The title of your publicatioBusiness communication process and product brief canadian canadian 4th e

Business Communication Process and Product Brief Canadian 4th Edition by

Guffey Loewy Rhodes and Rogin

ISBN 0176503587

9780176503581

Download solution manual at:

https://testbankpack.com/p/solution-manual-forbusiness-communication-process-and-product-briefcanadian-4th-edition-by-guffey-loewy-rhodes-and-roginisbn-0176503587-9780176503581/

CHAPTER 10 TEACHING SUGGESTIONS AND RESOURCES

Persuasive and Sales Messages CHAPTER OVERVIEW

The ability to use argument or discussion to influence an individual’s beliefs or actions is called persuasion. The art of persuading someone to take a specific action or change an individual’s beliefs is an important skill that requires understanding and practice. This chapter explains the major elements in successful persuasive messages and shows students how to use the 3-x-3 writing process to create effective persuasive requests and marketing messages. To be successful at persuasion, business communicators must be familiar with the products or services they sell and the audiences to whom they promote them. Therefore, this chapter emphasizes how to analyze the purpose of the message, how to adapt it to the audience, and how to appropriately research and organize data. In addition, the chapter emphasizes blending the components of a persuasive message: gaining attention, building interest, reducing resistance, and motivating action.

Students will learn to write practical messages such as those that request favours and action, make claims, and deliver complaints. The chapter also focuses on writing persuasive messages within organizations. Finally, the last part of the chapter covers effective and ethical direct-mail and e-mail sales campaigns and the basic patterns and techniques in developing persuasive press releases.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Define the concept of persuasion, identify effective and ineffective persuasive techniques, and apply the 3-x-3 writing process to persuasive messages.

2. Explain the four major elements in successful persuasive messages and how to blend those elements into effective and ethical business messages.

3. Write persuasive messages that request favours and actions, make claims, and deliver complaints.

4. Write persuasive messages within organizations.

5. Write effective and ethical direct-mail and e-mail sales messages.

6 Understand basic patterns and techniques in developing persuasive press releases.

WHAT’S NEW IN THIS CHAPTER

▪ Chapter streamlined by combining related learning objectives and checklists to enhance readability and comprehension

▪ Chapter reorganized to combine coverage of persuasive favour requests, claims, and complaints, to simplify presentation and to allow students to apply similar writing techniques

▪ Coverage of internal communication (persuasive messages within organization) moved so that it follows the discussion of external communication (favour requests, claims, and complaints) for a more unified presentation

▪ Model document added showing the use of a cover e-mail with an attached memo to help students see how businesspeople combine e-mail and attachments

▪ Coverage of sales messages strengthened by adding e-marketing so that readers understand basic techniques for preparing successful e-mail sales messages

▪ Media releases and effective writing techniques illustrated with a new model document featuring the Antique and Classic Boat Society Toronto Chapter

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Making It Relevant

This is an excellent chapter to teach in conjunction with Creating a Customized, Persuasive Cover Letter in Chapter 15 (pp. 430–436). As students learn effective persuasive techniques, they can focus on composing a message that is relevant in their lives: selling themselves to an employer.

Interactive Lectures: Let’s Discuss

1. An effective sales letter should grab the reader’s attention with the opening line. In fact, you have about four seconds to get his or her attention. Which of the following opening lines best captures a reader’s attention?

Opener #1: Our wireless service offers something for every member of your family.

Opener #2: Get ready for super-fast Internet connection, unlimited text messaging, and free incoming calls for $14.99 per month.

Nicastro, E. (2007, August 1). Fifteen tips for better sales letters. Direct (Online Exclusive). Retrieved from Business and Company Resource Center (BCRC) database.

2. What could be included in an effective opening and closing of a claim or complaint message?

The opening should begin with a compliment, point of agreement, statement of the problem, or brief review of action taken to resolve the problem. The closing should explain exactly what the writer wants done.

3. Should you use a P.S. in business letters? Why?

Extensive research shows that the P.S. is one of the first parts of a letter people read. Restating a key benefit or guarantee here can pull your reader into the body of your letter. It pays to use a P.S.

Nicastro, E. (2007, August 1). Fifteen tips for better sales letters. Direct (Online Exclusive). Retrieved from Business and Company Resource Center (BCRC) database.

4. In your own career, when might you find it necessary to be persuasive?

Career success often depends on how effective you are at persuading people to believe, accept, and act on what you are saying. In your career you will need to be persuasive in many situations including interviewing for jobs, proposing ideas on the job, arguing for or against the ideas of your colleagues or management, justifying a loan for your new business, arguing for a salary increase, asking for flex time, requesting favours of any kind, and demanding adjustments for faulty products or poor service.

5. From your experience, what techniques are effective or ineffective in persuading others to accept your views?

Students may suggest that some of the following persuasive techniques are effective for them: laying a good foundation before making a request, waiting for the right time, asking for something small, presenting many facts, appealing to the receiver’s emotions, being ready for resistance, offering to compromise, and providing an incentive to act. Ineffective techniques may include being blunt, sounding overbearing, failing to prepare for resistance, making threats, or punishing lack of compliance.

Classroom Activities

Topic Emphasis

Successful sales and persuasive letters demand exceptional audience consideration. The concepts discussed in this chapter provide you with excellent opportunities to reinforce the lessons and techniques of audience analysis introduced previously. Only through careful audience analysis will students learn how to develop reasons that will overcome resistance and achieve their goals. Continue to stress the steps in the 3-x-3 writing process. By now, students are realizing that this systematic writing process is a problem-solving tool that generates good ideas to meet the needs of each writing situation. In addition, emphasize blending the components of a persuasive message: gaining attention, building interest, reducing resistance, and motivating action. Discussing the ethics of persuasion always generates class interest. Also, remind students that one message is often insufficient to move people to the desired action. As they plan messages, students need to analyze how each persuasive message might fit in a campaign of multiple messages.

