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When I headed for the Better World by Design conference, I didn’t really know what to expect.

This year was the fifth anniversary of the collaborative conference at Brown University and RISD, and flipping through my conference guide, I had trouble getting a handle on exactly what they were all about.

While I enjoyed all of the events,

and even just wandering around Providence,

one panel inspired and excited me more than the rest:

Persuasive Communication.

(I know…surprise, surprise!)

The panel consisted of a Emily Sara Wilson and Jane Androski of Design Agency, Cyrus Highsmith of the Font Bureau, Inc., Amy Sannaman of Groundswell, and was moderated by Brown Visual Art professor, Richard Fishman.

So, what do a design firm, a typographer and the director of a non-profit art group have in common? And more importantly, how is it relevant to bloggers and writers?

Well, I’ve been stewing about it all week. I’ve had this draft around since last Sunday. I’ve put it off over and over because there were other things I was more passionate about writing, more excited about.

And that’s it in a nutshell.

I could go through all my scribblings in my Moleskine from during the panel but what it comes down to is this:

Persuasive communication is communication that taps into our humanity.

When we see an image, or colors or a phrase that touches our emotions—that is what persuades us. Since we know this, and those of us in the writing/blogging/advertising/communication world work at improving our ability to persuade others and touch their hearts with our writing and artwork, we need to remember (to quote one of my heroes)that with great power comes great responsibility.

We need to choose our message to the world wisely.

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