MODULE IN PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION

MODULE 4

Value of Message in Communication

OBJECTIVES: At the end of the period, the students must be able to:
1. Define and rationalize the real value of message in communication.
2. Identify and explain the three variables that make up a message.
3. Identify and explain the purposes of the message.
4. Know the ways of conveying the message clearly.
5. Identify the target audience.
6. Identify and explain the other ways of presenting the message.

Why Messaging Is Important

Strategic messaging drives marketing and sales activities streamlining communication so that what
prospects read on your website translates well into demo and sales conversation. Strategic messaging should be
translated into a compelling story. Storytelling is a subject for a different post, but it’s important to understand
how strategic messaging translates to stories that your marketing and sales team will communicate. In
rhetorical and communication studies, a message is defined as information conveyed by words (in speech or
writing), and/or other signs and symbols. A message (verbal or nonverbal, or both) is the content of the
communication process. The originator of the message in the communication process is the sender. The sender
conveys the message to a receiver.

Three Variables of Message

1. Content. In communication context, content maybe classified as referential and relational. The ideas
contained in a message or the ideas the speaker says as he thinks about something are referred to as
referential, whereas when the speaker's ideas or messages insinuate that there is a relationship between him
and his listener, the content of his message may be considered as relational. A typical example of which is
when the speaker talks to someone and he mentions his name and hints at his familiarity with him in his talk.

2. Structure. In every communication situation, achieving clarity of the message or information shared is
deemed important. It is much needed that the speaker guides or directs his listeners to the topics or arguments
that he intends to bring and to discuss with them. In this regard, coherent pattern of organization is indeed
significant. The message to be shared with the listeners should be structured or organized. No matter how
nervous the speaker is, it is necessary that he provides patterns for the audiences to follow so as for them to be
guided accordingly to the ideas he hopes to share. A basic numerical form can be used, to wit.. first, second…
next… finally… or as intricate as a full outline with points and sub- points.

3. Style. The third variable of spoken message is style. It is referred to the careful manner of gathering and
arranging the words to express the speaker's message which somehow reveals what kind of a person he is
when speaking. Styles can be personal or impersonal, literal or ironic, plain or elevated, philosophical or
poetic. The use of variations in sentence structures determines the speaker's style in expressing his spoken
message.
What is the Purpose of the Message?
1. Informative messages can be short or long, formal or casual in tone, internal or external in focus, and
direct or indirect in structure, depending on the situation. Like all forms of communication, the purpose of
informative messages is to promote understanding, encourage action, stimulate thinking, or promote
ideas.

Informative messages can take on almost any form of electronic communication: IMs, chats, emails,
presentations, memos, blogs, podcasts, press releases, and reports. As was stated earlier in this module, the
situation at hand will dictate how the message is crafted and how it is sent. Despite the variety of informative
messages and how they can be sent, there are some guidelines that pertain to all effective business
communication.
1. Get to the main idea as quickly as possible.
2. Use a greeting to identify the audience.
3. Be clear and concise with the presentation of information.
4. Check your message for grammatical errors.
5. Include a call to action.

2. A persuasive message is the central message that intrigues, informs, convinces, or calls to action.
Persuasive messages are often discussed in terms of reason versus emotion. Every message has elements of
ethos, or credibility; pathos, or passion and enthusiasm; and logos, or logic and reason. If your
persuasive message focuses exclusively on reason with cold, hard facts and nothing but the facts, you may or
may not appeal to your audience. People make decisions on emotion as well as reason, and even if they
have researched all the relevant facts, the decision may still come down to impulse, emotion, and desire. On
the other hand, if your persuasive message focuses exclusively on emotion, with little or no substance, it may
not be taken seriously. Finally, if your persuasive message does not appear to have credibility, the message
may be dismissed entirely.

Strategies for persuasive messages

Your product or service may sell itself, but you may want to consider using some strategies to help
ensure your success:
1. Start with your greatest benefit. Use it in the headline, subject line, caption, or attention statement.
Audiences tend to remember the information from the beginning and end of a message, but have less recall
about the middle points. Make your first step count by highlighting the best feature first.

2.Take baby steps. Promote, inform, and persuade on one product or service at a time. You want to hear “yes,”
and if you confuse the audience with too much information, too many options, steps to consider, or related
products or service, you are more likely to hear “no” as a defensive response as the audience tries not to make a
mistake. Avoid confusion and keep it simple.

3.Know your audience. The more background research you can do on your audience, the better you can
anticipate their specific wants and needs and tailor your persuasive message to meet them.

4.Lead with emotion, and follow with reason. Gain the audience’s attention with drama, humor, or novelty
and follow with specific facts that establish your credibility, provide more information about the product or
service, and lead to your call to action.

5.Goodwill messages are special messages. Unlike good news message that say “yes" to the reader related to
business, goodwill messages are meant to build goodwill. These messages are always appreciated.
Goodwill messages are very nice letters to receive because they often come as a pleasant surprise. Unlike good
news letters that give positive news related to business, goodwill letters build relationships. Finding the right
words to express feelings is sometimes more difficult than writing ordinary messages. A ready-made card, even
one that's well designed and attractive, simple does not have the same emotional impact as a personalized letter.
Dr. Mary Ellen Guffey, best-selling author, recommends these five S’s of Goodwill Messages:
1. Be selfless. Focus on the reader, not on the sender. A sincere thank you to a customer should not include a
notice of an upcoming sale.
2. Be specific. Instead of vague statements (You did a good job), include special details (Your strategy for
approaching customers proved to be outstanding)
3. Be sincere. Show your honest feelings with conversational, everyday language.
4. Be spontaneous. Strive to make the message natural, fresh and direct. Avoid canned phrases (If I may be of
service, please do not hesitate...)
5. Be short. Goodwill messages are fairly brief

Seven Steps to Clear and Effective Communication by Joel Garfinkle

1. Stay on Message.
Be clear exactly what ideas you are trying to express or the message you are trying to convey to the other
person or group. What do you most want them to understand?

