One of the main points on this blog is that you need to be understood when you write or speak. This is a problem for many people whether they’re technically inclined or not. I recently came across a blog post at copyblogger.com that takes an interesting viewpoint on Persuasive Writing.

For many years, people talked about the formula AIDA in writing copy for marketing and sales. The letters stand for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. This has been a simple way to structure short, persuasive pieces when you’re trying to sell something.

Brian Clark, the author of the article “The Four “P” Approach: A Persuasive Writing Structure That Works” on copyblogger.com takes a different approach. This isn’t something new as others have been using this as well, but this article is a particularly nice discussion of the formula.

The 4P approach is Promise, Picture, Proof, and Push. Summarized, his approach is

1. Promise - the promise is your opening and has to focus on a promise that makes sense to whoever you’re trying to communicate with. What’s in it for THEM! If you can get them to see the benefit to themselves, they’ll be more disposed to following the rest of what you have to say.
2. Picture - you want to paint a picture that gets emotional involvement from the people you’re trying to convince. If you can get them emotionally involved, you’re that much closer to convincing them.
3. Proof - emotional connection is never quite enough. You need to address people’s logical mind as well by offering proof of why this works for THEM. Proof is always a part of making the case clear.
4. Push - here’s where you connect the dots and try to get a commitment to actually doing something. Do you want approval to start a project? Do you want a raise? A promotion? Whatever it is that you’re trying to convince someone about, this is where you tie your argument to their action.

A very important point made in the article is that persuasion is about UNDERSTANDING. That’s true no matter what kind of piece you’re writing. In order to persuade someone, they have to understand what you’re saying. You need to put the effort in to make it happen because YOU want THEM to understand. It’s YOUR responsibility to adjust your communication, not your audience’s.

So why should you bother reading about it? Simple, you can apply either formula when trying to put together a short, persuasive piece like an email or even use it as a structuring idea for a short talk or presentation. When you’re trying to convince someone, you’re being a marketer or a sales person. You’re not just a ‘techie’, you’re selling something, your idea, your project, or whatever. Think about formulas like this when you want to make a persuasive argument clearly.

Categories: Skills, The Basics