Persuasive presentations: techniques and effectiveness

Persuasion

What are the important factors of the audience that a persuader considers? What are the strategies of audience analysis used by persuaders? Be sure to provide examples to illustrate your discussion.

The persuader first needs to create the audience, focusing only on the key players or decision-makers involved in the issue. Creating an organizational chart can be helpful in identifying key payers, and those who are empowered to make the decisions relevant to the topic at hand. For example, if I want to pitch an idea for a new information system, I would want to talk with the head of the IT department.

Once the audience has been identified and targeted, it is essential to perform an audience analysis. Some of the techniques of audience analysis are direct, such as polling or interviews. Polling is usually possible only with a good degree of financial resources: because it costs a lot of take advantage of the methods used to poll or conduct surveys. When the data from polling is available, it can be very helpful to know what the audience needs, wants, or does not like. For example, if I know that polls of IT managers in the retail sector are looking for integrated multi-application packages over single proprietary systems, then I would not want to waste my time peddling a system that might clash with the existing one.

Other than polling, techniques of audience analysis like direct interviews can help establish rapport as well as discover precisely what the other party needs. Segmentation can be extremely helpful when performing audience analysis. I do not need to meet with individuals before performing market segmentation; which relies on cues like past purchase history or demographics. Finally, it would be helpful to consider the type of presentation I will be giving and the setting in which it will be received: such as a company boardroom on their turf or a restaurant. Availability and type of technology, and even time of day, matters a lot when considering factors related to audience receptivity and proclivity.

2. Compare and contrast stasis and the stock issues. Use examples to illustrate your answer.

Stasis and the stock issues provide two different frameworks to use for the process of persuasion. Stasis issues pertain to presentations addressing matters of fact, or matters of value. Stock issues are those generally pertaining to policy. Analysis and understanding of the topic can help to craft an ideal presentation that anticipates audience objections, and responds effectively. In fact, audience objection is the core of the stasis approach. Stasis implies that the audience will object to at least one of three core points: definition, existence, and quality. Definition refers to the definition of the terms at hand. For example, if I am trying to persuade someone to purchase top quality coffee, what "top quality" means will differ widely from person to person, or company to company. Existence refers to the meaning or application of the issue. Is there a need for coffee? The quality of the issue relates to mitigating circumstances that might influence audience decisions. What kind of coffee maker, if any, does the company have?