Rhetorical methods are very flexible. If the facts are on your side, then use deductive or inductive logic to help the audience reach the conclusion you’d like them to make.
But if the facts don’t work in your favor, then it’s time for some redefinition, either the terms of the argument or the issue. Let’s start with the terms.
“Training our sales people is going to cost a lot.”
You could change the term:
“It’s not a cost, it’s an investment in future high-margin revenue.”
Or you can redefine the term:
“If by “cost a lot” you mean spending funds to improve the productivity of our revenue producers, then yes, it’s going to cost a lot.”
What if it’s not just a term, but an issue that you’d like to define. Attach words to the issue so that every time someone thinks of it, they think of your word to define it.
Apple defined their personal computer as “A computer for the rest of us.” This not only let them define the issue of what computer to buy (one that a normal, everyday person could use and love), they also contrasted their computer with the IBM personal computer that was seen as something people in business used for work. They made all the language from IBM about work, productivity, and power work against them. None of those terms sound like something that “the rest of us” would want to use.
If your audience currently thinks of an issue with a label that doesn’t favor you, then frame the issue differently.
First, find the commonplace words that favor you of your persuadable audience, the people that are moderate in their position or who haven’t made up their mind.
“Save money,” “improve productivity,” “grow revenue and earnings,” “more customers” are all commonplaces that have wide appeal to business customers.
Then define the issue broadly so that it appeals to the beliefs of the largest possible group.
If you define the issue in terms of saving money, saving time, making work more productive, winning new customers, you’ll be reaching a high percentage of your corporate audience. Avoid defining it in terms that only a CFO could love (reduce the size of your workforce) or that a techie could understand (high bandwidth throughput).
Finally, address the specific decision or action that you want your audience to make. Be sure to communicate in the future tense.
Ask the audience not just to agree with how you’ve defined the issue, but to take action based on your definition.
“See how to become more productive by reading this white paper, watching this demonstration, or buying this solution.”
Some other related posts you might find useful:
About David Crankshaw
[...] FRAMING – controlling the boundaries or the language used in an argument [...]