The Psychology of Giving &

Persuasive Writing Techniques

Jon Matthews

Learning Objectives:

1. What is the relevance of psychology in funding applications

2. Understand what motivates people to give3. How to use psychology in writing application4. Learn different writing techniques to gain support

Why it Matters

We make decisions based on emotion and use logic to

justify the decision

Antonio Damasion

Has a use beyond Direct Mail

You are appealing to a person not machine

No set formula

Make your bid more appealing

Emotion makes decisions, logic justifies it!

You must get an emotional attachment to the reader

Remember you are writing to a person

Write as you would speak to someone

Don’t over write the proposal

You still need to have a good project!

Practical tips

What motivates people to give?

Make a strong claim

What is your benefit

In one or two sentences clearly state the aim of your project or organisation“People with physical impairments do not have equality in society and deprived of opportunities available to others. We address this by helping them secure their correct benefit entitlement”

Be credible

Because……………

Who backs you?

If…. Then……………

£5

Nearly there……..

Practical tips……Ensure you have a simple, clear description of your work

Get good, relevant statistics to support your claim

Make yourself credible – endorsements, backers

Because… (give reasons)

Give consequence of action AND inaction

Demonstrate that your solution will prevent loss/prevent something adverse

The easiest projects to fund are those that others have already funded – add value to them

Build on inertia – who else is supporting you

“I’m sure you would agree that people want to be consistent”

If you can get your reader to agree to a statement that supports your argument, they are more likely to support a later ask for donation.

Blood Donor drive…

“We’ll count on seeing you on the day then”

Wait for a response…………….

Turn up rate normally 62%; 81%

17% 76%

Use emotion

GUILTYGUILTY

My mom was diagnosed with MS five years ago APPEAL A You hear a knock at your door and open it to find a young woman with a clipboard. She says, “Good afternoon, I’m volunteering with The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. I’d like to tell you about the work we are doing to find a cure. Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

APPEAL B You hear a knock at your door and open it to find a young woman with a clipboard. She says, “Good afternoon, I’m volunteering with The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. My mom was diagnosed with MS five years ago. I’d like to tell you about the work we are doing to find a cure. Do you have a few minutes to talk?

People don’t want to appear disrespectful

We want to be liked

Practical tipsStart with a statement that people will find hard to disagree with that is relevant to your cause

Relate arguments to this statement and back it up with facts/ figures

State who else support you

Say how you are connected to the project/ charity

Explain why you have approached the funder: S

imilar aims/ objectives Y

ou note they have funded similar organisation / projects

Your turn

For a made up/ real project write a short paragraph that

Makes initial claim

Backs this up with facts / endorsements

Says why the work is important to you

Why you are applying to this charity

Feelings and Imagination

Ask questions

BUT, too many will confuse and make it look like you don’t know

Social Norms

Looking for guidance from others as to what to do and what to accept is one of the most powerful psychological forces in our lives

Identifiable Victim Effect

People are more generous to an individual that a group

People decline to do what they can do because they feel bad about what they can't do.

Priming

Act now!

What are the consequences of not giving?

Beware of guilt!

The most effective technique

“But you are free”

Ask reader to imagine how ‘victim’ would feel, rather then how they would feel

Ask questions “How many people are we missing”;

Make reader feel they are missing out by not supporting you; let them know their peers are supporting you; you’ve raised xx% already

Tell the reader that other people value your work

Include a case study – the Identifiable Victim Effect

Ensure the solution is proportional to the scale of the problem

Be enthusiastic, ‘we are excited about this……’

Practical tips

People respond to what other give; so don’t sell yourself short

Thank you for giving the time to consider our application

Give a sense of urgency

Your turn

Make up a short case study to stir emotions of reader And pose question to reader to make them support your cause Finally ask for a donation

Persuasive language

What are the five more persuasive words in the English Language?

You BecauseFree Instantly New

Vocabulary

Descriptive:

Freezing / Cold

Sprinted / Run

Action/ uplifting words:

Also… Free, now, new, you

Adjectives of a moral person Kind

Caring

Compassionate

Helpful

Friendly

Fair

Hard-working

Generous

Honest

Strong

Responsible

Loyal

Using two or three of these words increased giving by 10%

Emphasis A really positive, memorable and brilliant way to do this is to group adjectives to make them stand out

Repetition Say it again

Repeat it

And Once more for luck

Do this to make sure reader really gets the point you are making

What would you change?

“I believe that my background, experiences, and cultural upbringing would be a valuable addition to the University of Londons’ diverse student body.”

“I know that my background, experiences, and cultural upbringing will be a valuable addition to the University of London’s diverse student body.”

Imagine that you are walking near a shallow ornamental pond when you notice that a small child has fallen in, and is apparently in danger of drowning. You look around for the child's caregiver, but there is no one in sight. Without pausing even to pull off the expensive pair of shoes you are wearing, you rush into the water to save the child.

You don't have to be a hero to do that. We expect it of you. You'd have to be a monster to put the cost of your shoes ahead of saving the child's life.

Or would you?

UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, tells us that nearly 10 million children under 5 die each year from causes that we could prevent. That's 27,000 children dying every day. They die from diseases that are easy and inexpensive to prevent or treat, or from the lack of safe drinking water, sanitation and an adequate diet. GiveWell.net, an organization that assesses the cost-effectiveness of aid, suggests that for something like the cost of a pair of expensive shoes, you could save the life of one of these children.

Imagine that you are walking near a shallow ornamental pond

when you notice that a small child has fallen in, and is apparently in danger of drowning. You look around for the child's caregiver, but there is no one in sight.

Without pausing even to pull off the expensive pair of shoes you are wearing, you rush into the water to save the child.

You don't have to be a hero to do that.

We expect it of you. You'd have to be a monster to put the cost of your shoes ahead of saving the child's life.

Social Norm

UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund,

tells us that nearly 10 million children under 5 die each year from causes that we could prevent. That's 27,000 children dying every day.

They die from diseases that are easy and inexpensive to prevent or treat, or from the lack of safe drinking water, sanitation and an adequate diet.

GiveWell.net, an organization that assesses the cost-effectiveness of aid,

suggests that for something like the cost of a pair of expensive shoes, you could save the life of one of these children.

Credibility

Statistics to back up claim

The problem and suggests solution

Who they are

Call to action

Direct address; ie you / we

Alliteration

Facts and statistics

Opinions

Rhetorical questions

Emotive language

Save the children

Graham Norton parkinson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q09WRerhgzQ