persuasive writing - florida library webinars · 12/10/2019 · related writing, the blog words on...

© 2019 Philip Vassallo, Ed.D.

Persuasive Writing

Philip Vassallo, Ed.D.


author of three books on work-

related writing, the blog Words on

the Line, and 50+ published articles

on writing theory and practice

instructional designer, trainer, writer,

and editor for corporate and

government clients

writing assessor of standardized tests

international visiting faculty member

doctorate in educational theory

Your Speaker

2

PHILIP VASSALLO, ED.D.


1. Apply theories of persuasion to

the writing situation.

2. Discover the elements of

powerful argumentative writing.

3. Use sound rhetorical strategies

and development methods.

4. Maintain a fresh style for your

proposals and position papers.

Objectives

3


Road Map

1 2 3 4

Persuasive

Mindsets

Persuasive

Motives

Persuasive

Methods

Persuasive

Missteps

4


Timeline

1 2 3 4

Persuasive

Mindsets

Persuasive

Motives

Persuasive

Methods

Persuasive

Missteps

5


Has writing changed?

6


• Everyone is an author.

• Everyone can evaluate.

• Information is easily accessible.

• Words are not enough.

Kathleen Blake Yancey, Writing in the 21st Century (Urbana: NCTE, 2009)

The Call

7


The Reality of Persuasion

Persuasive writers must:

1. realize persuasion does not

result just from writing

8


What did he mean by that?

"We hold these truths to be self-

evident, that all men are created

equal …" — Thomas Jefferson,

The Unanimous Declaration of

Thirteen United States of America

9





result from just writing

2. learn the political context in

which they write

10


The Second Avenue Subway Century

1929 1945 1965 1972 2007 2029

Fir

st p

ropose

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Pla

ns

dra

wn

Budget

appro

ved

Gro

undbre

akin

g

Tunnel

ing b

egin

s

Pro

ject

ed c

om

ple

tion

Persistence Pays—But Pay It Forward

11





result from just writing

2. learn the political context in

which they write

3. build alliances through writing

and other means

12


Innovator … or Collaborator?

13


Maverick

14


Partner

15


Persuasive Mindsets

16


Ethos, Pathos, Logos

"Friends, Romans, countrymen,

lend me your ears …"

— Marc Antony in Julius Caesar

by William Shakespeare

17


You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break

laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently

urge people to obey the Supreme Court’s decision of 1954 outlawing

segregation in the public schools, it is rather strange and paradoxical

to find us consciously breaking laws. One may well ask, “How can

you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” The answer

lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: there are just laws and

there are unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “An

unjust law is no law at all.”

Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one

determine when a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made

code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust

law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in

the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is

not rooted in eternal law and unjust law is a human law that is not

Persuasive Mindsets at Work

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ethos

19


















logos

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pathos

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logos

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pathos

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rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human

personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is

unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation

distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator

a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of

inferiority. To use the words Martin Buber, the great Jewish

philosopher, segregation substitutes an “I-it” relationship for the “I-

thou” relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of

things. So segregation is not only politically, economically and

sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Paul Tillich

has said that sin is separation. Is not segregation an existential

expression of man’s tragic separation, an expression of his awful

estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? So I can urge men to disobey

segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong. — Martin

Luther King, Letter from Birmingham City Jail, April 16, 1963


24


















pathos 25


















logos 26


















pathos 27


















logos 28


















pathos 29


















ethos 30


Mindsets: Lessons Learned

1. Establish a need.

31


In Science and Everywhere Else

"In science the credit goes to the man who

convinces the world, not to the man to

whom the idea first occurs. ot the man

who finds a grain of new and precious

uality but to him who sows it, reaps it,

grinds it and feeds the world on it. —

y, 1914

“In science the credit goes to the man who

convinces the world, not to the man to

whom the idea first occurs. Not the man

who finds a grain of new and precious

quality but to him who sows it, reaps it,

grinds it and feeds the world on it.” —

Francis Darwin, First Galton Lecture,

Eugenics Society, 1914.

