Business Communication, University of Louisville

1. Competency 5:
Persuasive

2. What is Persuasion?
 Defined as the act of motivating a receiver,
through communication, to change a
particular belief or behavior
 Two Important Qualifiers:
 Receiver should be fully free to choose
(not coerced)
 Receiver should be able to base decision
on fully-informed position (not deceived)

3.  How will this class approach persuasion?
 *The primary goal of all business communication
 Specifically…
 Goal-oriented and receiver-centric perspective
 Culmination of professional, clear, concise and
evidence-driven communication
 Strategic and ethical paradigms
 Rhetorically diverse (ethos, pathos, logos)
A Preview of Things to Come

4. Persuasion Is Everywhere
 Sales pitches
 Employee recruitment
 Letters of recommendation
 Request for a raise or promotion
 Business plans and proposals
 Recommending a particular candidate or
supplier

5. Persuasion is Complex
 Culmination of all other competencies:
Professional, organized, comprehensive-
concise, and evidence-driven
 A competency by itself:
Requires a separate set of skills
 Establishing logos, pathos, ethos
 Crafting arguments
 Avoiding fallacies

6. In order to be persuasive, the sender must
establish logos, pathos, ethos.
 Logos
 (words): Logical proofs, data
 Pathos
 (emotion): Emotional appeals
 Ethos
 (authority): Credibility, trust, appeals to authority
The most powerful persuasion
strategies combine logic, data,
emotion, and credibility

7. Receiver analysis is an important
component of persuasion

8. Craft arguments by:
 Starting with a thesis
 Listing points that support your thesis
 Using evidence to support your points
 Summarizing, concluding, and restating thesis

9. Avoiding fallacies
 Fallacies are breakdowns in logic
 Fallacies can make your receiver disregard your
entire argument
 Fallacies hurt your credibility and damage your
ability to achieve your communication goals

10. What are ethics?
Systems of moral, social, or cultural
values that govern the conduct of
an individual or community.

11. Kinds of Ethics
Personal
Social Legal
• Family
• Religion
• Background
• Location
• Laws
• Policies
• Rights
• Utility
• Care

12. What is ethical persuasion?
Persuasion without:
 Coercion
 Manipulation
 Force
 Deceit
 Violations of
ethical values

13. Standards for Ethical Persuasion
 Truthfulness of the message
 Authenticity of persuader
 Respect for audience
 Equity of persuasive appeal
 Social responsibility for common good
Baker and Martinson (2001)

14. Key Takeaways
 Persuasion is an essential competency of
business communication
 It relies on all previous competencies
 But, it also has its own set of complex
strategies
 It is important to consider ethical guidelines
when persuading a receiver