Question

When writing a persuasive message that may encounter resistance, usean indirect approach. in the opening of your message, use theattention strategy?

Answer 1

If your question is the TRUE/FALSE type, both claims are true. Indirect approach (that is, not tackling the point directly, but carefully choosing a way to start with something appealing and slowly arriving at the point) is most often used with persuasive messages. For example, if I want to persuade you to do something (e.g. buy my product), I know for sure that nobody likes to be sold to. So, I need to find my way around this obstacle - to pitch you an idea that sounds appealing and not salesy. And of course, in the opening of my message, I will use the attention strategy or a "hook" - that is, find an angle that sounds compelling, interesting, and that strikes right at the core of what you want.