32




2. Persist.

33


10% Inspiration / 90% Perspiration

“I’m convinced that about half of what

separates the successful entrepreneurs from

the non-successful ones is pure

perseverance.” — Steve Jobs, 1994

34




2. Persist.

3. Build bridges.

35


10% Inspiration / 90% Perspiration

“If people talked together more and

engaged with each other, it leads to better

outcomes.” – Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google,

Blomberg Business Week, October 19,

2017

36


Road Map

1 2 3 4

Persuasive

Mindsets

Persuasive

Motives

Persuasive

Methods

Persuasive

Missteps

37


3 Persuasive Motives

Create

for those who

don't know or

don't care

38


Motives: Lessons Learned

4. Know your stuff.

39


Creating an Opinion

40



Create

for those who

don't know or

don't care

Strengthen

for those who

should know more

41



4. Know your stuff.

5. Focus on your readers.

42


These days, parents wait in line to buy their

children interactive Zhu Zhu robotic pet

hamsters, advertised as “living to feel the love.”

And one of the hottest online programs is

Chatroulette, with 1.5. million users, which

randomly connects you to other users all over

the world. You see each other on live video.

You can talk or write to bring another person up

on their screens. People mostly hit “next” after

about two seconds. It seems right that Zhu Zhu

pets and Chatroulette are the final “objects” I report on in this book: the

Zhu Zhus are designed to be loved; in Chatroulette, people are objectified

and quickly discarded. I leave my story at a point of disturbing symmetry:

we seem determined to give human qualities to objects and content to treat

each other as things. ― Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect

More from Technology and Less from Each Other, 2011.

Strengthening an Opinion

43



Create

for those who

don't know or

don't care

Reverse

for those who

say no

Strengthen

for those who

should know more

44



4. Know your stuff.


6. Listen to everyone.

45


Reversing an Opinion

46


Road Map

1 2 3 4

Persuasive

Mindsets

Persuasive

Motives

Persuasive

Methods

Persuasive

Missteps

47


Use the Chain

Make it

real

Bring it

home

Link key

ideas

48


Methods: Lessons Learned

7. Open and close powerfully.

49


20 Ways to Open/Close Powerfully

1. Get to the point.

2. Make an imposing claim.

3. Note a startling statistic.

4. Ask an intriguing question.

5. Evoke history.

6. Quote an authority.

7. Mention the source.

8. Tell an anecdote.

9. Voice a threat.

10. State an opportunity.

11. Use humor.

12. Express gratitude.

13. Refer to pop culture.

14. Issue an order.

15. Advance a proposition.

16. Draw an analogy.

17. Rely on your reputation.

18. Paint a picture.

19. Submit an admission.

20. Find a common bond.

50


1. Get to the point.

The key, essential element in all good business management is

emotional attitude. — Harold Geneen, "The Essential Elements,"

in The Book of Management Wisdom, Peter Krass, editor, 2000

51


2. Make an imposing claim.

The final year of this century was our finest, as 340,000 GE people

around the globe posted the strongest results in the Company's 122-

year history. — General Electric letter to shareholders, CEO Jack

Welch, 1999

52


3. Note a startling statistic.

It’s estimated that approximately 700 million people still live on

less than US$1.90 per day, a total of 1.3 billion people are multi-

dimensionally poor, including a disproportionate number of women

and people with disabilities, and 80 percent of humanity lives on

less than US$10 per day. Increasingly, middle-income countries

account for a large part of this trend. — "Outcome 1: Eradication of

poverty in all its forms and dimensions," United Nations

Development Programme, 2019

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4. Ask an intriguing question.

What do the failure of Enron, the Watergate scandal, the nuclear

accident at Three Mile Island, and most airline crashes have in

common? Quite simply, it would be almost impossible to make

each of these things happen without a serious sequence of errors

that goes unchecked. Whether it is a physical disaster, a political

blunder, a corporate misstep, or a strategic mistake, as the

investigation unfolds, we always find out that it took a unique set

of compounding errors to bring the crisis to front-page status.

