader's intellect. Write as if your readers have an IQ similar to your own. They may need to have some terms defined, but do not write for children if your audience is made up of brain surgeons. Doctors may not know a gerund from a baseball, but they are extremely intelligent.

Tap into your readers' feelings. All people have emotions, and the single most effective way to get anyone to do anything is to tap these emotions. Suppose you want people to come to a fund-raiser for a free health clinic. Don't bore the potential donor with statistics and your yearly budget. Tell them all about little Bobby, who is alive today because his cancer was diagnosed in time. They will picture Bobby, think of their own children, and come to the fund-raiser with open checkbooks. If all you give them is data, you will be lucky if they send you a check in the mail.

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