WN2

Persuasive Letter

When you decide to write a persuasive letter you have:

 Identified a purpose o Want them to believe or not believe something o Want them to do or not do something

 Identified your audience o Can they make decisions o Can they deliver o Are they well-versed in the topic/issue

 Experts?  Leaders in the field?

 Included specific reasons  Added specific details  Remained polite

Cheusheva, S. (2017). Writing persuasive request letters: business letter format, tips and samples. AbleBits. Retrieved from: https://www.ablebits.com/office- addins-blog/2014/04/04/request-letters-format-samples/

10 tips to write persuasive request letters

Below you will find 10 strategies to write your request letters in such a way that they convince your reader to respond or act.

1. Know your addressee. Before you start composing you request letter, ask yourself these questions. Who is my reader and how exactly can they help me? Are they decision makers or will they just pass along my request to a senior officer? Both the style and contents of your request letter will depend on the reader's position.

2. Do not be verbose. Be clear, brief and to the point. A rule of a thumb is this - don't use two words when one would suffice. Just remember the famous quote by Mark Twain - "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead". A person in his position could afford that, and... he was not requesting anything : )

3. Make your letter easy to read. When writing a request letter, don't digress and don't confuse your reader by drifting off your main point. Avoid long, crammed sentences and paragraphs because they are intimidating and hard to digest. Use simple, declarative sentences instead and break long sentences with commas, colons and semicolons. Start a new paragraph when you change a thought or idea.

Here's a very poor example of a cover letter: "In every regard, my qualifications appear to be consistent with the desires expressed by your advertisement and based on the voice of your company's blogs, I really think that I was meant to be a [Position] in your company."

And this is a good one: "I have good skills and experience in [Your area of expertise] and I would be most grateful if you consider me for any suitable position."

Remember, if your request letter looks easy to read, it has a better chance to be read!

4. Add call to action. Put action in your request letters wherever is possible. The easiest way is to use action verbs and the active voice rather than passive.

5. Convince but do not demand. Do not treat your addressees as if they owe you something. Instead, catch the reader's attention by mentioning common ground and emphasize the benefits of acting.

6. Do not be burdensome. Give readers all the information needed and tell what exactly you want them to do. Simplify the job for the person to respond - include contact information, direct phone numbers, give links or attach files, whatever is appropriate

7. Write in a friendly way and appeal to the reader's feelings. Though you are writing a business letter, don't be superfluously businesslike. Friendly letters make friends, so write your request letters in a friendly way as if you are talking to your real friend or an old acquaintance. We are all humans, and it may be a good idea to appeal to humanity, generosity, or sympathy of your correspondent.

8. Remain polite and professional. Even if you are writing an order cancellation request or complaint letter, remain polite and courteous, simply state the issue(s), provide all relevant information and be sure to avoid threats and calumny.

9. Mind your grammar! Rephrasing a well-known saying - "grammar counts for first impressions". Poor grammar like poor manners may spoil everything, so be sure to proofread all business letters you send.

10.Review before sending. When you have finished composing the letter, read it aloud. If your key point is not crystal clear, write it over. It's better to invest some time in re-writing and get a response, than make it fast and have your letter thrown away in a bin straight away.

And finally, if you've got a response to your request letter or the desired action is taken, don't forget to thank the person.