Ten Tips for Persuasive Writing

If you are involved in the business world on some level or to some degree, you may be called upon to engage in some sort of writing with some regularity. In this regard, you may be interested in coming to better understand the ten tips for persuasive writing. Through this article, you are provided with an overview of these ten tips for persuasive writing. Armed with this information, you will be in a better position to write effectively and persuasively on any number of topics that are important to your business responsibilities and objectives.

1. Establish Your Expertise

The first and perhaps most fundamental step that you want to keep in mind when it comes to persuasive writing is the need to establish your expertise. In order for you to be accepted as authoritative when it comes to an issue on which you are addressing, you need to establish to a reader that you do, in fact, have expertise in that arena in which you are writing.

For example, if you are involved in creating a business communication that you hope to persuade, you can set forth at the front of the document or memorandum a brief blurb on your background, training or experience that demonstrates your expertise in regard to the issues that you are addressing in the communication.

2. Do Your Research

Of course, when it comes to persuasive writing, it is crucial that you have your facts absolutely straight. You cannot provide even a minor piece of erroneous information in written materials if you are going to be persuasive, if you are going to be taken seriously. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary for you to do your research before you put pen to paper. Even if you are writing about a topic with which you do have a great deal of experience, you need to double check your facts.

3. Outline Before You Write

Another tip to keep in mind when it comes to accomplishing the goal of persuasive writing is to take the time to outline. By outlining you will be able to present the information that you are dealing with in a more ordered, cogent and persuasive manner. You will also be able to ensure that you cover all of the points that are necessary to make your argument as persuasive as possible.

4. Cite Relevant Sources of Supporting Information and Data

In your efforts to achieve your goal of persuasive writing, you should cite relevant sources of supporting information and date in your document or written materials. By using other resources to buttress the arguments you are making and the contentions you are attempting to promote, you can make your overall written materials far more persuasive.

5. Be Concise

If you wish to be persuasive in your writing, you should never beat around the proverbial bush. You need to be direct and concise when it comes to your persuasive writing efforts. By being concise you are sending the message that you are confident in the statements and contentions that you are raising in regard to a certain matter or issue.

In addition, through writing in a concise manner you are also respecting the limited amount of time the typical reader may have in this day and age, to read and consider the matters that you are raising in your document, statement or memorandum.

6. Avoid Passive Language

On a more technical front, you should avoid using passive language in your attempt to write in a persuasive manner. What this means is that you should reflect upon what you learned in high school English or grammar class. You should write using the active voice whenever possible. The active voice makes your attempts at writing in a persuasive fashion all the more credible. It strengthens your overall attempts to be persuasive.

The use of active language is also helpful to you in keeping your written work more direct and concise. Passive language can cause a written document, statement or memorandum to be obtuse and unclear and far from being direct and concise.

7. Be Confident

Along these same lines, you need to be confident in your writing style if you intend to be persuasive. You need to utilize strong and unequivocal language in your persuasive writing work. While it might sound a bit basic ... you do not want to write in a “wimpy” fashion when it comes to your attempts to be persuasive through your writing.

8. Do Not Debate with Yourself

Also in the same vein, when it comes to persuasive writing, do not debate yourself in your document or memorandum. As stated a moment ago, you need to be confident in your writing style. While it is completely appropriate to acknowledge what counter points and counter arguments might exist, you do not need to go into great detail in this regard. Moreover, what you really need to do is demonstrate why counter arguments are not correct.

9. Do Not Hedge

Further, in regard to your own persuasive writing efforts, you cannot hedge or second guess yourself. If you have done your homework, you should be confident in the position that you are taking. Therefore, you need to make sure that such confidence is fully demonstrated by you not hedging when it comes to laying out and setting forth your position in your document, statement or memorandum.

10. Edit Your Draft

Finally, based upon all of the factors and pointers that have been set forth in this article, you need to take the time to edit your manuscript draft. One of the reasons you need to edit your draft is to make certain that you have fully accomplished the objectives and pointers that have been set forth in this article.

Of course, editing is also crucial to make certain that you have not made common mistakes of grammar to typing or what have you.  Moreover, editing will also give you another occasion to make certain that you really have presented your facts correctly. In addition, editing allows you a final opportunity to make certain that you have set forth your argumentation in an understandable and persuasive fashion.