— Will Your Next Business Mistake Be Fatal? Avoiding a Chain

of Mistakes that Can Destroy Your Organization by Robert E.

Mittelstaedt, Jr., Wharton School Publishing, 2004

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5. Evoke history.

One cold and rainy spring day, I was sitting in Edward O. Wilson's

office in the back of the Natural History Museum at Harvard when

he turned and said, "It's dangerous to state the obvious."

It was a chilling warning from the most acclaimed naturalist in the

world and the only scientist to be physically attacked on U.S. soil

for his views.

Wilson was foreshadowing what lay ahead: the scrutiny, criticism,

and attempts to disparage me for using terms such as "evolution"

and "biological obstacles" to explain why governments, leaders,

and experts have become gridlocked. — The Watchman's Rattle by

Rebecca Costa, 2010

55


6. Quote an authority.

Our friend and co-trustee Warren Buffett once gave us some great

advice about philanthropy: “Don’t just go for safe projects,” he

said. “Take on the really tough problems.”

We couldn’t agree more. Our foundation is teaming up with

partners around the world to take on some tough challenges:

extreme poverty and poor health in developing countries, and the

failures of America’s education system. — "Who We Are" by Bill

and Melinda Gates, GatesFoundation.org, 2019

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7. Cite the source.

While reading an article written by Theodore V. Houser, former

chairman of the board of Sears Roebuck & Company, I was

reminded of several key points in the management of people which

I thought we should review. — Memo to all Wal-Mart Stores

management associates, CEO Sam Walton, November 11, 1980

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8. Tell an anecdote.

I was told I had cancer on a beautiful blue day in July. I was out

on Cape Cod, finishing the first draft of a novel when the

telephone rang. I had thought it was about time for me to have a

bit of good luck, and when I heard my surgeon's voice I assumed

I was safe. In novels people were called into offices for bad news,

and anyway, it was far too gorgeous a day for tragedy. —

"Sustained by Fiction While Facing Life's Facts" by Alice

Hoffman in Writers on Writing: Collected Essays from The New

York Times, 2000

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9. Voice a threat.

Previous generations were able to look upon intellectual and

cultural progress as simply the inherited fruits of their forebears'

labors, which made life easier and more beautiful for them. But

the calamities of our times show us that this was a fatal illusion.

— The World As I See It by Albert Einstein, 1934

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10. State an opportunity.

No matter what your thoughts are on #MeToo or #TimesUp,

many parents of young girls may think, "She’s still so young. Do

I really need to talk to her about something so adult?"

With the topic spreading far beyond social media—including the

recent Golden Globes broadcast, featuring powerful speeches

given by women in entertainment, such as Oprah—the

surrounding movement to stop sexual harassment, assault, and

the overall unequal treatment of women in general may already

be on your girl’s radar. While it’s up to each parent or family to

do what’s right for their girl, the age she may need to know about

these topics starts younger than most people think. — ’ W

T k Y K d Ab x H m ? T m ’ Up.

GirlScouts.Org, 2019

60


11. Use humor.

Someone once said that Al Neuharth, founder of the USA Today

newspaper, was the kind of guy who would go after Moby Dick

with a knife and a jar of tartar sauce. — "Getting the Really Big

One: Captain Ahab's Quest for Moby Dick" in The Timeless

Leader by John K. Clemens and Steve Albrecht, 1997

61


12. Express gratitude.

Team,

With the holidays upon us and 2014 drawing to a close, it’s a great

time to look back at this unforgettable year. Together we have

reached new heights with our products and delivered Apple’s most

innovative lineup ever. I’m immensely proud of the work that you

and your teams are doing to make Apple a force for good in the

world, both through our products and by making a difference on

issues that touch millions of lives. — Email to Apple staff, CEO

Tim Cook, December 2014

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13. Refer to pop culture.