Chapter Presentation Suggestions

1. Sample Sales Letters. Have students bring in sales letters that they have received. (If you are teaching working adult students, they may be able to provide examples of their companies’ sales letters.) Discuss examples of good and bad letter-writing practices. How can they be improved? Later, after you have covered the chapter material, offer each student an opportunity to rewrite one of the bad letters for extra credit.

2. Unethical Sales Letters. Have students collect newspaper and/or magazine articles regarding unethical sales-letter scams to use during class discussion. What makes them unethical or illegal? Let students discuss the articles in groups and then have one person from each group give a synopsis of the discussion.

3. The Ethics of Sweepstakes. Bring to class examples of magazine subscription sweepstakes promotions like Publisher’s Clearinghouse. Have the class examine the language about the recipient’s chances of winning from an ethical perspective. Is the language deceptive? Is it technically legal but ethically questionable? Examining the ethics of the promotion’s language generally creates a lively discussion.

4. Editorial Analysis. Bring current newspaper editorial articles to class. Have students analyze the editorials for effective and ineffective persuasive strategies.

5. Chapter Review, Critical Thinking, and Activities. At the end of the chapter, several hands-on activities are available for students. The answers are provided in Part Four of the Instructor’s Manual.

Online Class Activity

Peer Review – Cover Letters Discussion Instructions

Post your cover letter and job advertisement to the discussion forum. Remember to create a fictitious address, phone number, and e-mail address for the purpose of this assignment.

Using the reply feature in the discussion forum, provide constructive feedback on one of your peer’s cover letters.

Analysis Criteria

1. Carefully read both the cover letter and job advertisement provided by your peer.

2. What does the writer do in the first paragraph to gain the employer’s attention?

3. What does the writer do in the body paragraphs to build interest and reduce resistance?

4. How well do the skills match the employer’s needs?

5. How does the last paragraph motivate action? Is there a courteous close with next steps explained?

6. Summarize the strengths and areas of improvement of your peer’s cover letter.

7. The peer review post must be 150–200 words

Use sensitive wording for the constructive criticism you provide. Always highlight the positives and consider a positive/neutral buffer to begin your peer review.

▪ Please read pages 209–214 in Chapter 9, for a review on how to deliver negative news sensitively to your peer.

Sample evaluation rubrics for assessing online discussions are available in Part Two of this Instructor’s Manual.

The Technology Link

With the current emphasis on technology in the work world, it is essential for business communicators to be able to use technology effectively to communicate. The exercises in this section will help students develop the technical skills they’ll need to succeed.

1. Class Discussion Board/Selling on the Web. The Web is filled with sites that want to sell you something. Some sites are strictly dot-com companies; others are sites set up by traditional brick-and-mortar companies. Have students find an effective example of each and post the URLs to the class discussion board. When students post the URLs, have them discuss what they think makes these sites effective: Why would someone be willing to purchase a product from these sites? What would make a consumer return to the site?

What’s important: Web site design, ease of placing an order, security, special offers? Students can then discuss whether they agree with others’ findings. Students will probably find that they have very different ideas about what makes a Web site persuasive. Why do they think this is so? What factors play a role in what individuals find appealing?

2. Digital Network/Class Mailing List. Have students take part in an online discussion about spam. Anyone who has an e-mail account has undoubtedly experienced spam. Is it ever ethical for a company to send spam? Why or why not? What would cause you to take spam seriously? Has anyone in the class ever replied to spam? What techniques do you use to combat spam? Are these techniques effective? Do you think anti-spam laws will have any effect? This topic should result in some lively conversation.

REFLECTIONS ON TEACHING

Are Your Students Reading?

According to a recent news release, “Ontario’s 15-year-old students are among the best readers in the world. That’s the finding of the international education study by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The study lists Ontario’s students in the top 10 in the world for reading. The study measured reading and comprehension levels among 15-year-olds in 65 countries” (Government of Ontario, 2010).

Government of Ontario. (2010, December 7). McGuinty government’s focus on putting students first pays off. Retrieved from http://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2010/12/ ontario-students-inthe-top-10-in-the-world-for-reading.html

Given this fact, why is it so challenging to get post-secondary students to read? When students fail to do the textbook readings, not only does this affect their success in the course, but it can negatively affect your well-planned classroom activities and discussions. Consider the following strategies to encourage reading:

1) Introduce the reading so students appreciate its relevance.

2) Tie the reading closely to assignment outcomes.

3) Inform students that your PowerPoint presentations highlight key points only and are not meant to replace the required readings.

4) Assign a question/activity to the reading for the beginning of the next class.

5) Keep the reading to a manageable level; assign specific sections and page numbers.

6) Reference the chapters continually during your lessons so students see the value of the readings.

7) Use tests/quizzes to encourage reading.

If you have additional strategies that are effective, make sure to share your ideas with colleagues.

Copyright © 2013 Nelson Education Ltd.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Handouts – SQ4R: A Classic Method for Studying Texts

University of Guelph

http://www.lib.uoguelph.ca/assistance/learning_services/handouts/SQ4R.cfm

Active Reading: Comprehension and Rate

Dartmouth Academic Skills Center

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/reading.html

How to Self-Promote Without Being Sleazy, Inc.com

http://www.inc.com/tara-hunt/how-to-self-promote-without-being-sleazy.html