"After hearing that, I just want to get married, retire, and go on a mission."
This almost ridiculous statement came straight from the mouth of my good friend Tyler. The reason it's a little ridiculous is that my friend Tyler is twenty years old, and not even close to the age to serve a senior couple mission. But after hearing Elder Ronald A. Rasband's talk at the October 2023 General Conference, I couldn't help but admit that I felt the same way. Such is the power of persuasion.
Persuasion
Simply put, persuasion is "any message that is intended to shape, reinforce, or change the responses of another or others" (1). And it can be very powerful. In his talk, Elder Rasband utilizes multiple communicative elements to persuade his audience to take action.
He begins with a direct call to action by explaining that the gathering of Israel is the most important work on the earth. He then says, "Today I am speaking to the many seasoned seniors in the Church who could serve as missionaries. The Lord needs you" (2).
Immediately, he declares his purpose in speaking, and there can be no mistake about what he is talking about. In just the first minute of his remarks, he has already given his invitation. And now for the rest of the talk, he will do all he can to persuade us to follow through.
Data
After clearly describing his call to action, he uses a statistic to explain the desperate need for missionaries. But instead of just stating a boring statistic, he begins to tell a story of when he was assigning missionaries. After he had assigned young missionaries, he realized that there were only ten Senior Couples to assign. He asked the man with him how many were needed and learned the truth - three hundred Senior Couples. This personally shared statistic adds authenticity and urgency to his appeal, showing the desperate need for missionaries.
Storytelling
To further his persuasive appeal, he tells a story about his parents and their service as missionaries. He paints a picture of the work they did, and how it became meaningful for those they served, and for their posterity. The culmination of the story comes when Elder Rasband meets one of the people his parents had taught on their mission. After taking a photo with the woman and sharing it with his mother, she said, "Ronnie, this is one of the happiest days of my life."
Emotions
This emotional story adds to the appeal. As I was listening I could feel the love that Elder Rasband had for his parents. And I wanted to experience the type of love that they had.
Who wouldn't want to go on a mission and have these types of experiences? Who wouldn't want to develop these relationships and show this example to their posterity? Who wouldn't want to do this?
That is the question Elder Rasband poses so clearly to his audience. By using persuasive elements such as data, storytelling, and emotions, he crafts a powerful appeal directed to the Senior members of the church.
And in the words of my friend Tyler:
"He just delivered the biggest invitation to the most comfortable audience in the church"
Sources:
1.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a08b6d40f0b64974000b44/Persuasionweb.pdf
3. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/emotions/
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