5 Reasons Why Barack Obama is Better at Persuasive Selling than John McCain
October 8th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.com
First off, let me just obliterate the notion that I might be an Obama supporter. I’m not. Frankly, I don’t have great faith in either of the candidates, and am seriously considering “throwing away” my vote on Bob Barr. But that’s beside the point, really.
Last night, like many Americans, I tuned in to the debate. And, all personal opinions and bias aside, one thing I could NOT help noticing was that Obama clearly has a really, really good speech writer and/or communication coach.
Not to mention his totally smooth and unruffled communication style… from his open body language to his “sympathetic” facial expressions to his even vocal tone to his effective use of pauses and emphasis in all the right places.
Before I begin my list of reasons why Obama is a master of persuasion, let me just clarify the meaning of persuasion as defined by Wikipedia.org:
Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding people toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not always logical) means. It is strategy of problem-solving relying on “appeals” rather than strength.
Manipulation is taking persuasion to an extreme, where the one person or group benefits at the cost of the other.
That said, persuasive argument is of course the driving force behind sales copywriting, which is why it’s something I’m tuned in to. As a copywriter, I help business owners persuade individuals to buy/believe in their products, services, ideas and ideals. Because of the work I do, you might even say I’m especially JADED and immune to persuasion because I know where it comes from.
It should go without saying that each party is trying to sell something here - the idea of himself as our best candidate for U.S. President.
Okay: that out of the way, here’s why Obama is better at PERSUADING than McCain is:
(Again, persuasion being “the process of guiding people toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not always logical) means.“).
1. Obama begins his answer to every debate question by addressing a very personal problem that “hits home” for the audience.
As he’s presenting the “issue,” whether it’s concerns over healthcare affordability, tax cuts for the middle class, lack of jobs, the war in Iraq, or social security, he ALWAYS opens his case by touching the emotions of “the average American.” I do believe that in the very first question he answered, he opened with something rousing like, “You’re scared. You’re concerned about the future.” (Don’t quote me on the man’s exact words but it was essentially an acknowledgement of the emotional state of the audience.)
This is HIGHLY persuasive - he used what is essentially the “ATTENTION” portion of the sales pitch formula - which is abbreviated as A.I.D.A. and stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. By immediately touching upon the audience’s biggest fears, he grabbed their ATTENTION and got them listening to what he had to say.
2. Obama’s answers always focus on “the other person” - you, not him.
Obama consistently takes the second person perspective when he answers questions. The second person perspective uses the words “you,” “your family,” “your concerns,” and “your future” (as opposed to “me,” “my,” “I.”
Every good copywriter knows that if you want to endear your audience to your side of the fence, you spin the copy toward the “you” or the “what’s in it for you” perspective.
(While McCain may have made some equally good points, they were weakened by his repeated use of the words “I” and “me” - “What I will do.“)
Furthermore, when Obama gets to the “meat” of his question, or essentially his “answer,” he shifts his perspective to “we” and “us.” This creates the image of him being on the “us team” or “on the level” with the average American. Any good sales copywriter worth his salt knows that you open your arguments by being audience-focused. (I wish that a few more of my clients would recognize how powerful of a tactic this is — but alas, it’s hard for people to think clearly when their egos are making such a godawful racket!)
3. Obama covers his points in outline form, and then repeats them so that everybody understands.
(Side note: when people ask politicians to explain their plans, very rarely if ever do these plans actually go into deep detail. The truth is, we can’t possibly ever know whether such plans will work until all the funding, people, processes and systems are put into place to get the plans going. At that point, the plans will likely change. The plans will then likely change again and again, ending up nothing like what said politician originally promised. However, admitting this truth won’t likely provide that emotional security blanket that people are so desperately craving in trying times as these. So, instead, the presidential candidates get up there and try to sound like they know what they’re talking about.)
When Obama lays down his outlines as Point 1, Point 2, Point 3, etc., it comes across as very organized and this appeals to most people. Why is this persuasive? Because it’s easy to mentally grasp and recall an argument that’s presented in a logical format.
As I said, this doesn’t change the fact that said plan might be just a bunch of idealistic smoke blowing up your you-know-what. But it SOUNDS good, and it PERSUADES, and that is what, sadly, wins favor and gets the vote in the end.
4. Obama draws positive associations between himself and the American people.
Obama talks about his family’s struggle with money growing up, the fact that scholarships brought him to where he is today, etc.. He does this because he knows it creates an emotional connection between himself and his audience - the “we’re in this together” feeling.
McCain, on the other hand, uses the tactic of painting a NEGATIVE picture of his opponent, discussing pork barrel spending and lack of military experience. While such points may be valid, the problem is that negative communication produces NEGATIVE feelings. McCain is effectively alienating his audience with such tactics.
Most advertising experts will tell you that if you’re trying to build a trustworthy reputation for your brand (cause, etc.), IT PAYS to stay focused on the positive and avoid speaking negatively about anyone or anything.
Our country is at the critical point where the LAST thing people want to hear is more gloom and doom. With Obama playing the savior card, desperate Americans are lapping up everything he has to say. And that, unfortunately, is just the persuasive tactic that’s required to “sell” yourself as he is doing.
5. Obama paints a mental picture of himself in the president’s seat.
At the close of each answer, Obama used words such as “When I am president,” which gives a positive visualization of himself as our country’s future leader. This is highly persuasive and hypnotic, even!
