In the first two ESL lessons (BEP 59 & BEP 60) in this three-part series on persuasion, we saw how getting your audience’s attention et demonstrating a clear need were essential to the persuasive process. We learned that in the indirect method of persuasion you should demonstrate the problem before you offer a solution. This mirrors the psychological process of decision-making: First we feel a need, and then we look for a way to satisfy that need.

After you have established the need, you then describe the future benefits if your proposal is accepted. This is the visualization step: Talk about how accepting your proposal will have positive future outcomes or maybe how not accepting it will have negative outcomes. finalement, you need to make a concrete, specific call to action – what the audience can do right now to implement your proposal.

Let’s finish listening to Steve give his proposal to Swift management. See if you can identify the satisfaction, visualization and action steps in his speech.

Questions d'écoute

1. How long will it take Swift to get back the investment in air conditioning?
2. How much extra profit can Swift make per year by adopting Nick’s proposal?
3. What specific action does Steve ask his manager’s to take?

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Welcome to the second in this three-part Business English Pod series on presenting your ideas presuasively.

Last time we heard a bad example and a good example of persuasion. Then we covered the first step of the Monroe Sequence: We learned that to be persuasive, you first need to get the audience’s attention by establishing the relevance of the topic. We also talked about how it’s extremely important to relate your proposal directly to your audience’s needs.

In today’s show, we will be continuing on that theme by looking in detail at the second step in the Monroe Sequence, the need step. This is where you demonstrate to the audience that there is a serious problem with the current situation. This prepares them psychologically to accept your solution.

Let’s continue listening to the good example of persuasion that we started last time. Rappelles toi, Steve has just gotten his audience’s attention by pointing out the amount of money that Swift loses every year due to turnover. He has also posed a problem: How can we reverse the trend and turn the situation around?

Questions d'écoute

1. What’s the highest temperature in the welding room?
2. What does Steve present first – the problem or the solution?
3. What kind of strategies does Steve use to paint a vivid picture of the need for his solution?

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Do you ever need to persuade or convince someone of your point of view? Do you need to win support for a proposal, or get backing for a project? Of course you do. Persuasion – convincing someone of something – is an essential part of almost everything we do, from informal discussions to formal negotiations. To be successful, il faut être persuasif. You need to get people to accept a different point view, to see things your way. How can you be more persuasive? In this three-part series, we’ll be giving you some answers.

Throughout the years, many talented speakers and researchers have been developing ways to persuade people effectively. One of the most widely used methods is Alan H. Monroe’s. In the mid-1930s, Monroe created a persuasive process called the “Monroe sequence” that has become a standard in business, médias et politique. Une fois que tu le sais, tu le reconnaîtras partout – dans les discours, déclarations, propositions, publicités. C’est populaire parce que c’est logique et efficace.

Donc, au cours des trois prochains épisodes du Business English Pod, nous étudierons le langage et les stratégies de persuasion basées sur la séquence de Monroe.

La séquence Monroe comprend cinq parties.
1) Attirez l’attention du public
2) Établir un besoin
3) Satisfaire ce besoin
4) Visualisez le futur
5) Appel à l'action

Cette leçon se concentrera sur la première étape, attirer l'attention du public.

L'écoute a lieu chez Swift, un fabricant de vélos dont le principal marché est les États-Unis. Nous écouterons un bon exemple et un mauvais exemple de persuasion. Examinons d’abord le mauvais exemple.

Questions d'écoute

Mauvais exemple
1. Sur quels besoins Franz se concentre-t-il? C'est, whose needs is he taking into consideration when he makes the proposal?
2. Why is Franz’s proposal so ineffective?

Good example
1) What does Steve do at the beginning of his presentation?
2) Whose needs does Steve focus on – the workers’ or the management’s?

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