How to Write Persuasively

If you’re a politician, salesperson, attorney, or con artist, persuasive writing might be second nature to you since you’ve already mastered the skill of persuasion.

For the rest of us, persuasive writing involves using writing techniques to win over the reader to our side or opinion. It takes skill, planning, forethought, and a little creativity even if you ask someone to write my paper. It’s an art form!

Can I persuade you to read more about the craft of persuasive writing?

Be Convinced Yourself
The best salesperson is the one who has used and loved a particular product or service. That person doesn’t need to be prompted to share her experience. Rather, she gushes forth details and stories and sings the praises of the product as easily as she speaks her native tongue.

Why?
She is convinced that the product or service is truly great. She believes in herself and naturally shares that belief with others.

When writing persuasively it’s always best to write about something that you are convinced of yourself. That doesn’t mean you can’t write about other things convincingly, even if you don’t believe it yourself, but you will always persuade best when you heartily believe what you’re saying.

Know Your Topic
I don’t write often about technology for one big reason: I don’t know much about technology. It would be a fruitless endeavor for me to try to sell you on a particular computer or app because I don’t know enough about any of them to do much good. I’d end up looking like a fool and you wouldn’t be convinced of anything except that I’m not very bright in the area of technology.

On the other hand, if I’m writing about homeschooling or raising kids, I can be very convincing. Those are two topics that I know firsthand and in-depth.

To persuade someone, you need to know your topic well. You might know it through personal experience, or you might spend enough time learning about it that you can make a convincing argument.

Either way, become the expert.

Know Your Audience
Every persuasive technique will not work with every audience. Think about politicians delivering campaign speeches. They don’t say the same thing to everybody. Rather, they carefully tailor the message to suit the audience they are trying to reach.

For example, if a politician is speaking to a group of farmers, he will use terminology and examples that relate to farming. If he’s speaking to parents, he’ll use examples from parenting to make his points. A good politician knows his audience well and makes sure he says things they can relate to and avoids topics or statements that offend them.

When you’re writing persuasively, you need to know who you are trying to persuade and figure out what makes them tick. Provide information that is useful to that particular audience and speak their lingo. Use examples they can relate to in everyday life.

This creates common ground and increases trust. You have to win your audience’s trust before you can persuade them of anything.

Know the Opposing Viewpoint
This is where a lot of persuasive writers drop the ball. They are so convinced that their own opinion is right that they never investigate the opposing one.

It’s important that you not only know the arguments of the other side but that you mention the major ones in your persuasive writing. This has a two-fold purpose.

-It shows that you’re knowledgeable about both sides of your subject. It’s another way to create trust with your readers. They see that you’ve taken time to learn your topic rather than just forming an opinion and being closed-minded.

-It gives you a chance to refute the opposing opinions. It’s good to briefly acknowledge the other side but then focus on why your opinion is superior and the better choice.

If you fail to acknowledge the major opposing opinions it makes it look like you either aren’t aware of them or you aren’t confident enough to mention them. Are you scared they might be right?

Treat Your Reader with Dignity and Respect
Pointing fingers and accusing tongues do little to persuade anyone. On the contrary, a writer who belittles or insults those who don’t agree with him will whittle away what little support he had from readers.

The best persuasive writer will win his readers with charm and maturity. He’ll treat them like mature human beings with valuable opinions.

My favorite example is a character called Marcus Antonius from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. His leader and friend, Caesar, has been murdered by Brutus and a group of other fellows. He pretends to be okay with it and Brutus grants him the right to give Caesar’s funeral speech. But Marc Antony is both clever and cunning. He uses this as an opportunity to win the people over and become their new ruler.

Use Credible Sources
When you’re dealing with a complicated topic or one that requires research, throw around some quotes, statistics, or news from experts in the field of your subject. For example, a physician offering statistics about cancer is far more reliable in the eyes of the reader than just stating facts you found in an online article. Along the same lines, interviewing a cancer survivor or someone undergoing treatments is a more credible source than a story about a cancer survivor that you read in a book.

Make sure that you consult outside sources for topics that are beyond your scope and reach, but also make sure those sources are the most reliable, credible ones available.

About the author: William S Andrews, a personal development coach. He likes helping people cope with their problems. In this case, William works as a content writer for WriteMyPaperBro. Moreover, he takes part in various conferences to improve his knowledge and develop new skills.