Your investment firm stands to gain a substantial amount of business if the country's tax laws are amended to promote self-directed retirement savings in the private sector. You must make three persuasive presentations. One presentation will be made to a group of individuals who are all between the ages of forty and fifty-five. Another will be to a group of individuals who are all under thirty years of age. The final one is to lawmakers. In each case, you seek to convince the group to agree to endorse your proposed change.
1. How will you assess the prior attitudes of each group? What effects will prior attitudes have on their perceptions of your argument? What may you learn about each group's attitude here by applying the theory of attribution?
2. How different are the ACE arguments that you would use for each group? How many ACES can you find for each group?
3. Can you use knowledge-based trust to enhance your credibility here? What information do you need and how will you use this trust?