Tip #12: Want to persuade someone? Make an argument.
Jennifer Veltsos
In last week's Tenure & Promotion workshop, Jim Dimock (Communication Studies) advised faculty from the College of Arts and Humanities to frame their application as an argument. The crux of his presentation was this:
What is your vision of what an associate or full professor does at a university like ours? Have you met that standard?
Make that argument.
Although Jim and I are in different departments, our disciplines share common root: Rhetoric, or the art of effective or persuasive speaking and writing. I found myself thinking, Of course! That's so obvious! And then I thought, But that's only obvious only if you've studied rhetoric. And most of you did not. (I'm not judging your life choices, but...)
Constructing a persuasive argument is an essential skill that everyone should have, so while this tip is based on tenure and promotion applications, you can use the information to write job application letters, make sales pitches, or win everyday arguments with your loved ones.
An argument is a statement that attempts to persuade someone to take action or make a decision. Arguments are composed of claims supported by reasons and evidence.
- Claims are statements that can be either true or false.
- Reasons are explanations that support your claim.
- Evidence is data or logic that prove what you say is true and support your reasons.
You can think of the structure of an argument as a formula that looks like this:
Claim because of reason based upon evidence.
Sometimes a simple argument works. But more often than not, you will be interacting with a reluctant audience who will question your reasons or evidence. They will raise objections, or identify possible problems in your argument, the soundness of your reason, or the validity of your evidence. The objection may be on the argument's intrinsic soundness (the clarity of your claim, the relevance of your reasons, the quality of your evidence) or its extrinsic soundness (asking you to consider alternatives, different ways of framing the problem, evidence you've overlooked, what others have written on the topic). When that happens, you will have to provide a rebuttal. If the connection between your claim, reasons, and evidence isn't clear to others, you will have to provide a warrant to explain it.
Let me demonstrate how this works.
An Actual Argument With My Son When He Was Four Years Old
Me: Those are pajama pants. Go change into school clothes, and hurry up because we're late.
Boy1: These aren't pajamas. (Claim)
Me: Yes they are. I bought them. Go change your clothes. (Objection 1: Extrinsic soundness)
Boy1: They are not pajamas. They have pockets. (Rebuttal + Evidence)
Me: What difference does that make? (Objection 2: Intrinsic soundness)
Boy1: Pockets are for holding things, and you don't need to hold things when you're sleeping. (Warrant)
So let's assume that your department and dean are easier to work with than the four-year-old who wore pajama pants for the next several months. How do you make a persuasive argument to support your case for tenure and/or promotion?
Step 1: Think about your audiences. Your dean is probably your primary audience because they will make a recommendation to the Provost. But it may surprise you to realize that your department is a primary audience, too. The department's recommendation informs that of your dean. Who are these people? What do they know about you and your work? What do they need to know to understand why you've done what you've done (and not done other things instead)?
Step 2: State your claims. Your argument for tenure and/or promotion is composed of a series of claims about your "record of positive performance and professionally competent achievement" (for tenure) or "cumulative record of professional performance and high achievement appropriate to the relative rank" (for promotion). These claims will address the five evaluative criteria from Article 22 of the IFO contract. You can't stop here, though because claims on their own are simply opinions, and opinions are not persuasive.
Step 3: Support your claims with evidence your audiences will value. Appendix G of the IFO contract offers examples of typical evidence for each of the five categories for performance evaluation. For example, in category 1, you will claim that you have demonstrated your ability to teach effectively. What does "effective teaching" mean? How do you know you have met that standard? How will your department and your dean recognize it? Support the claim samples of the materials you have developed for your courses. Include quotes from feedback on your PDRs, from course evaluations, and from emails students and alumni. When possible, include quantitative data, too.
Step 4: Eliminate "hedging phrases" like I think or I believe from your narrative. What you think or believe are opinions, and in this your tenure/promotion application, your opinion matters less than that of your department and your dean. Review your tenure narrative and remove every instance of these and similar terms. When you look at what remains, notice how the sentences are more assertive.
If you find the resulting tone is too pushy, you're probably a native Minnesotan. Being assertive is an essential part of this process. Revisiting the formula for an argument, your narrative's overriding message is this:
I deserve to be tenured/promoted because I have demonstrated
effective teaching,
scholarly/creative achievement,
continuing preparation to do my job,
contributions to student growth,
and service to the university and community
based upon the evidence I am providing.
As Jim said in his closing remarks, you don't need to win over everyone. You just need to persuade the people who will make the strongest counterarguments.
Originally posted on U Betcha Teaching & Learning.
