Business letters can be more persuasive if appropriate writing strategies are
employed. One particularly effective strategy for use in writing business
letters is the motivated sequence. This strategy allows the writer to organize
and develop ideas according to the same pattern used in the reader's natural
thought processes. It can, therefore, contribute significantly toward making
business correspondence more persuasive by helping readers make the
desired decisions and reach the desired reactions.
Writing tiie Persuasive Business letter
Daniel L. Plung
Exxon Nuclear Idaho Co., Inc.
WRITING LETTERS is one of the most important and most
frequently used forms of communication we have. However, as
I learned while teaching English at Idaho State University and
while working in business, few people approach letter writing
with the same degree of professionalism they demand of themselves in other writing projects. Perhaps this difference stems
from our perception of letters as less formal or less demanding
than other kinds of writing. Or perhaps it stems from the fact
that there have been relatively few methods developed for making letters and other "everyday" forms of communication more
effective and persuasive. One such method which is especially
valuable for business communication is the writing strategy
known as the "motivated sequence."
The motivated sequence, modeled after the natural thought
processes identified in John Dewey's How We Think (1910),
allows the writer to arrange his ideas in a pattern that corresponds with the reader's decision-making process. In so doing,
the pattern helps "motivate" the reader, helps persuade the
reader about the issues addressed in the letter. Dewey showed
that we Eirrive at our decisions through a five-step process: (1)
we locate and define the problem to be addressed; (2) we
analyze the problem; (3) we establish our goals or the criteria a
solution must meet; (4) we select the best solution from among
those we evaluated according to the criteria; and finally (5) we
put the plan into action.
To exemplify, let's see how a basic decision is reached; the
problem is which movie to see.
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You begin by asking yourself the question: "Which movie
should I see" {locating and defining the problem). Your next
step is to consider your options; which movies are playing (analyzing the problem). Next, you decide that you'd rather see a
comedy than anything else and that you 'd really rather not go too
far from home (establishing goals or criteria). Reviewing the list
of movies playing, you select the one that meets the two criteria
you have established (selecting the best solution). You put your
coat on and go to the theatre (putting the plan into action).
This pattern, as simple and universal as it is, is adapted for
the writer's use in the motivated sequence. The writer who
wishes to take advantage of this method simply has to arrange
his material according to the following plan:
1. The Attention Step. This step remains constant for all
good writing; if you want your reader to keep reading, you
must capture his interest in those early moments. Obviously, if
your reader doesn't have the desire to read onwards, nothing
you say will matter. Here is the appropriate place for you to
introduce the principal topic of discussion.
2. The Need Step. Your next responsibility is to outline the
specifics of the problem. This step can be subdivided into four
components:
(a) Statement: Identify the specifics of the problem.
(b) Illustration: Show the scope of the problem.
(c) Ramification: Provide ample proof to demonstrate
conclusively how the problem is real and immediate.
(d) Pointing: Make sure your reader is made aware that
the problem being discussed is his problem, that he is intimately
involved. Often a writer erroneously assumes that the reader
recognizes his role in the situation; even if you're sure that he
will, it is still better to point out the reader's involvement explicitly .
3. The Satisfaction Step: At this point, the reader is "hooked";
he knows a problem exists, that it's immediate, and that he, personally, must do something about it. At this stage, you can tell
him what must be done. This step can be divided into five parts:
(a) Statement: State what needs to be done, what action
needs to be taken.
(b) Explanation: Make your proposal crystal clear.
(c) Theoretical demonstration: Show how the solution
you offer is the right one, how it will eliminate all facets of the
problem as you identified it.
WRITING THE PERSUASIVE BUSINESS LETTER • PLUNG
47
(d) Practical experience: Show him proof that this plan
has worked before in similar situations.
(e) Meet objections and alternatives: Show how other
solutions are less attractive than yours. This step is extremely
important. Many writers fail to make this explicit comparison,
and, in so doing, they allow the reader to question why he should
follow your advice rather than someone else's. You should
demonstrate ("prove") how satisfactory a solution you are
offering.
4. The Visualization Step: Part of demonstrating your solution is making the reader "see" how he will benefit from taking
the advice you have offered. This can be done effectively in two
stages:
(a) The negative: Portray the results that will occur if the
reader doesn't do what you have suggested. Show how each of
the alternatives will produce unsatisfactory results; similarly,
show the reader that taking no action at all is undesirable.
(b) The positive: Now that the reader has been shown the
consequences of an incorrect action, show him the benefits that
will accrue from his decision to follow your advice.
