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Developing Arguments: Persuasive Communication.

Why is communication such a critical issue for organisation?

Why is it so difficult to communicate effectively?

Communicating in organisations

Effective communication can help an organisation to achieve:

- Satisfied repeat customers;

- Well-motivated employees;

- A positive reputation in the wider community;

- Innovative and creative strategies.

Organisational communication is made up of a vast and endless stream of criss-crossing messages. The content of these messages can be broken down into a number of different elements:

1.Raw data: results of scientific measurement

2.Facts: data that are presented as objective information

3.Ideas: a more abstract type of information, presented in the form of concepts, constructs, theories and models, which may have varying degrees of empirical support

4.Opinions: relate to facts or ideas and are distinguished by their subjectivity.

5.Beliefs: a strongly held set of opinions, which is usually linked to an individual's sense of identity and influences daily behaviour.

6.Emotion: emotional energy can be contained in a message, expressing human feelings in conjunction with other elements, such as facts or ideas.

Organisations often exchange messages containing a mixture of facts, ideas, opinions and beliefs, coloured by varying degrees of emotion.

Persuasive communication

Starting point: the receiver must have some freedom in responding to persuasive messages, and an underlying ability to choose between alternative course of action.

"Only free men can negotiate. Prisoners cannot enter into contracts "

(Public statement by Nelson Mandela, Feb. 1985)

Ways in which persuasive communication operates in organisations:

- Advertising

- Public Relations and lobbying

- Interviews

- Business meetings and negotiations

- Advertising: Persuasive techniques are used to secure the attention of a target audience and to increase its subsequent recall of the message.

- Public Relations and lobbying: Public relations is mainly concerned with managing the links between an organisation and the people outside, including customers, local communities and journalists. Lobbying means presenting an organisation's case to the key decision makers.

- Interviews: Job interviews involve persuasion efforts from both sides. Candidates are seeking to convince the panel that they are the right person for the job, while the organisation is trying to attract the strong candidates to accept job offers. Employers also want unsuccessful candidates to leave with a positive impression of their organisation. Persuasion can also be a factor in other types of interview, e.g. an employee performance appraisal.

- Business meetings and negotiations: People have to work very hard to persuade others to accept their novel or controversial ideas and proposals.

A useful framework for analysing persuasive messages: Aristotle's rhetorical argument

Element/Type of argumentationPractical example

Ethos: credibility of the person or organisation presenting the argumentAn organisation with a poor reputation appoints a new senior executive who is well regarded by key stakeholders.

Logos: internal logic of the argument presented.A government department issues a detailed research study that makes the case for its policy proposals.

Pathos: appeals to emotion in support of the other elements.A police force asks the parents of a victim of crime to join in a televised public appeal for information.

Toulmin's (1957) model of argumentation

Situation: The research director of an engineering company may be seeking board approval to invest in a research project involving novel technology, which is currently at the development stage.

ComponentDescriptionExample

ClaimThe assertion that is put forward for acceptanceResearch manager claims that the new product merits further capital investment.

GroundsRelevant data forming basis for the argumentResearch report highlights product's performance and market potential.

WarrantRules or principles for linking a - claim' to its - grounds'.What is generally regarded as relevant and strong research evidence.

BackingsEvidence supporting the - warrant' in this particular case.Details of the people who conducted the research, experience, methods used, etc.

QualifiersPhrases that place conditions or limits on the strength of the - claim'.Report states that, - Product performance has been rated "excellent" in all applications tested so far' (emphasis added).

RebuttalsExceptional conditions, beyond the scope of the - claim', that would otherwise undermine the argument.Project will fail if a rival firm is successful in developing a product based on the next generation technology.

Main issues to be addressed:

1.The nature of the audience

- What previous experience do they have, either of you as an individual, or the organisation that you represent?

- What do they already know, and how do they feel about the subject matter of your message?

- What do you know about their personality and their current state of mind?

- Are you trying to persuade one individual or a large number of people?

- Are they able to act independently, or are they playing the role of representatives or agents of another organisation?

Afsaneh Nahaveandi, The Art and Science of Leadership

Richard Blundel, Effective Organisational Communication. Perspectives, Principles and Practices

John V. Thill, Courtland L. Bovee, Excellence in Business Communication

Richard J. Varey, Marketing Communication. Principles and Practice

Ian Moore, Does Your Marketing Sell? The Secret of Effective Marketing Communications