How Communication Elements Affect Persuasive Communication

Persuasive communication has the same elements as basic communication; the speaker, the message, and the receiver. Only this time, the speaker would be more technically correct to be called as the persuader. Each of the elements has ways of affecting the entire persuasive communication process. Factors related to the speaker are: first, the speaker’s specialization – the speaker must be really familiar with the message he or she is trying to sell.

Second, the speaker’s credibility – being familiar or knowledgeable about the topic is sometimes not enough to persuade the audience if the speaker has a reputation for not being credible in the past. The more credible the speaker, the more likely he or she would persuade the audience. And third, The speaker’s charisma – sometimes, even if a person does not qualify as a reliable source, his or her charisma alone is sometimes enough to persuade an audience.

Nobody wants to listen to a boring speaker; an energetic speaker trumps a credible but boring speaker anytime. One of the factors related to the message is the arrangement of ideas – a clear and organized flow of ideas are more likely to persuade the audience. Another factor would be the timeliness of the message being conveyed – the audience would like to be informed; they will not listen to things that they already know.

One last factor is the audience’s fondness to the topic –for instance, it is not wise to talk about Quantum Physics in an art school; topic selection is vital. There are two major factors affecting the audience, first is the audience’s readiness – people are not always ready to accept the change one is trying to instill to them, and second is the audience’s susceptibility – people respond differently; some accept what the speaker is saying, others neglect it, while others simply do not care.

Persuasive communication is a complicated process because a lot of factors are concerned. If one factor is taken for granted, it could mean the difference between a successful, memorable persuasive speech and a disastrous speech that the audience would easily forget.

Reference Pathways (n. d). Persuasive and Effective Communication. Retrieved January 19, 2009 from: http://pathways. cu. edu. eg/subpages/training_courses/Communications7/Chapter2. htm

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