2. Make It a Two-Way Conversation.

Try to really hear and understand where others are coming from. What are they trying to say? What
messages are they trying to get across to you? Ask yourself, “Do I really understand them?” Pay special
attention not just to what they are saying, but to what isn’t being said.

3. Making Sense of It All.

Always ask yourself, “Does what I’m saying make sense? Does the feedback I’m receiving make sense?
What is the perspective they are trying to get across? Does it make sense that they have this perspective?”
When both parties in the conversation are truly able to say they understand or that “it makes sense,” clear and
effective communication has been achieved.

4. You’re Responsible for Any Failure to Communicate.

Remember, as the primary communicator you are 100% responsible for the other person’s
understanding of the communication. In other words, if you don’t feel that you are being understood, you have
not completed the job of communicating. You must re-communicate your position to ensure that you’ve been
properly heard.

5. Can You Hear Them Now?

Do you really hear what others are saying? To really listen requires your full attention and being able to
feed back to them exactly what you have heard them say.

6. Repetition, Repetition, Repetition.

An equally effective way to make sure others understand exactly what you are communicating is to ask
them to repeat back their interpretation of what has been said or asked of them. In order to guarantee the results
or reaction you want, you need to make sure that your audience can give you a clear explanation of what is
being required of them.

7. Respect Your Audience as You Respect Yourself.

To be a clear and effective communicator, you must first recognize that your message is not just about
you or what you want. It’s about “what’s in it for the audience.” You must both believe in your message and
sincerely care about the needs and the unique perspectives of those you are communicating to if you truly want
to be heard. After all, they took the time and trouble to hear what you have to say, so it’s equally important to
recognize and respect that we each have different perspectives based on our positions, motivations, and needs.
How to determine your target audience
Your target audience are the individuals, groups and communities that have influence and decision-
making power over your brands’ products or services. They are the ones you are trying to attract and sell to –
they are the people want to communicate with.

A business that strategizes and creates messages around a specific target audience will be more likely to
succeed than an organization that just creates strategy for “the general public”. Your target audience are the
people who are going to react positively to your messages and take action.

The key is to dedicate time to really refine your audience before you start ‘talking’ to them. To clarify
your target audiences, answer these questions:

*Who needs to hear your message? Who are the people that would be interested in hearing and learning
about what you have to offer them?

* Who are the influencers? All target audiences have people who have great influence over their
decisions. They can be family members, friends, authoritative figures such as doctors and even the
media.

* Who must be moved to action? Who are the targets that actually follow through with the purchase?

* Who has the greatest impact on the business’s outcome? Who are the people who will affect
whether you fail or succeed?

Once you have researched and determined your target audience, you can now begin to create strategies,
messages and tactics that are tailored to your target audience’s needs, wants and values.

Clearly defining your target audience will help you get the best results because your efforts will be
targeted to the people who are most likely to respond positively.

Read more at: https://publicrelationssydney.com.au/how-to-determine-your-target-audience/

7 Ways to Make Your Presentation Message

Eric Fitzpatrick of Toastmasters International has seven tips that will help:

1. Be different. Work out how you can stand out from all the other speakers. For example, Steve Jobs stood
out as a presenter because of his appearance, because he stepped out from behind the lectern, because he rarely
if ever used notes, because his power point slides mostly contained images instead of text and because he
ignited the imagination of his listeners. Work out how you can be different.

2. Tell stories. People are wired for stories. Stories allow listeners to create pictures in their mind which help
them to understand the speaker’s message. A presenter’s story allows the listener to recall their own version
of that story which makes it easier to relate to the message. Stories are easier to remember. A good story is
easier to recall a day, a week, even a year after it was heard.

3. Use humor. At a conference, the speaker who can make their audience laugh will be long remembered.
Listeners want useful information but they need to be entertained. Humor breaks down barriers between a
presenter and their audience. Humor allows an audience to relax – and relaxed audiences learn. An audience
that laughs is more likely to remember your message and buy into it.

4. One message. Whether you are speaking for five minutes or forty-five minutes, give your listeners one
message. Make three to five points that support that message but give them one message only. Before you start
creating your presentation ask yourself the following question “What is my objective?” The answer will
be the message you want to get across.

5. Use concrete images. The best way to explain abstract ideas or technical information is with
metaphors or similes. Comparing difficult to understand subjects to visually strong or familiar images
will make them easier to comprehend. If you want your message to be remembered, explain it in terms
your listener is already familiar with.

6. Connect emotionally. It has been said that 80 per cent of the decisions we make are based upon
emotion. We are all connected by six emotions; happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise and disgust. If
you want to connect with your audience, connect with one or more of these emotions.

7. Focus on your audience. Create a presentation that focuses on the benefits to your listener and NOT
the features of the product. Your audience is thinking “what’s in this for me?” Answer that question in
terms of benefits to your audience and they will be focused on your message.
It takes work to stand out from the crowd but the rewards can be great. Using these seven ideas
will allow your audience to catch all of your key points, including the message you want them to come
away with.

Breathe, Ponder then Answer!

1. Rationalize the real value of message in communication.

2. Explain the three variables that make up a message.