8-1 Concision and Persuasion

The Importance of Concision in Professional Writing

• Improved vocabulary. When we strengthen our vocabulary (the range of words available to us) we are able to eliminate weak adjectives which add superfluous words.
• For example, instead of writing “the presentation was very good. Replace it with “the presentation was excellent / outstanding or impressive. Or even “An excellent presentation!”

• Remove repetitive words. We often reiterate words and phrases to add emphasis and nuance. In professional writing eliminating this in place of improved vocabulary helps the reader quickly understand.
  • For example, instead of writing “This course has numerous related relevant assessments to practice your skills.” Replace it with “This course contains assessments for skill practice.”
• Use strong nouns. In professional writing, the nouns you select should be strong and specific.
  • For example, instead of writing “ This presentation will greatly assist in enabling your communication skills to grow” Replace it with “This presentation supports communication skills growth.”
• All killer, no filler  is a phrase that means that all content adds value in its own right and is not laden with unnecessary additions. Your business reader does not want to read extra words. Wordy writing is not engaging.
  • For example, instead of writing “When all things are considered, it is better, therefore, to instead focus on the unquestionably most important topics such as engagement,” write: “Engagement is the priority.”
• Use the “active voice” where appropriate. In professional communication, the passive voice can be important in showing appropriate deference in register and avoiding the perception of laying blame. Where it isn’t detrimental to register and counterproductive to gaining commitment, the active voice can create more concise sentences.
  • For example, writing “Due to unavoidable delays, the project will not be finished on time,” may be an appropriate use of passive voice if you don’t want to be seen blaming individuals. In most situations, however, active voice sentences are more clear and more direct.

Persuasion

Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word, there are three kinds. The first kind depends on the personal character of the speaker; the second on putting the audience into a certain frame of mind; the third on the proof, provided by the words of the speech itself.

Aristotle

Rhetoric

The act of convincing another person to your perspective relies on three elements coined as rhetoric by the ancient Greek Philosopher Aristotle. Aristotle referred to rhetoric as the three means of persuasion. This concept is also referred to as the three pillars of persuasion or the Rhetorical Triangle. The three means of persuasion are,

• Ethos - the person doing the persuading is perceived as credible and respectable by the audience
• Logos - the argument is reasoned and logical from the audience's point of view
• Pathos - there is an emotional connection / appeal between the persuader and the audience

Assertions diverge amongst authorities as to which of the pillars is the most influential and thus, most important. Parmenides (a predecessor of Aristotle) believed that it was logos. That the primary means of persuasion was logic and reasoning and anything else was superfluous. Later, Wittgenstein (1889-1951) would confer the belief that logic was the primary means of persuasion.

Contemporary commentators, such as successful entrepreneur and leadership authority Conor Neil, believe that credibility is king. That, without the demonstrative context of credibility and its related esteem (what Aristotle called ethos), the audience will not be compelled to engage. Neil produced a well received animated video for TED Education highlighting an experiment done by the famous violinist and Conductor, Joshua Bell. We will watch and review this video during this lesson’s exercise.

Psychologists tend to take a different stance. Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio wrote that “we’re not thinking machines that feel; we’re feeling machines that think.” Damasio and others explain how emotions and shared values are powerful motivators in prompting people to act, meaning that pathos can be a powerful tool to persuade others.

Persuasion requires all Three Means

The fact that Aristotle's work holds relevance 2500 years later is a testament to his prodigiousness. One of the reasons that this concept still resonates is that it was devised by an extraordinarily unbiased human being with a widened perspective. In addition to being a Philosopher, Aristotle was also a Polymath. Polymaths are incredibly rare individuals whose knowledge spans a wide range of subjects. Aristotle was unquestionably a genius whose writings and research spanned “physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theatre, music, rhetoric, psychology, linguistics, economics, and politics (Wikipedia). It was due to his expansive perceptions and breadth of multi-subject expertise that Aristotle was able to identify the need for all three means of persuasion. We will explore the “how-to” of persuasive messages.

Bias and Persuasion

Human beings are poor examiners, subject to superstition, bias, prejudice, and a profound tendency to see what they want to see rather than what is really there.

M. Scott Peck