Chapter 10 - Persuasive and Sales Messages

Persuading others is a crucial thing in business communicative skill. Mastering that skill means being able to create successful persuasive messages as well as effective and ethical business messages. A lot of people have already known what persuasion is, and what the purpose is. However, only a few people know what the effective persuasion techniques are: establishing credibility, making a reasonable and precise request, tying facts to benefits, recognizing the power of loss, expecting and overcoming resistance, and sharing solutions and compromise.

In making successful persuasive messages, being aware of your own culture is no less important. You are insisted to interact with many countries with different cultural background. This means you need to be persuasive in both high-context cultures and low-context cultures, in order to avoid confusion and miscommunication. 

Based on figure 3.2 Comparing Low- and High-Context Cultures , it can be seen that low context and high context culture have their own tendency. 

Therefore, there are several important aspects that you need to note in order to be persuasive in both contexts.

What aspects do you need to be persuasive in high-context culture?

• Indirectness

Use of indirect expressions, such as perhaps, probably, somewhat; use of preference for softened words (e.g would appreciate rather than must or expect).

• Politeness

Expressions of politeness, use of honorifics, wishful requests (e.g we hope).

• Soft-sell approach

Use of simple facts without superlatives.

• Relationship appeal

Attempts to build a long-term relationship.

• Collectivist view

Use of we and our rather than "you" view

How about being persuasive in low-context culture? What aspects do you have to notice?

• Directness

Precision in expression is preferred.

• Superlatives

Use of superlatives, such as the lowest price, highest quality.

• Hard-sell approach

Agressive promotions, incentives, testimonials, deadlines, and product advantages using explicit comparisons with competitors.

• Short-term goal

Little attempt to establish long-term relationship.

• "You" view

Emphasis on benefits to individual, not on group perspectives.

By mastering these aspects, you will be able to make successful persuasive messages since you pay attention to the tendency of people with different cultural backgrounds, categorized into high-context culture and low-context culture.