Tommy Boy finally got it right: “I could climb up a bull’s ass to find the steak, but I’d rather take the butcher’s word for it.”

Proof in the form of concrete statements or tangible numbers carry credibility. They allow persuaders to sway thought. That’s why so many people accept twisted numbers and statistical data as proof. The numbers carry authority.

People want to believe but will assign faith to persuasion if it carries an element of truth. The more credible the proof and the more apt they are to believe it. “…persuasion is effected through the speech itself when we have proved a truth or an apparent truth by means of the persuasive arguments suitable to the case in question,” Aristotle, Rhetoric.

First start with identifying the opinions and beliefs a person already understands, then build upon those opinions by providing additional proof through example and demonstration. Seeking vindication, individuals will assign credence to your proof, internalize it and use it to further develop their own understanding, opinions and beliefs. The individual will accept your proof and mold it into their own viewpoint. They will assign their own proof and internalize your persuasion as their own idea.

“You could climb up…” but you already get the idea.

Salesmen learn early that the fastest way to closing a sale is by answering all of the questions and objections before asking for the sale. If you can anticipate questions, prepare answers, you have a better chance of demonstrating that your product solves problems and fills a need.

Simple? Not quite. The prospect needs to want to consider how they might benefit. It is your job to put them in the proper state of mind to anticipate questions.

Sometimes it’s useful to provide answers to hidden questions already laid out in the copy. Use metaphor and anecdote to develop a backstory and then wonder aloud how your main characters will get out of the situation. Make the reader wonder aloud and place themselves into the problem. How will they get out of it? What will they do? What is the next step? Allow them to wonder and then help them find the questions that will then lead to your answers.

Without a doubt the most famous example of laying clues for others to follow is the story of Hansel and Gretel. Just follow the dropped pieces of bread to your destination.

Writers usually understand this instinctively. Cozy up to a good Agatha Christy novel and follow the sleuth. The writer lays out the mystery in a logical progression and leads the reader to discover the clues.

Use red herrings to mislead, but overuse them to your peril. Overuse of misleading information will damage trust and spoil your true intent. Persuade by providing proof and lay clues to allow your reader to discover the message for themselves.

Use progression and foreshadowing to involve the reader. Announce your ultimate destination and take your listeners through a number of twists and turns to the end. Double back on yourself and show the clues again. Follow the breadcrumbs down the path and then follow them home again.

Ever talked with someone who seemed a little off, like they were trying too hard to impress you? Or perhaps it seemed as if the presentation had some holes in it. People can see through insincerity and fake responses.

Show you care and build a quality that demonstrates that you care about how others feel. Be genuine in developing your message. Do you really care about what you are attempting to sell, say, or present? Do you have a stake in its outcome?

Develop a caring quality and it will show. You will reap rewards as people key into your message. Be insincere and you will have lost the audience, likely forever.

Emotion, whether it be in the form or sadness, anger, happiness, etc., adds immediacy to any form of persuasion. People want to immediately tap into the emotion and find out how you are feeling.

Then they want to know how you’re going to get beyond it.

If you have made a mistake, show how you felt and how you rose above it. Show the joy in your success. Detail out the feelings you had and the feelings you have now. Be able to put your heart on your sleeve and show your emotions to the world.

Readers/Listeners will only engage once they have been given a reason to listen. They will turn off your message it they have not been engaged. Emotion helps engage them. Gives them hope. Shows them that you were able to hang in there.

Emotion fuels any message by giving your reader a peak into what makes you tick, and makes them wonder what you’re going to say next.

After the fall of Alexandria, a single book was pulled and saved from the library, because it contained a precious secret. Inside the well-kept pages, the author described and pointed to a touchstone, which was described as a smooth and perfect stone that had the ability to turn anything it touched into pure gold. The touchstone was hidden on the shores of a faraway lake, and it could be found and used to create great wealth, if the reader would only take the journey.

Many years passed and the book was lost among many stacks of books. Eventually, the book found its way to a used bookstore, where it was discovered by an old man. As he turned the now tattered pages, he realized that this stone could make him very rich and provide him with a chance at reclaiming his lost youth.

The man eagerly purchased the book and rushed home to study it further. He poured over maps until he located the lost lake. He then made plans to travel, eventually arriving on the shores of the lake where the lost touchstone could be found.

The book described how the touchstone lay hidden among many pebbles on the north shore of the lake. And while all the other pebbles on the shore would feel cold to the touch, the touchstone would feel hot to the touch, and that is how the seeker would find the precious stone.

The old man studied the shore and concluded that the best possible way for him to find the touchstone was to pick up each stone and carefully test them to discover if they were cold or hot. As he picked up each rock, rather than throw it back down on the shore, he would toss it out into the lake. He picked up a pebble. It was cold. He tossed it away. He picked up another. It too was cold. He tossed it away. This process went on until many days had passed. The old man would pick up a pebble, test it, then toss it away into the lake.

After many months had passed the shore was becoming bare of pebbles and yet the man continued to pick them up and toss them away. Eventually, he picked up a pebble. It was hot to the touch! And immediately, he tossed it into the lake.

The man had become accustomed to his routine; pick up a rock, feel it for hot or cold, and toss it away. So accustomed, that when he had located the precious stone, he tossed it away without any thought.

