BEP 59 ADV – 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. Persuasion¹ – convincing someone of something – is an essential part of almost everything we do, from informal discussions to formal negotiations². To be successful, you need to be persuasive³. 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) Visualize⁴ the future
5) Call for action

This show 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?

1 persuasion   

n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派

参考例句：

• He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说，他才决定离开。
• After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后，她同意去了。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

4 visualize   

vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想

参考例句：

• I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人，但他的样子我想不起来了。
• She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。