What’s the Elaboration Likelihood Model? And how can you use it to write more persuasively?

It’s important for writers to be able to persuade their readers. Why? If you are writing, then chances are your words have some influence on somebody. In fact, you’re always persuading — in ways both small and large. For example, even in a casual text to a friend, you might be persuading them to go see a movie with you.

At the same time, if you are trying to persuade somebody of something — whether it’s to buy your product or simply accept your point of view — then you need to know how persuasion works.

What’s the Elaboration Likelihood Model?

The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) is a persuasion theory that says people are more likely to consider and accept information when it’s in their best interest. And this makes sense, right? If you’re hungry, you’ll be more receptive to the “get pizza with us” message than the “pizza party!” one.

The ELM posits that people make decisions via two routes. One is reason-based, and the other is emotion-based.

In the reason-based approach, you are asking somebody to think about the topic you are discussing. It’s also called the central route of persuasion because it requires careful thought. You need to present your ideas in a logical, well-organized manner so that they understand why they should agree with you.

In the emotion-based approach, you’re guiding them through their emotions rather than their thoughts. And this is done by appealing to the senses (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste) and/or eliciting an emotional response.

Which route should you use? It varies depending on your goal.

- If you want the person to commit to your idea in the long term, using logic might be most effective.

- If you just want them to consider your idea, then an emotional appeal might be most helpful.

How Can You Use It?

Here are some examples of how this model can be applied in everyday life. say, for example, during a presentation on the importance of recycling. Your audience may have heard all these points before, but if you want them to actually act on your message then you need to appeal to emotion. How? You might show them a picture of polluted land or tell them about how it’s bad for the environment.

Or, say you are trying to convince somebody not to eat meat because of what it does to animals. An example of using a reason-based approach would be to use logic, like appealing to empathy. You might ask your audience if they would want to be killed and eaten themselves. An emotion-based approach, though, would be something like showing a video of horrible slaughterhouse conditions.

Now, you might try and argue that both should be effective — using logic to persuade somebody via the reason-based approach and using emotion to persuade them through the emotional approach. Surely there’s no downside to either strategy? Unfortunately, as it turns out, depending on which route you go, there can be a few.

For example, if you use the reason-based approach to appeal to somebody’s emotions, it might backfire because they will resist being told what to think and feel. In other words, trying to manipulate someone in this manner is likely less effective.

On the flip side of that coin, when you use emotion-based strategies to try and convince somebody via the reason-based route, your audience might suspect that you have a hidden agenda — that you’re not actually being genuine.

What About Positive Persuasion?

There’s a branch of psychology called positive psychology. It focuses on what makes people happy and encourages people to live fulfilling lives. If you’re considering writing an article that uses an emotion-based strategy, you should know about this.

One of the areas it looks at is something called positive emotions. When we feel good, we tend to be more open and accepting of new ideas. So, if you want somebody to consider your point of view, it would make sense that they’d be more responsive if they’re in a good mood. But how can you accomplish this?

You might try and make them laugh. Or, if you’re in a group setting, maybe you can play some music to set the right mood. A little bit of levity goes a long way when it comes to persuasion!

Conclusion

The reason-based approach is the route most people are encouraged to take. But what you might not know is that this is also the riskier way of getting your point across because there’s a good chance it’ll fail if done incorrectly.

There are pros and cons to each persuasion method, but when it comes down to it an emotional appeal is likely the better bet. That’s not to say you should go around and try and manipulate people. Just be aware that there are ways to convince people to your way of thinking without actually trying to do so!