Persuasive writing requires a good tale. The reader must be engaged and motivated to listen. The writer must give the reader a reason to stay with the story. Small anecdotes and metaphors provide perfect vehicles for engaging readers and listeners. Hook them with a story, then move on to your persuasive argument.

And then? And then?

And then what happened?

Grab the rapt attention of a child and the power of a good story demonstrates itself. Fail to answer, “And then?,” and the magic is lost.

In persuasive writing, whether a press release, essay, sales or pitch letter, the reader must be left to wonder, “And then?” The writing must cause the reader to fill in the blanks. The reader must want to pursue the story to its end.

Ten Tips To Keep “And Then” Alive

• Tell A Good Tale
• Show Emotion
• Be Genuine
• Lay Clues
• Anticipate Questions
• Give Me Proof
• Introduce Credible Characters
• Share The Experience
• Make Them Believe
• Leave Them Wanting More

The next ten posts will expand each of these 10 points to demonstrate how effective persuasion starts with answering the question, “And Then?”

Right there on the label below the name they’ve placed the word Genuine. It’s authentic. Made from real ingredients. Not synthetic. It’s full of things you can touch and feel.

When people surmise the press release is dead and needs a makeover, they point to the gimmicks. The press release needs a Technorati tag, a MP3 file, an iCal link, a camel hair, as if sprucing up a pig’s ear makes it a purse. I don’t intend this to be a critical review of the efforts of PR people looking to tap into social media, or on their current research. Nor is it an indictment of efforts to improve the conversation between talkers and listeners. I just think there’s more to the demise of the press release than a need for a new package.

It is an indictment of poor writing.

Most press release start off as dull prater. For instance, I’ll pick on a lead I wrote seven years ago: “Eighth Judicial District Court Chief Judge Gene Porter today announced the appointment of Michael Sommermeyer, a Texas Tech University media relations professional and former broadcast journalist, as the new Court Information Officer for the court system in Southern Nevada.” A straight to the point, run-on sentence, that leads off a run-of-the-mill pat on the back.

Why would anyone care? It doesn’t have any flavor. It doesn’t provide anything that jumps out at you as special. It made me feel good, but I don’t recall anyone publishing it. And frankly, why would they? (I should have written, “Boy wonder from the planet Krypton arrives to save us all,” but that would have bordered on puffery.)

Here’s a better one: “Clark County’s District Court has successfully initiated the court’s first transcontinental trial in Department 17 by linking the courtroom with a remote site in Boston Mass. by video conference. The videoconferencing trial, presided over by Judge Stefany Miley, allows a bed-confined defendant to participate in the proceedings through a two-way video link using court cameras and the Internet.” This lead intrigues the reader. They want to know more.

Good writing bounces off the page and improves the chances the press release will be read. After that, then worry about whether it will be dug on Digg or talked about on Twitter. If you want people to talk about your press release, do a better job of writing it. Be genuine: the good stuff will stand out and people will notice.

Next post: And then? How to Write to Persuade

These are my links for February 3rd through February 4th:

• Is it better to “pitch” journalists before sending a new release? - I always pitch first, but I still have success using press releases. Richard Becker, president of CopyWrite Inc. asks this question and a number of excellent answers were offered, including mine.
• Social Search is Coming - ReadWriteWeb - If Google expands to track social connections, it will be more imperative to track online reputation and corporate social responsibility efforts, especially those carried out by employees, whether it be a dedicated tactic or a rogue effort.

Earlier this month I decided that I was just going to use this space for me. (See post A New Year’s Wish). I had grown tired of trying to dream up only public relations posts to WordyMouth. So I sort of checked out. It wasn’t worth it to me to be known as a prolific blogger. In fact, I was tired of the whole scene. I wanted to be just me -a writer, Dad, friend and sometimes a public relations professional who happens to write.

Along today comes Ike Pigott, who formally has announced “I am no longer a blogger.” He’s done. Hung it up. Threw in the towel. Taking his insightful, thought-provoking blog posts and moving on. He’s become just a writer.

I know how he feels. Writing is something I do because I want to do it. I have a need to express myself. Just because I happen to publish my thoughts using WordPress doesn’t suddenly convey upon me some sort of magical powers.

Writer, stand up, I knight thee, Blogger!

Ike points out the word means nothing. Blogger actually sounds bad, like something blown out of your nose. And it has negative connotations - there’s a bit of elitism among those who consider themselves Top-Blogger, or Long-term Bloggers, or dare I say it, A-List Bloggers.

If you follow the denotation of the word, I was blogging in 1986 on CompuServe. I would post a thought or comment, and others would post their thoughts. When Gopher came out I had a Gopher Hole. Then the the World Wide Web arrived. I remember telling people about my site in early 1993, which was one of only a handful of sites. My point: I’ve been a computer geek since 1979 and a writer since before that. I became a professional writer in 1986, so I’ve been around the block a few times. Whether it be a journal, scrap of paper, or this space, I am a writer first.

I’m joining Ike’s Manifesto. I’m no longer a blogger. I’m no longer going to scold myself for failing to write something wise and timely. I’m just going to be a writer. A writer who happens to publish my thoughts using a blog, or a website, as us old-timers still like to call them.