Why Write Persuasively?
One of the most common questions relating to persuasion is why would you want to write persuasively? What point can there be to it? If you are not trying to sell a car, convince the populace to back your tax hike, or urging someone to buy a product from your company, why would you need this method of communication?
The truth is that we use persuasion throughout our lives. While we may not be using it in a written form, we are using it in an oral form. Some of us, even those who don't work in sales, use persuasion every single day of the week.
There are several reasons why you would need to write persuasively. Here is a list of just a few of the hundreds that exist:
- Writing your boss a letter where you state your desire to get a raise for the hard work you have been doing.
- Writing an e-mail to a customer in an effort to persuade them to get the extra features that come with your product.
- Writing a text message on your cell phone to your friends, where you are trying to persuade them to go to the movie that you want to see, rather than out to the pool hall where they want to go.
- Writing a letter to a college where you are trying to persuade them to allow you to become a student. This is one of the most common types of written persuasion that someone will write in their lives.
- Writing a resume cover letter is also a very common form of persuasion that millions of people use several times in their life.
When you are writing persuasively, you are looking at your point of view and you are trying to persuade someone else to accept that point of view. You feel that you are the best person for the job, to get a raise, to get into a particular college, or the best person from whom to buy a product. Whenever you are writing persuasively, you are also looking at who your audience is, because that will give you a better chance of being successful with your persuasion.
When you are writing persuasively, you need to convince the person of your point of view; by keeping that in mind, you will be much more successful with the persuasion. This is why you need to learn to write persuasively. Too many people will write a letter for a job opening and say that they need a job because they worry about finances and want something in that particular industry. The problem is that the person hiring is seeing dozens, or even hundreds, of resumes all saying the same thing. They are not being persuaded; they are seeing the same old, same old.
As a result, you need to know how to write persuasive letters so that they will read your cover letter and realize you deserve the shot for the interview over those who are just carbon copies of each other. By learning to write persuasively, you increase your chances of later success in both your professional and personal life.
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