BEP 59 – Persuasion 1: Getting Attention

Do you ever need to persuade or convince someone of your point of view? Do you need to win support for a proposal, or get backing for a project? Of course you do. Persuasion – convincing someone of something – is an essential part of almost everything we do, from informal discussions to formal negotiations. To be successful, you need to be persuasive. You need to get people to accept a different point view, to see things your way. How can you be more persuasive? In this three-part series, we’ll be giving you some answers.

Throughout the years, many talented speakers and researchers have been developing ways to persuade people effectively. One of the most widely used methods is Alan H. Monroe’s. In the mid-1930s, Monroe created a persuasive process called the “Monroe sequence” that has become a standard in business, media and politics. Once you know it, you’ll recognize it everywhere – in speeches, statements, proposals, advertisements. It’s popular because it is logical and effective.

So, over the next three Business English Pod episodes, we’ll be studying language and strategies for persuasion based on the Monroe Sequence.

The Monroe Sequence has five parts.
1) Get the audience’s attention
2) Establish a need
3) Satisfy that need
4) Visualize the future
5) Call for action

This lesson will focus on the first step, getting the audience’s attention.

The listening takes place at Swift, a bicycle manufacturer whose major market is the U.S. We’ll be listening to a good example and a bad example of persuasion. First let’s examine the bad example.

Listening Questions

Bad example
1. Whose needs does Franz focus on? That is, whose needs is he taking into consideration when he makes the proposal?
2. Why is Franz’s proposal so ineffective?

Good example
1) What does Steve do at the beginning of his presentation?
2) Whose needs does Steve focus on – the workers’ or the management’s?

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