Presentation
Yes Marks
the Spot
Crafting Persuasive
Messages
By Eric Morgenstern, APR, Fellow
PRSA
For so many in the business world,
salesmanship has adopted an almost
“four-letter word” mentality. There is
often a negative connotation associated
with the sales industry, and for many, it
is justified.
However, when we strip away the
complexities of our job responsibilities
and titles, we discover we are all in
some way, shape or form in the business
of sales.
A couple of years ago, I read Daniel
Pink’s book, “To Sell Is Human.” In his
book, Pink discusses what he calls “nonsales selling” or the process of “persuading, convincing and influencing others
to give up something they’ve got in
exchange for what we’ve got.”
Pink reaffirmed several of my own
beliefs about sales and persuasion. In
today’s world, we’re not just selling our
products and services. Instead, we’re
moving people to understand and “buy”
our point of view.
Most sales endeavors encourage,
and ideally persuade, someone else to
agree with us. Whether you are a doctor
conveying the necessity of surgery to a
patient, or a lawyer arguing a case in
front of a judge, we are all striving to get
our way and hear that one glorious
word: “yes.”
Hearing “yes” more often requires
embracing the proven principles of persuasiveness. It begins with recognizing
that it’s not about you; it’s about your
target audience.
Constructs of persuasive
communication
As professional communicators, we
are fairly adept at getting our point
across. But how many times have you
stopped and asked yourself, “Is this
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what I want to say, or is this what my
audience needs to hear?” Effective persuasive communication starts with that
question in mind.
The following three constructs will
help you craft a persuasive message:
1. Keep it simple. Calling a bottle of
water a “personal, portable hydrating
epoxydude/getty
Editor’s Note: This article is a synopsis of a presentation from PRSA’s 2015
Spring Counselors Academy Conference
this past May.
solution” muddies your communication.
It increases confusion and reduces your
effectiveness. Simple language leads to
compelling and clear messages. Call it
what it is.
2. Be concise. People lack patience;
they want a brief summary instead of
the full article. For example, take a look
at the word “OK.” We have now whittled down the four-letter word to a oneletter text message, “K,” without losing
the meaning of the word. Can you eliminate 75 percent of your content without
losing any meaning?
3. Know your audience.
Communicate directly with your
prospects. Answer what they want to
know, as well as the steps they should
take. Pay special attention to recipientoriented benefits and what your audience needs to hear.
Elements of your presentation
Once you truly embrace these
three constructs, you can begin to
address the next phase of effective, persuasive communication: constructing
your story.
Your story will become your presentation. Develop these three elements
in sequence when crafting your narrative:
1. Content: Your story must contain
the “what,” “so what” and “now what.”
Communicators frequently get bogged
down by the “what” part of the content
and neglect the rest.
Let’s say, for example, you are trying to convince upper management to
roll out an internal communication
vehicle. The “what” is that you want to
create a blog for employees. They
would access it by going to a particular
interactive and secure portal, and it
would cost X amount of dollars to
design and launch. The “so what”
focuses on why the site is being created: to spur employee engagement and
enhance company culture. The “now
what” is to authorize the funding to
begin implementation.
2. Context: Rich context brings your
story to life. For example, part of the
site should showcase the unique stories
of the employees participating on the
blog: information about the lifelong
Yankees fan, the yacht enthusiast or the
manager with a love of French cooking.
These stories add interest to your communication vehicle and showcase a positive impact on culture and engagement.
3. Principles of theater: Once your
content and context are in place, it’s
time to add showmanship. Incorporate
theatrics into your presentation. Work
the room, employ reflective storytelling
and utilize props and visuals.
For example, pull up a boring
intranet and dramatically ask, “Does
this really drive engagement?” Then
show your new communication vehicle
and highlight its features.
3. Utilize macro and micro proof
points.
This is the most effective tactic
used in persuasive communication.
Use this approach to frame your
argument at the macro, 30,000-foot
level, and then immediately provide one
micro, 3-foot-level example to ground
your suggestion. Then, simply restate
the macro to cement your point.
Selling that same internal communication platform? Your macro and
micro proof points could sound like this:
• Macro: Surveys show our associates feel disconnected from the company and colleagues. A new internal communication portal will drive engagement and boost company culture.
“Hearing ‘yes’ more often requires embracing the proven
principles of persuasiveness. It begins with recognizing that
it’s not about you; it’s about your target audience.”
Tactics of persuasive presentations
Within your presentation, there are
many opportunities to heighten your
ability to hear “yes” more often.
These allow you to clarify your
message, fine-tune its persuasive technique and hit that sweet spot right
between the ears of your audience.
Here are three tips:
1. Write the “win” memo.
Ask yourself what information
your contact would need to draft a
memo to convince his or her boss to
agree with you.
Now use that memo to reverseengineer your persuasive presentation.
Make it easy for your contact to
embrace and share your story.
2. Employ the power of three.
It is a well-accepted truism —
backed by the Social Science Research
Network — that when you add a fourth
“sales” point, it weakens the credibility
of the first three.
Whether it is “Snap, Crackle and
Pop” or “truth, justice and the American
way,” use three points as a default for
accolades, sales messages, etc., and
you’ll be more convincing.
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• Micro: For example, a blog located behind a firewall gives employees the
opportunity to share their stories and
engage with co-workers.
• Macro: This helps foster a feeling
of connection that is currently missing.
Use macro and micro proof points
to connect with your audience on both
levels without inundating them with
information.
Effectively moving people to your
point of view requires more than compelling data; there needs to be a soul. It’s
equal parts right and left brain, big and
little picture, and yin and yang.
By truly embracing and utilizing
each construct, element and tactic of
effective and persuasive communication, you will be well on your way to
hearing “yes” more often. 
Eric Morgenstern, APR,
Fellow PRSA, CEO of
Morningstar Communications,
has helped companies achieve
and exceed their growth, sales,
marketing and communications goals. Morningstar
Communications is a national
strategic integrated communications firm located in Kansas City.