Notice he doesn’t say “If I’m elected…” he says WHEN. Or, perhaps he might have said something like, “As president of the United States, I will…” (Note: I’m not using his exact words here because I don’t have a transcript of the debate in front of me, but if you do view it again, come by and tell me what his exact phrasing is. I’m pretty sure this is his tactic.)
The truth is that the world’s greatest and most influential leaders were/are also strong communicators. Clearly, when you can back your words with actions that support the greater good, then that makes all the difference. But it starts with being an effective, and persuasive, orator. Why? Because if you can’t persuade the masses from the start that your ideas are good and sound, then you’ll likely never live the day to see those ideas become reality.
The challenge, once that’s accomplished, is to give substance and credibility to your remarks by staying true to your word. And that, of course, is what remains to be seen from the presidential candidates on EITHER side.
I leave you with the definition of persuasion once more:
From Wikipedia.org:
Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding people toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not always logical) means. It is strategy of problem-solving relying on “appeals” rather than strength.
For more information about the fine art of writing persuasively to position yourself as an authority in your field, download the FREE report: The Dangerous Truth About Copywriting That Sells - from Dina Giolitto at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing.
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September 19th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comDo you feel confused, pressured or overwhelmed at the thought of writing a sales letter for your product? You’re not alone. The sight of that treacherously long page with the neverending streams of words, words, words confounds many.
The good news is, writing a sales letter needn’t be approached with the same dread one might take at having to bang out a college term paper on the night before it’s due. All you really need to do is break it down into manageable parts.
Part 1: Create the “Hooker” Headline and Intro. The “hooker” part of your sales letter includes a headline, subhead, and first paragraph or two. They call it the hooker because it’s meant to hook interest and capture attention. This is frequently done with a series of 3, attention-grabbing questions, but it doesn’t have to. One such question might be: “Are you sick of enduring fad diet after fad diet, only to gain all the weight back as soon as you fall off the wagon?”
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September 9th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comSome people who “can write” don’t think it’s necessary to hire a copywriter. They figure that having a web designer to build pages, and a VA to set up their online shopping cart, is enough.
What they’ve maybe overlooked is that sheer volume of writing that MUST happen if they plan to make a significant impact within their field of expertise.
When you’re managing a team of professionals, whether for your department at work or for your own business, you force yourself into the role of team motivator, project initiator, executive decision-maker, and primary planner. That’s an awful lot to heap on one plate. Add to that being responsible for every piece of communication that goes out the door of your business, and you’re buried under one avalanche of work.
Let’s face it: communication is the key to every good relationship - especially one that you establish with customers and associates. Such a relationship begins with how you BRAND your company from Day 1, and continues throughout the life of your business. You need to ask the questions: what type of message are you sending? Are you sending it often enough to make a favorable impression? Is what you’re saying today consistent with what you said last month?
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But now the question is: did the person who wrote this copy mean to be funny - or was this the sentiment of the day? It’s hard to know what people were thinking during my Grandma’s era, and what might have passed for humor back then. The tone of this seems rather dramatic, if you ask me. I’m sure today’s leading insurance companies would approve.
So what new type of insurance might be the next step for the next generation of families? How about pet insurance? People are fairly mad about their pets - in fact, I like my pet more than most people! And with dog and cat food companies being responsible for thousands of pet deaths due to their questionable ingredients… I’d say we’ve got ourselves a market here.
Insurance… the biggest scam on the planet. “Here… pay us money *just in case* anything happens. But if nothing happens… we still get to keep your money!”
Burns my brisket, it does.
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June 10th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comTons of marketing experts preach the Marketing Funnel or Product Pipeline. Their theory on online business is that you should offer an array of product choices, one for every market segment. Your high end consumer will go for the bells-and-whistles package, your budget-conscious consumer will choose the economy offering, and then your middle men will fill in the remaining rungs of the ladder. On top of that, they’ll encourage you to simultaneously market services along with the product you create.
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Your blog, or website, needs to have a genre too in order to create the comfortable familiarity that readers come to expect.
There are three main types of genres you can apply to your blog’s copy. The main focus of your site, and your readers, will determine what’s working and what isn’t. But, once you settle on a particular voice, it’s vital that you stick with it because your readers will demand it every time they visit.
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I spent a restless night with this one rolling around in my head. My client wants me to revoke everything that’s been drilled into my brain for the last 15 years about target markets and ideal customers and who I’m writing to?
When someone makes a bold assertion like this one, I’m inclined to analyze their marketing behavior. So what’s my client been doing all this time to bring in such a vast and varied smorgasbord of clientele?
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March 12th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comThe latest edition of Word Food just broke. If you missed it, you can catch the March issue live at:
http://wordfeeder.com/ezine-mar-08.htm.
While you’re here, why not take the Small Business Owner Survey?
Results to be aired in a future issue of Word Food: The Copywriting and Marketing Newsletter from Wordfeeder.com
Thanks for tuning in.
-Dina at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting
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Here are some tips for those who want to be successful in the field of copywriting:
1. You MUST be Other-People Oriented.
People who “break into” copywriting begin by writing their own material. They stream their own consciousness on their blogs. This is enjoyable, and easy. They think, “Hey, I’m cut out for this copywriting thing. Soon I’ll be making millions.”
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