The Dynamics of Persuasion - Case Study Example

The Dynamics of Persuasion Introduction Steve is the software engineer working in a software games designing company in Brisbane. The company recently launched an award winning game ‘Fruit Ninja’ that received 300 million downloads. The local government announced to fund growing software companies for expanding and supporting the software industry. Steve represented his company in the meeting in front of the local Council officials but could not influence them that resulted in failure in availing the funds from City Council. Persuasion is defined as, “a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to change their attitudes or behaviors regarding an issue through the transmission of a message in an atmosphere of free choice (Perloff, 2010, p. 12). Steve could not convince the City Council members to lend his company funds for expansion due to lack of professionalism and unpersuasive attitude. The main facts identified that resulted in denial were the non-professional attitude of Steve, no preparation for presenting his agenda to the board members, expecting that people would already know about his company profile and inability to express the financial gain that can be achieved by expanding the company. According to Persuasion Theory, Steve must be able to communicate his message to the City Council members in order to lend the fund from them (Simons & Jones, 2011). Although the reputation of Steve’s company was high, he still could not successfully avail the funds because he could not persuade the board members on the eligibility of his company to get the funds and could not communicate the message convincingly. Analysis and Discussion The inability of Steve to persuade the City Council is based on several factors. It is found that he was not prepared for presenting his company profile in front of the members. He did no preparation to show the company growth margin and current productivity considering that the Council would be already aware of that, this was an extremely wrong approach. Secondly, he did not focus on time management. Steve could not reach the meeting on time that again sent a non-professional attitude signal to the committee. He also did not prepare for the meeting beforehand that rendered him delay his presentation. Due to his non-professional and non-serious attitude the company although fulfilling the merit could not avail the chance of getting the funds. According to Yale approach, the message communicated by the communicator should contain logic, emotions and credibility (Bordens & Horowitz, 2000). Steve’s message on the other hand lacked any logic, emotional content or credibility. According to the concept of Maximum Influence presented by Mortensen (2004) in order to persuade others the two most important tools are communication and understanding of human nature. Steve conveyed his appeal for the grant of funds with weak communication skills (Mortensen, 2004, p. 6). Evidences that were required to convince the Council members whom would be interested in analyzing the financial and social benefits that could be generated by the companies granted the funds did not support his statement. Steve should also have mentioned that how increased budget of the company can impact the performance of software engineers, company employees, stakeholders and the application users also. Similarly, due to lack of persuasion Steve lost a chance of improvement and better in the company that would negatively impact the stakeholders of the company stated above. Alternatives and Evaluation In order to formulate a convincing and persuasive message, Steve should have focused on increased productivity that can be achieved by bringing innovation in software development using funds. He should also have indicated the true potential and talent of software engineers working in the company that can be used more effectively with wide budget. He should also have mentioned the success story of ‘Fruit Ninja game’ on which the company received award also. The way Steve presented his statement that his company should be given the funds because it is the best made no impression on the board. It is said that persuasion is an application of rational or emotional arguments to influence others and change their thinking and attitude (Bordens & Horowitz, 2000, p. 217). The solutions of the stated problem can be identified as follows. According to Aristotle’ three means of persuasion, the message should be conveyed based on Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. The personal appearance, attitude and character of the speaker should be credible for influencing the audience (Mortensen, 2004, p. 10). For this reason, the communicator should prepare well for conveying the message before presenting it to the audience in order to appear confident, well prepared and assertive. Aristotle’s concept of Pathos states, "when considering pathos, it is important to know both the individual’s actual state of mind and desired state of mind" (Mortensen, 2004, p. 10). Therefore, it is important to communicate the message based on the interest of the listeners as they are intended to know the benefits that could be achieved if they grant the asked favor (Baumeister & Vohs, 2007). Aristotle explained logos as human beings are rational creatures. For this reason, they seek logic and proof for making decisions. Opinions differ among persuasion theorists as to whether receivers process messages rationally. Aristotle maintained that reason was human beings most distinctive feature (Simons & Jones, 2011, p. 42). The speaker should draft the message supported by facts and evidences to make it sound influential to the audience (Mortensen, 2004, p. 11). Conclusion – Solution and Implementation Based on different theories of communication and persuasion it is found that persuasion is helpful in creating peaceful agreements, promoting fund-raising efforts and convincing motorists to buckle up (Mortensen, 2004, p. 13). According to Vaughan & Hogg (1995), persuasion is a tool for changing the attitude and related behavior of the audience. Aristotle Theory of Persuasion focuses on the three main steps of persuasion that is to communicate an evidence-based claim with credibility of the communicator and according to the mindset of the audience (Mortensen, 2004, p. 11). The main solution to the problem identified in the paper is to provide evidences and proofs of the claim to persuade the respective audience made by the communicator. If Steve had presented his company profile and the objective of lending the fund with evidences of past success, the City Council would have granted him the funds. Reference List Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (2007). Encyclopedia of Social Psychology. New York, NY: SAGE Publications. Bordens, K., & Horowitz, I. (2000). Social Psychology. London, UK: Lawrence Erlbaum. Mortensen, K. W. (2004). Maximum Influence : The Twelve Universal Laws of Power Persuasion. New York, NY: AMACOM. Perloff, R. (2010). The Dynamics of Persuasion: Communication and Attitudes in the 21st Century . New York, NY: Routledge. Simons, H. W., & Jones, J. (2011). Persuasion in Society. New York, NY: Routledge. Vaughan, G., & Hogg, M. (1995). Introduction to Social Psychology. Sydney, NSW: Prentice Hall. Read More