[MUSIC] This week our focus is on persuasive language. So far in this course, we've talked about public speaking techniques, organizing a presentation, beginning, ending, and using visuals to support our points. Most of the examples that we've dealt with have been informative, factual, the kinds of presentations you might make at a conference or in a meeting. Now we're going to move on to persuasive presentations. The first lesson is about using persuasive language in marketing. In the second lesson, we'll focus on using persuasive language to promote a place. This will help prepare you for your final task in this course, doing a persuasive presentation to promote a location. It'll also help you to prepare you for your capstone project in course five. So in this lesson I'm going to help you to develop awareness of vocabulary to persuade, and then focus on how to explain why a place is unique, one of a kind, and better than other places. Okay, let's begin. First, what's the difference between an informative presentation and a persuasive presentation? Persuasive presentations may try to convince someone to take action. They may try to get someone to support you, for example, if you make a proposal at work. Or you might be trying to get people to change their minds. Persuasion is very important for people who are in marketing trying to sell products or services, but it's also very important in other areas of business when you're trying to sell an idea. As you plan your persuasive presentation, keep in mind the ABCD guidelines. They still apply to persuasive presentations. We talked about establishing credibility as a speaker, showing your audience why they should listen to you. Now, in marketing, you also need to explain why your audience should first believe you and second buy your product, your service, or your ideas. One way to establish credibility is to show that you know what you're talking about. As you learned in course three on negotiating, to persuade people they need to think of you as an authority, an expert. So, support your ideas with strong evidence. You can begin with your attention grabber. Choose a story or a statistic that will demonstrate that you know what you're talking about. Second, and again as you learned in your course on negotiating, people are more persuaded when they like you and think that you like them. This is all part of building trust and rapport, basically a feeling that you like each other. For that reason in persuasive presentations the tone is sometimes a little more conversational. It depends on the topic in the situation. In terms of your language choices, you can use transitions like honestly or to tell the truth. To tell you the truth, I would feel the same way that you do. Or if you're like me, you're interested in getting the best deal for the lowest price. Third, address the concerns of your audience. What this means is that you should think about what your audience may be worried about or have questions about. Show that you understand your audience by bringing up these concerns as part of your talk. Here are some ways you can introduce the idea that you understand their concerns. >> I'm sure you're wondering about the cost. Now, you may be asking yourself, why would this help me? As you know, this is a big decision and a big investment. We all know that this is risky. If you're like me, you're wondering how you can afford this. >> The last thing is to remember that people are persuaded by other people who are similar to them. They'll follow what has been the most popular or successful for others. So show that there's a consensus, that others agree that this is the best product or service or idea. Here's some other expressions that show that everyone agrees. >> Clearly, obviously, without a doubt, this is an amazing opportunity. There's no question that we have a highly skilled workforce in this area. Everyone agrees that this is one of the best places to live in the country. So many of our guests have been amazed. >> We see examples of persuasive language all around us everyday. I was in a restaurant recently and noticed this description. Do you know the drink that we call hot chocolate? It's mostly something that children love, but look at this description from a menu. Instead of just saying hot chocolate, a mixture of milk, sugar, and chocolate, they say dark, rich, creamy hot chocolate with real house-made whipped cream. The creamy cup of chocolate is velvety smooth and not too sweet. Look at all those adjectives, dark, rich, creamy, real, house-made, creamy, again, velvety, smooth, not too sweet. I mean, how can you resist that? Okay, so like the way these very smart owners of that restaurant, you can choose adjectives that appeal to people's emotions. When you think of describing a beautiful place, you can use words like breathtaking, magnificent, or spectacular. A great experience could be memorable, unforgettable, or magical. And you could add the word truly or absolutely before any of these adjectives. Enjoy an absolutely unforgettable hike through the truly magical Ho Rain Forest. When you want to show that something is unusual or very good, like for example the service at a hotel, you could use one of these adjectives. You can also choose expressions that appeal to people's emotions or positive experiences. You could say that a place is convenient. But you could also use an expression like in the heart of or steps away from, to give this a more meaningful image than convenient. Our hotel, in the heart of the theater district is just steps away from the best shopping in the city. I mentioned adverbs a minute ago, absolutely beautiful and truly magical. Here are some other examples of adverbs. They make the adjectives stronger. Incredibly convenient, surprisingly affordable, professionally decorated, newly renovated, totally redesigned, there are lots of options. As I go through all these amazingly wonderful words, you may think this is a bit much, and it's true. If someone uses too many amazingly wonderful adjectives, no one will believe it. So choose the ones that you think are the most relevant, and of course, be honest. Don't overdo it. Persuasion is all about showing the benefits of what you're promoting. Which benefits are most important to your audience? Identify the problems that they have, what you can call the pain points. Then show how your idea or product or service is a solution to these problems. And then show how you're unique, the best in the business, or maybe the only one who offers certain services. Here's are some ways that you emphasize benefits, and as you listen, pay attention to the way I say these examples with the use of pausing, word stress, and following intonation as we studied in week one. Okay, so first I'm going to use not only. Not only works well for showing an additional benefit. It's not only fun, it's free. We not only provide the place for your event, we plan it for you, too. Notice the double use of the f in fun and free, and the p in provide the place the plan. This is a nice way to provide a memorable idea. The next one has three Fs. It's fun, fast, and free. Tripling, or the use of three, goes beyond using the same letter, which isn't possible all that often. For some reason, we like things in threes. It sounds complete I think. So when you describe benefits, try to include three. Listen to the stress and intonation as each of the three gets equal strength, and your voice falls on the last one. And notice how short these sentences are. That's another way to emphasize something. Now, just as an aside, if you're trying to sell something and offering choices, three is also a very good number. If you offer three choices, research shows that decision making is easier than if someone only has two choices or more than three. Do you know the story of Goldilocks? One bowl was too hot. The other was too cold, and the third one was just right, well the same idea here. Last week we talked a lot about the language that we used to compare and rank when we're describing data. That's very helpful here as well. When you're emphasizing benefits, are there any statistics or facts that you can use for support to convince your audience that this is their best possible decision? Here are some examples using rank and superlatives. The conclusion is very important in a persuasive presentation. Show a solution to a problem. Repeat the three benefits for your audience. Give a short example or quote that illustrates why your idea, product, or service is the best. Motivate your audience to do something, and remember, always be positive and friendly. [MUSIC]
