 |
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|||
THIS PAGE IS
COPYRIGHT 1997 BY CORNERSTONE CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS Day Seven: Turn words into actions CRASH COURSE: Try to use words that lead to action, and avoid words that put your audience off. Be positive and diplomatic, but not excessively so. Remember that cognitive
dissonance will cause readers to reject messages they dislike. Unless you're a novelist, you are not writing to be pretty. You are writing to get things done. Sometimes, you need to use tact. Sometimes, you need to
use gentle persuasion. And sometimes you need to sound menacing. As we discussed on Day Four and Day Six, your structure and your tone will vary with the message you want to send. But you also have to pick words that
inspire action from your readers, or that persuade them to agree with you. TIP: Come right out and ask Many written communications fail simply because they never come right out and ask for action. A
fundraising letter should brazenly ask for money. And soon. Many readers only read the beginnings and ends of documents, so come out swinging. Better yet, ask for a specific amount, by a specific date. (And remember
that, for many readers, "as soon as possible" means "when hell freezes over.") Try a little psychology Before we move on to specific techniques, let's step back and look at the science of
persuasion. While there are limits to what psychology can do, knowing how readers form and change opinions can help writers make the most out of their words. First, remember the difference between attitudes and
opinions. Opinions change. I may be in favour of Candidate X's tax policies one day, but opposed the next when I have more facts. Attitudes are deeper. I may be predisposed to a candidate who will lower taxes, so long
as that policy doesn't hurt the poor. That's an attitude. Attitudes are much harder to change, because they are based on a mixture of emotion (I want to pay less, but don't want people to suffer), perception
(government wastes my money), culture (people of my nationality, age, class and sex don't like taxes) and experience (when taxes went up, my quality of life went down). It is extremely hard to change attitudes and
opinions, thanks to cognitive dissonance. This means that if I believe one thing to be true (taxes are too high), then I will resist or ignore facts to the contrary (taxes are so low that social services are suffering).
On the other hand, people actively seek information that supports their existing attitudes and opinions. (Right-wingers are more likely to read Alberta Report, for example, than This Magazine.) This
isn't a bad thing. You will often want to write to reinforce an existing attitude, or to motivate action based on that attitude. Hard as it is to change attitudes, they can be changed by dramatic events. Although the
Tet Offensive didn't accomplish very much militarily for Vietnamese Communists, it did shatter American belief that the Vietnam War could be won, and turned public opinion against the war. Events will also encourage a
motivated person to keep acting. While these events may be beyond your control, you should certainly be sensitive to them. You can now see why most persuasive attempts fail. Many writers try to replace one way of
thinking with another, instead of shifting people's thoughts slightly. Instead of convincing me that taxes are too low, try suggesting that important social needs are not being well funded. While the two ideas may be
contradictory, they can co-exist and form the basis for further persuasion. However, it is not enough to simply change an attitude. You may convince me that human rights violations in Indonesia are a serious problem.
But I may not care enough to do anything. Most Americans knew about Bill Clinton's questionable ethics, but they re-elected him anyway. Here are some ways to generate action.
Pick words that appeal There are also specific words that work better than others. Jay Conrad Levinson's Guerrilla Marketing Excellence lists three dozen "magic" words that win over readers. The
top 12 are free, new, you, sale, introducing, save, money, discover, results, easy, proven and guaranteed. There are also trigger words that you should avoid: fail, impossible, poor, can't, incompetent, criticize,
reject, unable, won't, unsatisfactory and ignorant. Remember, though, that the problem with a trigger word isn't the word itself, but the sense in which it is used, that can put the reader off. For example:
These could easily be rewritten:
Don't sound doubtful, project confidence If you sound like you're not sure of your message, your reader will pick up on your hesitation. That will weaken your message and make you sound uncertain.
Consider these sentences.
Words like if and hope indicate that you're not sure how the reader will feel. This creates doubt in the reader's own mind. However, if you reword the sentence to eliminate the doubtful tone, you strengthen your
message and sound more confident. The above sentences could easily be rewritten.
Notice how these sentences use the imperative form of the verb? If it weren't for the word please, they would almost sound like orders. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if you are being polite, or if
you are "ordering" somebody to do something pleasant (like enjoying their visit). Canadians and women, especially, tend to be self-effacing. But being self-effacing doesn't get things done. Look at these
sentences.
There's nothing wrong with the grammar, but look at the message. Does it sound as though the program really does help farmers, or that the department really does ensure quality? Be confident, or don't say it at all.
Phrase thoughts positively It is always easier to catch flies with honey than with vinegar. Consider the following sentences.
They could be worded more positively.
Now we're putting readers in a positive frame of mind, which we hope will lead to a positive response. Instead of being angry about Friday's unprocessed request, the reader should be pleased to hear that the request
will be fulfilled on Monday. Let's go back to the example about the office hours. By adding information, you can make the sentence even more positive: "Our office is open until 6:00 p.m. for the convenience of
our clients." Now try to make the reader-centered attitude even more prominent: "Our office is open until 6:00 p.m. for your convenience." That's the power of positive thinking. Not only is positive
writing more effective, it is also easier to read. According to Communications Briefings, each negative takes your readers an extra third of a second to process. They have to take their existing understanding of
your sentence and flip it backwards. And make a particular point of avoiding double negatives (such as I didn't say I wouldn't). Double negatives double the difficulty. But don't be too positive Sometimes,
we become so "positive" that we're practically Orwellian. Being positive doesn't mean you should never admit problems. Phrases like "We were not successful" are just as "negative" as
"We have failed," but less clear. Calling your problems "challenges" only suggests that you don't take your situation seriously. After all, it is always better to solve problems than it is to meet
challenges. Being positive doesn't mean you should sugar-coat problems: it means you should focus on solutions. Sometimes, it is hard to think positively when problems remain unsolved. It is easy to be positive when
you are asking people for their business, but how do you stay positive when those people don't pay their bills? You want to be diplomatic, but you're not willing to bend, either. Sometimes a frank appraisal of matters
will work better. Compare these two sentences.
The first sentence is too diplomatic. The writer hasn't assigned any blame or made any demands. The writer probably won't get paid, either. In this case, the writer has to balance the importance of the client with
the importance of being paid. Is it impossible to be nice and to pass on bad news? Perhaps this approach might work best.
This merges six of the best techniques of diplomatic writing. 1. It uses the passive voice to defray blame (it doesn't come right out and say that you personally have not paid your bill, merely that the unnamed
forces responsible for payment are behind -- see tomorrow's lesson for more about the passive voice). 2. It gives the recipient the benefit of the doubt (maybe, in these busy times, the bill was forgotten). 3. It
makes the bad guy out to be something immutable and abstract (company policy). 4. It uses the imperative tense (pay your bill). 5. It is polite (please pay your bill).
6. It asks for a specific action by a specific time (please pay your bill by next Friday). Put it to work: Write a short e-mail message to handle each of the following situations. Feel free to make up
more details.
Quotable quote "Writing is no trouble: you just jot down the ideas as they occur to you. The jotting is simplicity itself --it is the occurring which is difficult." -- Stephen Leacock
|
|||