Greetings,

 Well ... it's here at last ... the end of the 1900s and the start of the 2000s. It still looks odd, doesn't it? But I suppose our grandparents thought exactly the same thing when the clocks ticked over from the 1800s.

Even though it's just an arbitrary division of time, I get a tingle of excitement thinking how lucky I am to be here as we begin the 21st century - you sort of feel like you're part of a sci-fi movie, don't you?

What I'm looking forward to is the naming of our first decade - what ARE we going to call it ... the Os ... the 2000s ... ? My favourite suggestion has to be "the noughties." Chuckle ... it just has to be a great decade with a name like that!

On the subject of time - I received this note from Kim; she writes, "Consider this: when you're a year old, the passing of another year seems long, because it's as long as you've lived! Then as you get older, the year seems shorter because it is short, in comparison to how long you actually have lived! I always thought it seemed to go by faster, then someone sat down and gave me the reasoning above. Seems right to me!"

Me too. See, we're not just imagining that time flies as we get older. Feel better now?

Here's another example of our fascination/obsession with the number three, from Terrilynn: "... though I haven't any URL or place to confirm this, I understand the term "getting the 3rd degree", as in a cop giving the 3rd degree to a criminal, comes from the Freemasons/Shriners. Their "3rd degree" confers some sort of honor upon them."

If you have any thoughts on this, please let me know.

Clever (why didn't I think of that?)

This week, a few words about persuasive writing. If you're in business, you might like a few pointers on how to write persuasively (in order to increase business). If you're a consumer, you might like to know what to watch out for! (Yes, I know I just ended a sentence with a preposition - but that's a hugely over-rated rule. It all depends on the context - sometimes the construction can sound terribly contrived and awkward if you don't end with a preposition e.g. "...you might like to know for which to watch ..." Ugh! It can't be done.)

When writing an advertisement, your aim is to persuade your readers to follow a particular course of action - willingly.

There are three elements in this process:

1. you must win the trust of your audience

2. you must appeal to their emotions (rather than to their intellect)

3. you must rationalise their decision for them, so that they feel comfortable in making it

If you succeed in all three areas, you will have engineered their consent to buy your product or service.

Here are some tips to help you to achieve this desirable state of affairs:

The first step is to show that you are a person who can be trusted - so try to give your audience something of value - advice, interesting "inside" information or helpful tips. Indicate why your opinion here should be valued - give a little detail about your background and your credentials.

To win their trust, you must know something about your audience:

• What sort of people are they?
• How old are they?
• What are their special interests?

You must also try to find some common ground with your audience:

• Begin with a point of common interest e.g. "I'm sure we all want to give our kids the best start possible..."
• Anticipate their responses by using rhetorical questions e.g. "You're probably wondering where you'll find the time to ..."

Use generalisations to persuade your audience to agree with you - people feel more comfortable when they know that, "80% of families use ..." or that "8 out of 10 teachers state that parental interest improves student grades ..."

We all know that people respond to emotional appeals more readily than to intellectual appeals, so utilise this in your advertising. There are three steps to follow:

First, arouse an emotion - anger, fear, resentment, envy, greed, sympathy.

Second, give a reason for the emotion - "your children are precious to you, don't risk their future by ..."

Third, give your audience an appropriate course of action to follow - "Call now to ensure your place in this new ..."

When appealing to the emotions, your most powerful tools are words - learn to use them to create the desired effect on your readers.

• Words can have literal meanings (denotation) and emotional meanings (connotation) e.g. a 'house' is a building where people live, but a 'home' is much more
• Some words have strong emotive appeals 'built-in' e.g. 'chaos' implies something much stronger than 'disruption'
• Select your facts carefully - choose only those that support your point of view

This is giving people good reasons to believe what you're telling them. We all do this to ourselves everyday. How many times have you said something like this to yourself, "My old car is going to start costing me money soon; I'd be better off buying a new one now"?

Tell your would-be customers that they'll save money in the long run by spending it now and you've given them a reason to act immediately.

• Emphasise and repeat your key points - use logic and reasoning only when necessary
• Be convincing in your presentation, so that your audience forgets to ask about the points you skip over
• Use plenty of emotional words and focus on the audience.

Consider how you can use these persuasive techniques to sell your products or services - or how to avoid being persuaded against your will!

A reminder about the network of English as a Second/Foreign Language newsletters - you can find them all here:

Match up the words in the list with their meanings below:

Fiscal, catholic, laconic, mendacious, temporal, sartorial, sardonic, perfunctory, terrestrial, querulous

Concise - LACONIC

Of men's clothes - SARTORIAL

Tendency to tell lies - MENDACIOUS

Of the earth - TERRESTRIAL

In a superficial way - PERFUNCTORY

Pertaining to time - TEMPORAL

Of public revenue - FISCAL

Complaining or peevish - QUERULOUS

Scornful or sneering - SARDONIC

Of universal interest - CATHOLIC

Match each word in the list with its SYNONYM (similar meaning) below:

Poignant, enigmatic, emancipation, derogatory, reticent, circumspect, insidious, vehement, harangue, harass

Passionate -

Cautious -

Painful -

Treacherous -

Badger -

Liberation -

Diatribe -

Disparaging -

Taciturn -

Puzzling -

Final OXYMORON OF THE WEEK: This will be the last oxymoron - next year we'll switch to a Tautology of the week!

For those of you still recovering from Christmas with little ones: child proof

And a Latin phrase to fill those embarrassing pauses in conversation that can occur at the best of New Year's Eve parties:

Visne scire quod credam? Credo Elvem ipsum etiam vivere. (You know what I think? I think that Elvis is still alive.)

Have a wonderful time as you welcome in 2000. We had a trial run this morning, walking down to the end of our street to watch the sun rise over the ocean - magic.

Regards,

Jennifer

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