Persuasive Messages & Appeals

1. Designing Persuasive
Messages

2. largely depends on accurate assessment
of audience needs & self-interests
Successful persuasion

3. Appeals to Self-Interest
• Make money
• Save money
• Save time
• Avoid effort
• More comfort
• Better health
• Escape pain
• Gain praise
• Be popular
• Be loved
• Be accepted
• Protect family
• Be stylish
• Be like others
• Avoid trouble
• Avoid criticism
• More joy
• Be safe
• Be secure
• Be like others
• Be an individual
• Protect your
reputation
• Make work
easier
• Satisfy curiosity
• Keep your
possessions

4. Basic Appeals
1. power
2. respect
3. well-being
4. affection
5. wealth
6. skill
7. enlightenment
8. physical & mental vitality
8
Harold Lasswell

5. Physiological
Food, Water, Shelter, etc.
Safety Security, Freedom from Fear
Friends, Family, Spouse
Social
Esteem Recognition, Respect
Self-
Actualization
Fullfillment, Be all you can be
Hierarchy of Needs
Explains what motivates people to act

6. Appeals that work
• Positive appeals more effective than negative ones for message
retention and compliance
• Strong emotional appeals & fear appeals best for audiences with
minimal concern about topic
• High fear appeals only effective when there is a readily available
option to eliminate threat
• Logical appeals better than emotional appeals for highly educated,
sophisticated audiences
• Print better for message comprehension if message is complex