There are no excellent companies. The old saw "If it ain't broke,

don’t fix it" needs revision. I propose: "If it ain't broke, you just

haven’t looked hard enough." Fix it anyway. — Thriving on

Chaos by Tom Peters, 1987

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14. Issue an order.

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a

humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you

cannot be successful or happy. But with a sound self-confidence

you can succeed. — The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman

Vincent Peale, 1952

64


15. Advance a proposition.

In your rise to power you will come across many breeds of

opponent, sucker, and victim. The highest form of the art of

power is the ability to distinguish among wolves and lambs, the

foxes from the hares, the hawks from the vultures. If you make

this distinction, you will succeed without needing to coerce

anyone too much. — "Law 19: Know Who You're Dealing With—

Do Not Offend the Wrong Person," in The 48 Laws of Power by

Robert Greene, 1998

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16. Draw an analogy.

The rules for reading yourself to sleep are easier to follow than

the rules for staying awake while reading. — "How to Be a

Demanding Reader" in How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler,

1940

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17. Rely on your reputation.

The heart I learned about in medical school was a simple

mechanical pump, a ten-ounce, fist-size organ that beat an

average of 72 times a minute, more than 100,000 times a day. It

was a four-chambered muscle, similar to those in whales and

sparrows, whose sole purpose was to transport oxygenated blood

to the brain and other organs. — The Heart Speaks by Mimi

Guarneri, M.D., 2006

67


18. Paint a picture.

In case we were in any way at risk of becoming complacent, our

fourth quarter reminded all of us that we operate in a volatile,

competitive, ever-changing and complicated world where the

challenges are numerous, the pace non-stop and the pressure

constant. — Letter to Jeffries staff, CEO Rich Handler and Board

Chairman Brian Friedman, January 2015

68


19. Submit an admission.

We really messed this one up. When we launched News Feed and

Mini-Feed we were trying to provide you with a stream of

information about your social world. Instead, we did a bad job of

explaining what the new features were and an even worse job of

giving you control of them. I'd like to try to correct those errors

now. — Message to Facebook account holders, from CEO Mark

Zuckerberg, September 8, 2006

69


20. Find a common bond.

Today is a very humbling day for me. It reminds me of my very

first day at Microsoft, 22 years ago. Like you, I had a choice

about where to come to work. I came here because I believed

Microsoft was the best company in the world. I saw then how

clearly we empower people to do magical things with our

creations and ultimately make the world a better place. I knew

there was no better company to join if I wanted to make a

difference. This is the very same inspiration that continues to

drive me today. — Email to Microsoft employees, CEO Satya

Nadella, February 4, 2014

70




8. Show benefits.

71


Features vs. Benefits

Features Driven The Smartypants Phone Plus costs $480, which is $200 less than its two major

competitors’. Its usage time is up to 48 hours with standby time of 24 days. The rear

camera is 21 megapixels. It is available with 64GB memory. Its 5.2" screen has

2560 X 1440 resolution, and it weighs only 6 ounces.

Benefits Driven The Smartypants Phone Plus offers our associates seven advantages:

• Affordable Cost – At $480, it runs $200 less than its two major competitors’.

• Extended Battery Life – Its 48-hour usage / 24-day standby time ends our

inconvenient search for outlets in the field.

• Sharper Photography – The 21-MP camera captures the purest of images.

• Greater Storage – The 64GB memory—twice the standard high-storage

capacity—allows for storing all our presentation and .jpeg files.

• Easy Viewing – The 5.2" screen provides greater scanning and scaling.

• Exceptional Clarity – Its 2560 X 1440 resolution offers the highest visual

definition.

• Convenient Carrying – Weighing only 6 ounces, it is painless for staff to carry.

72




8. Show benefits.

9. Give before you take.

73


Anticipate Objections

Management responded prudently to the current recession

by implementing a training-and-development moratorium

well before the Mayor officially announced the hiring freeze.

