CHAPTER 9 WRITING PERSUASIVE MESSAGES

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CHAPTER 9WRITING PERSUASIVE MESSAGES
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• Multiple Choice
• When compared to routine positive messages,
  persuasive messages aim to influence audiences
  who are likely to
• agree with you right away.
• know more than you do about the topic of your
  message.
• resist at first.
• be easily offended.
• When analyzing the situation for a persuasive
  message it is important to
• connect your message to your audiences existing
  desires and interests.
• consider how your audience might resist your
  message.
• keep the audiences cultural preferences in mind.
• all of the above.

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• Multiple Choice
• When compared to routine positive messages,
  persuasive messages aim to influence audiences
  who are likely to
• agree with you right away.
• know more than you do about the topic of your
  message.
• resist at first.
• be easily offended.
• ANSWER c. Persuasive messages must show the
  audience that the choice you present is the best
  among all others.
• DIFFICULTY moderate PAGE 200 OBJECTIVE 1
  TYPE concept AACSB Communication
• When analyzing the situation for a persuasive
  message it is important to
• connect your message to your audiences existing
  desires and interests.
• consider how your audience might resist your
  message.
• keep the audiences cultural preferences in mind.
• all of the above.
• ANSWER d. Considering your audiences current
  needs, how it might resist your message, and its
  cultural preferences are all important steps when
  analyzing an audience.
• DIFFICULTY moderate PAGE 201 OBJECTIVE 1
  TYPE concept AACSB Communication

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• Demographics include all of the following about
  an audience except
• age.
• income.
• education.
• attitudes.
• Psychographics refers to information about all
  of the following except
• occupation.
• attitudes.
• lifestyle.
• personality.

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• Demographics include all of the following about
  an audience except
• age.
• income.
• education.
• attitudes.
• ANSWER d. Attitude is a psychographic
  characteristic. Demographics are quantifiable.
• DIFFICULTY moderate PAGE 201 OBJECTIVE 1
  TYPE concept AACSB Communication
• Psychographics refers to information about all
  of the following except
• occupation.
• attitudes.
• lifestyle.
• personality.
• ANSWER a. Occupation is demographic information.
• DIFFICULTY moderate PAGE 201 OBJECTIVE 1
  TYPE concept AACSB Communication

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• If price is not a major selling point, your sales
  message should
• leave out the price.
• discuss it after presenting selling points and
  benefits.
• place the price in the middle of a paragraph.
• all of the above.
• Which of the following is not an effective
  technique for minimizing price?
• emphasize the cost of not buying your product or
  service
• compare your products price to the cost of
  another product
• compare your services price to that of a
  competitors
• all of the above are effective

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• If price is not a major selling point, your sales
  message should
• leave out the price.
• discuss it after presenting selling points and
  benefits.
• place the price in the middle of a paragraph.
• all of the above.
• ANSWER d. When price is not a major selling
  point, it is best to de-emphasize it by leaving
  it out, putting it in another location, or
  burying it mid-paragraph after youve presented
  the benefits and selling points.
• DIFFICULTY easy PAGE 210 OBJECTIVES 1, 3
  TYPE concept AACSB Communication
• Which of the following is not an effective
  technique for minimizing price?
• emphasize the cost of not buying your product or
  service
• compare your products price to the cost of
  another product
• compare your services price to that of a
  competitors
• all of the above are effective
• ANSWER d. All of these strategies are effective.
• DIFFICULTY moderate PAGE 210 OBJECTIVES 1,
  3 TYPE application AACSB Communication,
  Analytic Skills

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• True/False
• ______ Effective persuasion is the ability to
  present a message in a way that will lead others
  to support it.
• ______ Unlike routine messages, persuasive
  messages present the added challenge of
  overcoming the audiences initial resistance to
  your request.
• ______ The key to an effective persuasive message
  is to clearly explain your companys needs to
  your audience.

