Business Writing For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 8

Building Persuasion into Your Writing

IN THIS CHAPTER

Writing to reach heart and mind

Using the language of persuasion

Discovering your core message

Finding, shaping and using stories

Translating words into visuals

Previous chapters demonstrate that every message is “an ask.” Your audiences must be persuaded to read your messages and then convinced to respond to what you want, whether your request is minor or major. Success demands careful attention to both content and use of language. This chapter focuses on specific techniques of persuasion that help you write better everyday materials like emails, letters and reports, and are essential for high-stakes challenges like writing sales and marketing materials, negotiating and advocating. I show you concrete ways to make all your writing more persuasive and offer some big-picture ideas to amplify your toolkit for marketing yourself, an enterprise or cause.

Connecting with Your Readers

Essentially, when you need the tools of persuasion, ...