The resulting savings from both actions have been

inarguably significant: $7.6 million in the first quarter alone.

While the hiring freeze achieves a short-term fiscal

objective, training and development addresses our critical

long-term objectives, which affect our very business

knowledge and competitive survival. …

(see next slide)

74


Offer Concessions

(from previous slide)

… For this reason, we suggest a limited training initiative,

Moving the Mover, for associates and analysts shifting into

new leadership positions across the Library. The program

focuses not on what these contributors know, but how they

can make our customers know. It enables them to transfer

the wisdom they've gained in their research to their clients,

who need to make the best investment decisions of their

time. It forges closer Library and patron relationships,

transforming them into indispensable partnerships. This

program responds directly and vitally to our President’s call

to action.

75


Road Map

1 2 3 4

Persuasive

Mindsets

Persuasive

Motives

Persuasive

Methods

Persuasive

Missteps

76


Sawdust Speck vs. Plank

“The evil that men do lives after

them; the good is oft interred with

their bones.” — Marc Antony in

Julius Caesar by William

Shakespeare 77


Missteps: Lessons Learned

10. Serve logic before style.

78


Statistics Are Not Enough

"There are three kinds of lies: lies,

damned lies, and statistics." — attributed to Benjamin Disraeli

79


Give a Time-Based Context

1. Positon the statistics in its chronological context.

Weak: Our circulation is a mess.

Better: Our circulation is 11 percent lower than the

same period a year ago.

80


Give a Time-Based Context (continued)

2. Explain the relative weight of comparison points.

Weak: Our graphic novel collection is exploding.

Better: The Library’s graphic novel collection increased

23 percent last year, while the more mature

categories, such as adult fiction and ESL, have

increased only 2% but remain more than 93%

of our electronic and print collection.

81



3. Decide based on comprehensive analysis.

Weak: We should remove much of Literature, our

poorest performing classification.

Better: A review of our circulation over the most recent

five years and of a 2019 survey sampling 963

patrons shows Literature as a major lagger.

82



4. Put dramatic changes in context.

Weak: Our salary expenses have skyrocketed.

Better: We added two part-time staff in the last 15

months to keep pace with expanding programs,

increasing annual salary expenses by $63,000.

83


Avoid Logical Fallacies

1. Ad hominem Attack. A h pp ’ y

intelligence, or lifestyle, while ignoring the argument.

Fallacy: The project will be completed on time

despite claims to the contrary by Phil McGill,

who has a long record of making doomsday

prognostications.

Fair: We have sufficient resources to meet the

project deadline.

84


Avoid Logical Fallacies (continued)

2. Ad populum Commentary. Appealing to popular opinion

without addressing the specifics.

Fallacy: All employees worth their allegiance know

that Nelly Kelly’s incident investigation

defied commonly accepted democratic

principles.

Fair: We believe Nelly Kelly’s incident

investigation should have been more

consistent with the Library's standards.

85



3. Post hoc ergo propter hoc Reasoning. Claiming incorrectly

that one event caused another.

Fallacy: Patron complaints have increased by 5 percent;

therefore, training production staff will reverse

this alarming trend.

Fair: We should determine whether inadequate staff

training is a contributing factor to the 5 percent

increase in patron complaints.

86



4. Red Herring. Making an unrelated point to advance the

argument.

Fallacy: Becky Sadecki’s proposed art project for the

patrons is not feasible. As a library, our mission

commits us to focusing solely on reading,

learning, and literacy.

Fair: Becky Sadecki’s proposed art project for the

patrons needs to include a research

component to support our mission of focusing

on reading, learning, and literacy.

87



5. Guilt by Association. Unreasonably associating an opponent or

a proposition with a guilty party.

Fallacy: How could we promote Berta Huerta if she

worked for Mitchell Twitchell, who was fired for

theft?

Fair: Berta Huerta should meet the same standards

for promotion as other job candidates.

88



6. Absolute. Inaccurately using superlatives (e.g., anyone, every

time, nobody) to advance a point.

