messaging | Writing with Clarity

Influencing an Audience: How to Hold Attention and Shape Opinions

Jun 28, 2012 | Effective Writing

A strong opening is important to a persuasive appeal because it focuses the audience’s attention, but then what do you do to influence them the rest of the way? The challenge in a persuasive message is to make it compelling enough that it will be memorable and will...

Know What You Want to Say

Jul 21, 2011 | Effective Writing

A major flaw in writing is that the message is not focused on one idea. A writer has an abundance of information but does not consider what he or she wants to accomplish and does not ask important questions about the audience. High-quality writing takes time. When...

Influencing Your Audience: Making Your Persuasive Message Stick

Jun 17, 2011 | Persuasion

Capturing interest at the start of a message is important, but in persuasive writing, you also need to sustain the audience’s attention throughout the message. That’s how you influence people’s thinking and motivate them to accept your ideas. Here...

Persuasive Positioning: Where to Put Your Best Idea

Jun 9, 2011 | Effective Writing, Persuasion

When you are trying to persuade someone to accept your point of view, where you position certain information in a message sometimes can make a difference. Let’s say you have two ideas for solving a problem, A and B, and you want the reader will choose B. Should...