I need to write a persuasive letter. The letter is intended for the corporate sponsoring organizations of our technical communication program at New Mexico Tech, and its purpose will be to convince the sponsors to continue allowing our corporate board members (employees of the sponsoring organizations) to take time off from work to visit campus once a year and provide feedback about our program. For more information about the corporate advisory board, see the NMT TC program website at http://www.nmt.edu/~tc.

So where do I start? Well the first thing to do is understand what I want, and then I need to understand what will help me get that. What I want is for the corporate board members to be able to visit us once a year for a few days and not have to take personal time to do it. In other words, I need their organizations to give them 3-4 days off extra every year. That’s a sizeable chunk of money if you think about it. At $30.00 per hour X 32 hours we are potentially asking employers to give up almost $1000 per board member (there are currently 5 members, two of which are from the same organization).

What will help me get that? The obvious answer is to convince the board members’ supervisors to continue releasing the members for the necessary amount of time. Thus I need to understand the supervisors.

The supervisors will want to know first that what they are doing is needed and appreciated. Are their employees really doing something useful, or are they just goofing off on company time? If we don’t tell them, they’ll never know. And every organization—and its employees—want to know that the support they are giving is appreciated: at the very least a letter saying so can be included in files for promotion or used as a marketing device.

And the supervisors will further want to know why the employees are needed. Why them and not someone else?

Next, the supervisors will probably want to know what they are spending money on: are their employees simply going out to dinner or are they taking part in legitimate education? 

So, to start my letter I want to begin by thanking them and letting them know how much their participation means to us.

Dear XXX

 

We would like to extend our great appreciation for once again allowing YYYY attend the annual Corporate Advisory Board meeting supporting the Technical Communication Program at the New Mexico Institute for Mining and Technology. Because of the generosity of ZZZZ, which allows its employees to take an active part in helping higher education, our program continues to grow and produce graduates with exemplary training.

Next I want to explain why the employee’s participation is so important.

Due to the specific assistance of YYYY, our students gain an education that directly responds to the needs and trends of professional organizations. This is such an important aspect in higher education because though as faculty members we try our best to stay abreast of what is happening in industry, we are still tied to the university. YYYY, however, by his/her role as a technical communicator for ZZZZ knows exactly what type of skills and training our students need. Thus, without YYYY’s help, our students would receive an education based on what we—the instructors—only think is happening outside of the classroom.

The next thing I want to cover is what the employees are doing while they are at the board meeting. This is important: supervisors still want to know that their subordinates are working while on the clock.

While at this year’s Board meeting, YYYY was able to help through a number of activities. YYYY attended classes to observe the type of instruction students were receiving. This activity helps instructors because it presents a different audience with a new and relevant perspective on what is being taught. YYYY also met with senior students individually to provide feedback about the project students have been working on in their senior thesis class. This feedback was invaluable to students because it provided a different voice from that of their instructors, and—once again—provided a professional perspective on the students’ writing. Finally, YYYY attended the formal board meeting, where he/she listened to updates from faculty members on new or ongoing curricular issues, faculty research, and student activities. Throughout, YYYY provided feedback and guidance about the program’s direction, strengths and weaknesses, and future.

Finally, we end the letter with once again thanking the organization for their support of the employee’s activities. Notice here I also include a specific call for the ongoing support for next year. This is crucial, because it is what I really want out of this letter. I leave it until the end because it creates an implicit argument. After hearing about all of the wonderful support and hard work their employee has provided, I’ve left little room for any arguments other than one stemming explicitly from greed.

Without YYYY’s help, and ZZZZ’s sponsorship of this help, our program would not be nearly as successful as it is today. We once again thank you for your ongoing support, and we look forward to having YYYY attend and participate again next year.

 

Sincerely,  

These types of letters are common, and are written everyday and for different reasons. The important thing to remember here is that 1. technical communication must often be persuasive, and 2. you must think about the document before you write it. Having a plan up front, and understanding what the employers will probably be looking for helped me organize and write the document: it gave me structure and a plan or map to work from. As always, then, think about your purpose, your audience and then how to fit your purpose to that audience.

For technical, professional and business communication help in the Las Cruces, NM area, visit Lanier Infomedia. 

Last update: 27-03-2009 13:42