Communicating Persuasively

Presenting No matter how strong

Yourself your arguments, your
audience wont read
Effectively themor wont read
them sympathetically
unless they see you as a
professional.
IDENTIFYING THE ELEMENTS OF
YOUR ARGUMENT
In planning a persuasive document, you need to
work within the constraints that shape your
environment on the job. Eight categories:
1. ethical,
2. legal,
3. political,
4. informational,
5. personnel,
6. financial,
7. time, and
8. format and tone.
Demonstrating the following four characteristics
will help you establish an attractive professional
persona.

1. Cooperativeness.
2. Moderation.
3. Fair-mindedness.
4. Modesty.
Using Graphics as Persuasive Elements

Graphics are fundamentally important in

communicating persuasively because they
help you convey both technical data and
nontechnical information.
The office of the U.S.
president, uses text and
a graph effectively to
present persuasive
arguments.
Now Lets Look at a Few
Examples
Jump to slide 27: Creating Graphics
Creating Graphics
Graphics are the pictures in technical communication:
drawings, maps, photographs, diagrams, charts, graphs,
and tables.

Graphics range from realistic, such as photographs, to

highly abstract, such as organization charts.

They range from decorative, such as clip art and stock

photos that show people seated at a conference table, to
highly informative, such as a schematic diagram of an
electronic device.
We have known for decades that graphics motivate people to study documents
more closely.
People
-VS- studying a
83% 11% document
What we learn with graphics
learn
About 1/3 more

43% more
GRAPHICS OFFER FIVE
BENEFITS THAT WORDS ALONE
CANNOT
indispensable in demonstrating logical & numerical
relationships
communicate spatial information more effectively than
words alone
communicate steps in a process more effectively than
words alone
save space
reduce the cost of documents intended for international
readers
The Characteristics of an
Effective Graphic
A graphic should
serve a purpose
be simple and uncluttered
present a manageable amount of information
meet readers format expectations
be clearly labeled
Understanding the Process of
Creating Graphics
Audience
Purpose
The kind of information you want to
communicate
Physical conditions
As you plan how you are going to
create the graphics, consider four
important factors:
Time
Money
Equipment
Expertise
PRODUCING
GRAPHICS

Four Approaches:
1. Use existing graphics
2. Modify existing graphics
3. Create graphics on a computer
4. Have someone else create the
graphics
Using Color Effectively
Dont overdo it
Use color to emphasize particular items
Use color to create patterns
Use contrast effectively
Take advantage of any symbolic meanings colors
may already have
Be aware that color can obscure or swallow up text
 Figure 12.2 Color Used for Emphasis

Source: From W. K. Purves, D. Sadava, G. H. Orians, and H. C. Heller,

Source: Bonneville, 2009:
LIFE: THE SCIENCE OF BIOLOGY, Seventh Edition, Page 560.
bpa.gov/Finance/FinancialInformation/AnnualReports/Documents/AR2009.pdf Copyright 2004. Reprinted by permission of Sinauer Associates, Inc.
Take advantage of any symbolic
meanings colors may already have.

Figure 12.3 Color Used To Establish Patterns

Figure 12.4 The Effect of Notice that a color washes
Background in Creating out if the background color
is too similar.
Contrast
Figure In graphic (a), the text is hard to read
12.5 Effective because of insufficient contrast. The
greater contrast in graphic (b) makes
Contrast Used in a the text easier to read.
Presentation Slide

a. Insufficient contrast b. Effective contrast

Figure 12.6 Colors Have Clear
Associations for Readers

The batteries are

red. The warm red
contrasts
effectively with the
cool green of the
car body.
Figure 12.6 Colors Have Clear Associations for
Readers

Be aware that color can obscure or swallow up text

 Continue exploring (Markel) Chapter 12
Creating Graphics to help choose the
appropriate kind of graphic (ref: 306-334)