As much as possible, avoid abstract, ambiguous, and wordy language.
The words you select can strongly determine whether your listeners consider your proposal. Whenever possible—and only when appropriate to your audience—sprinkle attention-grabbing words, such as easy, free, guaranteed, proven, and results, throughout your persuasion communication. Most of these are borrowed form sales, and, despite their heavy use, they’re an effective, tried-and-true tactic.
Vary your speaking pace to suit your purpose. Speaking fast helps you excite and energize your audience, whereas a slow pace creates a mood of anticipation. For most of your presentation, the best pace is slow enough for listeners to follow but quick enough to sustain their interest.
Use concrete language that is clear and to the point. As much as possible, avoid abstract, ambiguous, and wordy language. For example, it is more effective to say, “Sales dropped 10 percent this year” than to say, “At certain points in the year, sales numbers were up, then they were down, causing an overall negative impact on forecasted numbers.”
ACTION POINT: Choose the right words and use the appropriate pace and language to persuade your audience.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Reminds me of Stephen King's "On Writing" - don't remember the exact advice but something like using 10% fewer words to get your point across is more effective. Good post.
Post a Comment