Fallacy: Nobody really expects us to complete this

project by the due date.

Fair: The Library Director said she expects us to

miss the project deadline.

89




11. Distinguish among causes.

90



7. Hasty Generalization. Drawing careless conclusions from data.

Fallacy: Most Democrats and Republicans in the US

Congress oppose funding of this proposal;

therefore, it has no popular appeal and

deserves no place in our country.

Fair: Most Democrats and Republicans in the US

Congress oppose funding of this proposal;

therefore, it has little chance of passing.

91



8. Unequal Comparison. Inappropriately comparing unrelated

entities.

Fallacy: Gina Porter’s attempt at reorganizing our

department is tantamount to a hostile takeover.

Fair: Gina Porter’s reorganization plans for our

department would benefit from additional staff

input.

92





12. Let your purpose decide.

93


Use Metaphors Wisely

1. The double-edged metaphor occurs when using an image that

creates a counter image, which, though not necessarily

unfavorable, distracts the reader from the point.

Double-edged: The future of the economy is left in the

hands of gamblers perpetually flipping a penny in

deciding on fiscal issues. While they may have a fifty-

fifty chance of picking a winning move based on

uneducated guesses, what would they do if Lincoln

stood on edge?

Better Metaphor: The future of the economy is left in the

hands of gamblers who cannot have a better than

fifty-fifty chance even based on calculated guesses.

94


Use Metaphors Wisely (continued)

2. The mixed metaphor shows up in a series of incongruous

images.

Mixed: The new safety compliance measure is hitting

a home run straight through the roof of Mount

Olympus.

Better Metaphor: The new safety compliance

measure has become a virtual vault for all

classified company information.

95



3. The obscure metaphor appears where an image is unknown to

the audience.

Obscure: In her quest to create an organizational arête,

Director Carol Farrell continues to seek training and

development opportunities for the staff.

Better Metaphor: In her quest to create an

organizational university, Director Carol Farrell

continues to seek training and development

opportunities for the staff.

96



4. The inadvertent metaphor arises when using an image to create

one idea but conjuring a contrary idea.

Inadvertent: We are excited about OnPoint, our new

communication software. Babble, as we like to call it,

is deeply intuitive and powered by exceptional voice

recognition technology.

Better Metaphor: We are excited about OnPoint, our

new communication software, which is deeply

intuitive and powered by exceptional voice

recognition technology.

97


Review: These Twelve Plus …

Methods


8. Show benefits.

9. Give before you take.

Missteps



12. Let your purpose decide.

Mindsets


2. Persist.

3. Build bridges.

Motives

4. Know your stuff.


6. Listen to everyone.

98


13. Make yourself the messenger.

• Connect the idea to related issues.

• Use all possible occasions to raise the issue.

14. Make yourself the message.

• Prepare varied formats and lengths.

• Keep a notebook.

• Seek feedback.

• Accept criticism.

These Parting Shots

99


“T m f m h

A h m v h h v d d .”

— Alexander Pope, 1711

… And This Last One

100


Next Steps?

1. Read inside your field to discover vital industry trends.

2. Review argumentative essays on diverse topics to study persuasive techniques.

3. Keep a record of your ideas, experiences, and readings to generate topics.

4. Seek persuasive writing opportunities to cultivate your skills.

101


Thank You!

PHILIP VASSALLO, ED.D.

Writing Management, Design, Instruction, and Assessment

21 Cori Street

Parlin, NJ 08859-1719

Office: 1-732-721-7577

Mobile: 1-732-718-3361

Fax: 1-732-727-7491

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.PhilVassallo.com

Blog: www.WordsontheLine.blogspot.com

Tweets: www.Twitter.com/PhilVassallo

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/PhilVassallo

Author of How to Write Fast Under Pressure, The Art of E-mail Writing, and The Art of On-the-Job Writing

To your writing success!

102

persuasive writing - florida library webinars · 12/10/2019 · related writing, the blog words on...

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