5 Step Persuasion

One way to persuade your audience during a talk, meeting, or conversation is with a relevant story. Another way to persuade your audience is with a five-step technique created by Alan Monroe called Monroe’s Motivated Sequence.

Monroe crafted a five-step sequence for persuasion:

1. Attention

Grab their attention with a quick story, quote, or anecdote. Jokes can grab attention audience attention; be careful, jokes are highly dependant on the audience and may not work in all situations.

2. Need

Describe the problem and why it needs to be fixed. Include practical examples of the problem, references, and any information to show how the problem affects the audience.

3. Satisfaction

Introduce a solution to resolve the problem defined in step two. Supply details to illustrate how the solution resolves the need, but don’t be overly detailed unless your audience needs extensive details. Knowing your audience here really helps dial in the appropriate level of detail to persuade them.

4. Visualization

This step requires using your creativity to take their need and the solution in step three, then turn it into the right solution for them. You can use the consequences of not implementing or showcase cost savings, improved efficiency, etc. Know your audience and what they need to make a decision.

5. Action

This is the call to action. Provide a three-item menu of options with clear action steps to be part of the solution.

Monroe’s motivated sequence can be used in many situations, like elevator pitches, meetings, persuading a team member or manager. It can be scaled to be as brief or long as needed. The next time you need to persuade, try the five-steps to craft your pitch beforehand.

Twitter