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• True/False
• ______ Effective persuasion is the ability to
  present a message in a way that will lead others
  to support it.
• ANSWER True. Effective persuasion leads the
  audience to accept and act upon your claims.
• DIFFICULTY easy PAGE 200 OBJECTIVE 1 TYPE
  concept AACSB Communication
• ______ Unlike routine messages, persuasive
  messages present the added challenge of
  overcoming the audiences initial resistance to
  your request.
• ANSWER True. It is more difficult to write an
  effective persuasive message.
• DIFFICULTY moderate PAGE 200 OBJECTIVES 1,
  3 TYPE concept AACSB Communication
• ______ The key to an effective persuasive message
  is to clearly explain your companys needs to
  your audience.
• ANSWER False. Successful persuasive messages
  depend on knowing your audience and their needs.
• DIFFICULTY moderate PAGE 201 OBJECTIVE 1
  TYPE concept AACSB Communication

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1. ______ Stating the price of a product after
   describing the products key selling points is
   one technique for deemphasizing the price.
2. ______ Providing a sample or demonstration of the
   product is usually an effective way of catching
   the readers attention.
3. ______ The final section of a sales message
   should always ask the reader to take action
   promptly.

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• ______ Stating the price of a product after
  describing the products key selling points is
  one technique for deemphasizing the price.
• ANSWER True. Other techniques include embedding
  the price in the middle of a paragraph or leaving
  it out altogether.
• DIFFICULTY moderate PAGE 210 OBJECTIVE 5
  TYPE concept AACSB Communication
• ______ Providing a sample or demonstration of the
  product is usually an effective way of catching
  the readers attention.
• ANSWER True. A sample will get your product
  immediately into your readers hands.
• DIFFICULTY easy PAGE 211 OBJECTIVE 1 TYPE
  concept AACSB Communication
• ______ The final section of a sales message
  should always ask the reader to take action
  promptly.
• ANSWER True. Readers are less likely to respond
  if they delay.
• DIFFICULTY difficult PAGE 213 OBJECTIVE 3
  TYPE concept AACSB Communication

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• Fill-in the Blank
• The attempt to change an audiences attitudes,
  beliefs, or actions is known as ______.
• Information about the age, gender, occupation,
  income, education and other quantifiable
  characteristics of your audience is called
  ______.
• Information about the personality, attitudes,
  lifestyle and other psychological characteristics
  of an individual is called ______.

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• Fill-in the Blank
• The attempt to change an audiences attitudes,
  beliefs, or actions is known as ______.
• ANSWER Persuasion
• DIFFICULTY moderate PAGE 200 OBJECTIVE 1
  TYPE concept AACSB Communication
• Information about the age, gender, occupation,
  income, education and other quantifiable
  characteristics of your audience is called
  ______.
• ANSWER Demographics
• DIFFICULTY difficult PAGE 201 OBJECTIVE 1
  TYPE concept AACSB Communication
• Information about the personality, attitudes,
  lifestyle and other psychological characteristics
  of an individual is called ______.
• ANSWER Psychographics
• DIFFICULTY difficult PAGE 201 OBJECTIVE 1
  TYPE concept AACSB Communication

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• Short Answer/Essay
• Identify seven ways to establish your credibility
  in persuasive messages.
• ANSWER 1) Use simple language that your audience
  can easily understand. 2) Provide objective
  evidence for the claims and promises you make. 3)
  Identify your sources. 4) Establish common
  ground. The things that you have in common with
  your audience will help it to identify with you.
  5) Be objective. 6) Display your willingness to
  keep the audiences best interests at heart. 7)
  Avoid an aggressive hard sell.
• DIFFICULTY difficult PAGE 203 OBJECTIVE 2
  TYPE concept AACSB Communication
• Describe the four steps of the AIDA model for
  persuasive messages.
• ANSWER 1) Attention Make your audience want to
  hear about your idea. Find some common ground on
  which to build your case. 2) Interest Explain
  the relevance of your message to your audience.
  3) Desire Make readers want to change by
  explaining how the change will benefit them.
  Answer questions that your audience might have in
  advance. Back up your claims with evidence that
  supports your point. 4) Action Ask your audience
  to take a specific action.
• DIFFICULTY moderate PAGE 204 OBJECTIVE 3
  TYPE concept AACSB Communication

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• When your AIDA message uses an indirect approach
  and is delivered by memo or e-mail,
• what are two goals to keep in mind as you write
  the subject line?
• ANSWER One challenge in this situation is to
  make the subject line interesting and relevant
  enough to capture reader attention. At the same
  time, however, you have to do that without
  revealing your main idea.
• DIFFICULTY moderate PAGE 204 OBJECTIVE 3
  TYPE concept AACSB Communication
• Rewrite the following e-mail subject line in
  order to keep it interesting without revealing
  the main idea Rejection of your proposal for a
  four-day workweek
• ANSWER Decision on four-day workweek proposal
• DIFFICULTY moderate PAGE 204 OBJECTIVE 1
  TYPE application AACSB Communication, Analytic
  Skills