Five Tips For Writing More Persuasively
Writing persuasively isn’t the easiest thing in the world. It’s a skill that pays to learn, though, given how many situations your convincing powers will likely be useful. From school essays arguing for a position to business emails urging a client to buy a product, having the chops to write in a persuasive manner can only do good things.
- Write with authority. If you want to be persuasive, you have to speak the part. That includes being confident and self-assured in the words you write. Even if you have some doubts about your arguments, don’t let it creep into the language you’re using.
- Be respectful. You can sound confident without insulting your reader’s intelligence or labeling contrary arguments as “dumb.” Putting down ideas other than your own does not make for good persuasive writing. In fact, doing so is more likely to turn readers off.
- Use facts and quotes to your advantage.
- Anticipate questions. Make sure you anticipate any questions the reader may come up with and address them. Lingering questions in the reader’s mind is never good for persuasive purposes — it leaves them unconvinced.
- Anticipate counter-arguments. For every argument, there’s always a counter-argument. While some people prefer to ignore them, you should address them if you want to be truly persuasive. Doing so will show that you’re not afraid to acknowledge opposing views, all while allowing you to give your reasons for not subscribing to them.