5. The Action Step: Now that you have convinced the reader
to use your advice, tell him exactly what he must do. Remember: you have to be explicit; don't assume that your reader
knows intuitively what to do. Spell it out, even if you have mentioned it in a previous section of the letter.
Now that we have all the required steps and the appropriate
sequence, let's see how a business letter using the motivated
sequence would look. For this purpose, we assume that Company A is trying to convince Ms. Jones, President of Company B,
to convert from using Product X to using Product Y:
Dear Ms. Jones:
*
During the past year, your company lost $10,000. Yes, you
actually lost money by using a product inferior to our Product Y
[Attention Step]. Your company currently uses Product X in the
production of your material. Time and time again, Product X has
been proven deficient in strength, a weakness that requires you to
use twice as much material as required when using Product Y. Last
year, for example, our records indicate that had you been using our
product, your costs would have been reduced by a minimum of
$10,000 [Need Step].
You could, by purchasing our product, eliminate this needless expenditure. Two years ago, we handled another company's transition
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to our product; since then that company has realized a $20,000 savings. Customer dissatisfaction has been significantly reduced. Even
those problems you may consider an unavoidable consequence of
changeover can be minimized, if not totally avoided, by calling upon
the unparalleled expertise of our staff. In addition, to make this offer
even better, we will agree to deduct those losses incurred during the
changeover from your costs [Satisfaction Step].
Let me recapitulate: the continued use of Product X will cost you
time, energy, and money. Your future need for greater product
integrity and plant efficiency will be unrealizeable. In contrast,
immediate conversion to Product Y ensures a bright future, highlighted by savings in time and money [Visualization Step]. All I
request is that you give me a call and let me explain the full program
[Action Step].
Another attractive feature of the motivated sequence is its
flexibility. If you reread the sample letter, you will notice how
the steps vary considerably in length. This variation reflects the
writer's ability to adapt the motivated sequence to the situation,
to place the letter's emphasis precisely where it is required. In
this letter, for instance, the satisfaction step is the longest step;
this shows that a principal emphasis was placed on the need to
prove to Company B that converting to Product Y would solve
the financial problem it had when using Product X. Had there
been a different area that Company A had to address—perhaps
to prove to Company B that a real and significant problem
existed—then a different step (in this instance the need step)
would have been expanded to reflect that emphasis.
Whatever the situation, the motivated sequence can be adapted
to it. All that is required to establish which steps need greater
attention is for the writer to conduct an audience analysis—something that should be done before any type of writing chore is
undertaken. The writer need only consider who his readers are—
what are their problems, attitudes, knowledge of the subject to
be considered, etc. When the writer has this understanding of
his audience, he will know which steps require the most elaboration and which require the least. Circumstances may dictate
that one step be only a single sentence long while another be
several pages in length; or that all steps require the same amount
of detail and examination. The motivated sequence can also, as
outlined in Figure 1, be adapted to fit the type of reaction the
author seeks to elicit from his reader.
Improving business letter writing is only one of many applications of the motivated sequence; it can be used in almost any writing job. Understanding how decisions are reached and organizing
WRITING THE PERSUASIVE BUSINESS LETTER - PLUNG
49
reports to correspond with and contribute to that process can
help make anyone a better, more effective writer.
FIGURE 1
Motivated Sequence^
Reaction
Sought
Belief
(Convince)
Inspire
(Stimulate)
Actuate
(Specific Obserable Action)
Attention
Step
Draw attention to
the need
Draw attention to
the need
Draw attention to
the need
Need
Step
Prove existence of
a problem requiring reader's reaction
Increase the feeling of vital need:
create dissatisfaction with current
conditions
Combine actions
listed in first two
columns
Satisfaction
Step
Use logic and
proof to show
reader the posited
solution is the
appropriate one
State the
heightened emotional attitude
(enthusiasm, reverence, etc.) the
reader must
exhibit
Propose the specific, required action, and use logic
and proof to gain
the reader's approbation
Visualization
Step
Detail positive effects of implementing appropriate action; detail
negative effects of
no action or of inappropriate alternative actions
Picture results
achieved by correct attitude.
the emotional
satisfaction that
the reader can
achieve
Present image of
results of implementing correct
action: present
image of results
from failure to
initiate correct
action. Use vivid
language
Action
Step
Arouse determination to retain and
follow the belief
gained
Request reader
actually to assume
the desired attitude, to express
openly that the
attitude has been
assumed
Urge the reader
to take a specific
action: make an
explicit statement
of what action is
to be taken
This table is adapted from Alan H. Monroe, Principles and Types of Speech, 5th
ed. (Scott, Foresman and Company: Chicago, 1962), p. 292.
ttt