Crafting Persuasive Messages in Digital Age Organizations

When persuading within organizations, pay special attention to power relationships and whether the person you are writing to is your subordinate or superior.

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate answer.

A successful persuasive message to subordinates should use  .

Which of the following are elements of an effective persuasive message to a superior? Check all that apply.

• Use a sensitive tone.
• Sound pushy and argumentative.
• Provide evidence.
• Ignore risks.
• Describe benefits and risks involved.

Today, employees no longer expect managers to be just information providers. A shift in authority affects both the strategies and the tone of workplace persuasive messages.

Select the correct response

Ms. Jones, the CEO of First Bank, is hoping that her employees will buy into a new performance review system. Which of the following statements would be most likely to help Ms. Jones achieve that buy-in?

• The new performance system will help ensure all employees are treated fairly. Please let me know which parts work best for you, and those that do not work well for you.
• If you don't agree to use this new performance system, I'll be forced to reduce the wages of everyone in the company.
• Six companies in our industry have new performance systems. We need one too, and we're going to start using it today.
• The new performance system starts on Tuesday of next week. Be prepared to use it.

Which example requires that the manager use persuasion to achieve his/her goal?

• Technology policies
• How to use equipment
• Customer service procedures
• Finding volunteers to work at a charity event

Because many executives today rely on buy-in instead of exercising raw power, messages flowing downward require attention to tone.

Select the best choice

Persuasive requests coming from a  are more likely to be accepted.