"The Art of Persuasive Communication"

Communicating for maximum effect

By?Jeremy Michaels, Founder of?JERMYN STREET

TL:DR… in summary

The art of persuasion is elusive.

With so many people and organisations saying and sharing more (‘screaming into the void’) how do we best ‘stand out from the crowd’?

Today, with a plethora of platforms, endless content based on unfounded opinions, and the popularity of posts seemingly more important than the facts that underpin them, what should we be thinking, doing and creating to be truly persuasive?

Below we detail a strategic approach to communicating effectively and distinctively. Here we deliver our insights ‘above the fold’, in the hope that they will be an easily digestible ‘hook’ that ensures you read on.

Well if you’ve got this far…

1. Begin with serious intent.

2. Be genuinely strategic and holistic.

3. Be distinctive and have a unique point of view.

Consider the above your ‘amuse bouche’, and below the full tasting menu.

Bon appetit.

Strategic Communications, with insight, and intelligence, for impact

Put your pens down and close your laptop.

The best way to begin is not to start. The best way to begin is to prepare.

Effective and persuasive communication starts with your strategy.

That means thinking things through in a considered manner.

It’s an investment at the outset that involves making conscious and informed decisions, backed up by facts.

Too many people think communications is just about writing.

They ‘shoot from the hip’, meandering through a muddled thought process to fill up a page. Stop. Please. Just stop.

Take a beat.

[wrap a cold towel round your head if you need to]

Breathe.

Switch off your devices, or at least your notifications.

Engage your ‘critical thinking’.

Read and research.

Think.

Start with your audience.

Start with the ‘Why?’ (h/t?Simon Sinek).

The below considerations are how we recommend creating compelling, unique and intriguing content. Communicating to effectively drive engagement, deliver a call to action, and have an impact.

Ensuring you are persuasive and different.

Let’s now begin.

Here’s your tasting menu.

Appetiser: ‘serious intent’

1. Begin with serious intent.

Know exactly what you want your content to achieve, and make sure you are set up and ready to evaluate success:

- Have a specific goal and targets in mind, with SMART* and MECE** objectives

- Be 100% clear on what the ‘call to action’ is and what constitutes success

- Ensure you are set up to monitor, analyse and understand audience engagement

- Assess the performance of your content against your goal and targets

- Consider what worked well, what didn’t, and distil lessons learned for next time

*?SMART?= Specific, Measurable, Acheivable, Realistic and Timely? (Source: Corporate Finance Institute)

**?MECE?= Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive? (Source: Slideworks, McKinsey)

Main Course: ‘be strategic’

2. Be genuinely strategic and holistic.

Ensure you are crystal clear on who your audience is, where they ‘live and breathe’ online, and what you want them to do next:

- What are the best platforms to reach them on

- When are they most likely to take the time to engage with your content

- Which kind of content — written or spoken word, video or animation — will be intriguing enough to interest and inspire them to finish and reflect

- How you hope they feel when reading or watching

- What you want them to do next

Dessert: ‘a unique point of view’

3. Be distinctive and offer a unique point of view.

Have substance to support your point of view, with the confidence that comes from having ‘done your homework’ first:

- Focus on unique insights, with intelligent reasoning and logic to support them

- Do your research and analyse trends, available data and other published content

- Come back to the ‘Why?’ and be entirely focused on the ‘call to action’

- Clarify what the key takeaways are that you want to leave your audience with

- Detail why this is important, why it matters, and what they should do next

- Make them an offer they can’t refuse…

Only then can you start to communicate in a compelling manner.

Everything else will flow from there.

Ready? Now write from there.

If you would like to know more about how?JERMYN STREET?delivers strategic communications, with insight, and intelligence, for impact, feel free to comment below, and start the conversation.

Better still, send a message to our founder,?Jeremy, directly on LinkedIn, with your question, challenge or request, including your email address, for the fastest and most direct follow up.

[see what I did there?]

Thanks for reading. Enjoy the ride!