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VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL REALIZATIONS
OF PERSUASIVE STRATEGIES IN VIDEO RESUMES
FORMAS VERBALES Y NO VERBALES
DE ESTRATEGIAS PERSUASIVAS
EN LOS VIDEOCURRÍCULUMS
https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_misc/mj.20249817
MARÍA ÁNGELES MESTRE-SEGARRA
Universitat Jaume I
mamestre@uji.es
<https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8948-6507>
Abstract
With the rapid shift from print to digital modes of communication, new genres
have emerged. One example is the video resume (VR). This novel professional
digital genre enables job seekers to enhance their visibility and connect with
broader audiences through various semiotic modes. The VR has a clear
communicative aim based on a strong persuasive component: to secure a job by
convincing the audience of their qualities. The premise of this paper is that VRs are
not only informative but also inherently persuasive. Accordingly, the study aim is
to explore the use of multimodal semiotic modes as a way of realizing persuasive
strategies (i.e. attention-getting, anticipation and control of responses, rapport,
emphasis and processing aids). The methodological approach uses video-based
analysis and computer-aided Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA) to analyze a
dataset of 8 VRs from the online platform YouTube, considering the following
criteria: limited duration, impact, year uploaded and editing. The results suggest
that verbal and non-verbal realizations of persuasive strategies are present in the
fragments analyzed, and such strategies are encoded by heterogeneous
combinations of semiotic modes. Although the strategies and modes are not
always consistent, they contribute to achieving the communicative purpose of the
genre. As for pedagogical implications, this genre and its features can be
incorporated into English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teaching materials,
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enhancing learners’ persuasive strategies and developing their multimodal
communicative competence.
Keywords: digital genres, video resumes, persuasion, multimodality, MDA
(Multimodal Discourse Analysis), ESP (English for Specific Purposes).
Resumen
Con la rápida evolución de los modos de comunicación de impresos a digitales,
han surgido nuevos géneros. Un ejemplo es el videocurrículum (en adelante VC).
Su aparición como género digital profesional ha permitido a los profesionales
aumentar su visibilidad y relacionarse con un público más amplio utilizando una
gran variedad de modos semióticos. Conlleva un claro objetivo comunicativo
basado en un fuerte componente persuasivo: convencer a un público concreto para
obtener un puesto de trabajo. Este artículo parte de la idea de que los VCs no sólo
son informativos, sino también intrínsecamente persuasivos. En consecuencia, el
objetivo es explorar el uso de modos semióticos multimodales como forma de
implementar algunas estrategias persuasivas (captación de la atención, anticipación
y control de las respuestas, compenetración, énfasis y ayudas al procesamiento). El
proceso metodológico se centra en un análisis basado en vídeo y en un enfoque de
Análisis del Discurso Multimodal (ADM) asistido por ordenador con un conjunto
de datos de 8 videocurrículums tomados de la plataforma en línea YouTube,
teniendo en cuenta los siguientes criterios: duración, impacto, año de publicación
y edición. Los resultados sugieren que las realizaciones verbales y no verbales de
estrategias persuasivas están presentes en los fragmentos de los vídeos analizados,
y que van acompañadas de combinaciones heterogéneas de modos semióticos.
Aunque las estrategias persuasivas y los modos no siempre actúan de forma
coherente entre sí, sí contribuyen a alcanzar el propósito comunicativo del género.
En cuanto a las implicaciones pedagógicas, este género y sus características pueden
incorporarse a los materiales de enseñanza del Inglés con Fines Específicos (IFE),
mejorando las estrategias persuasivas de los alumnos y desarrollando su competencia
comunicativa multimodal.
Palabras clave: géneros digitales, videocurrículums, persuasión, multimodalidad,
ADM (Análisis del Discurso Multimodal), IFE (Inglés con Fines Específicos).
1. Introduction
1.1. Professional Genres in the Digital Era
In the digital age, professional genres have undergone significant transformation,
shaped by the influence of technology and the internet (Luzón and Peréz-Llantada
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2022). One of the key aspects of digitalization in professional genres is the shift
from traditional, paper-based formats to electronic ones (Hafner 2018).
In today’s highly competitive job market, the traditional curriculum vitae (CV)
is no longer the sole means for individuals to showcase their skills and
qualifications (Teixeira da Silva et al. 2020). As technological advances take root
globally and digital tools become increasingly integrated in the professional
sphere, novel digital genres have appeared and are now employed. A new
professional digital genre has emerged —the video resume (VR). The present
study understands the VR as a clear example of a remediated genre, which means
that there is a deep transformation of the medium from printed to electronic
formats (Brooks et al. 2004). Hiemstra et al. describe a VR as “a short video-
taped message in which applicants present themselves to potential employers on
requested knowledge, skills, abilities, motivation, and career objectives” (2012:
11). Nonetheless, research into this genre is rather scarce and has mostly focused
on paper-based genres in professional contexts (Hiemstra and Derous 2015). A
search conducted of the Web of Science database and conference proceedings
(February, 2017) revealed a scant number of studies addressing the topic of VRs
since 2010. Half of these studies emerged within the digital era, suggesting a
growing interest among researchers. Yet, this growth is still modest, and VR is
not as widely present in academia as in professional settings. For instance, data
from a survey conducted in June 2011 produced 174,000 hits for the term
“video resume” on YouTube (Gissel et al. 2013), and by February 2017 that
figure had risen to 5.53 million. Although several studies (Hiemstra et al. 2012;
Hiemstra and Derous 2015; Waung et al. 2015; Nguyen and Gatica-Perez 2016)
suggested its popularity among job seekers, scholarly exploration of VRs remains
limited (Ryan and Derous 2016). However, VRs come with a set of challenges
since they require a certain degree of digital literacy and essential communicative
skills. Applicants who use the genre to search for employment need to
demonstrate creativity and incorporate technical elements, such as lighting,
sound quality and video editing, with the aim of creating engaging and persuasive
presentations and set themselves apart from other applicants. This is the reason
why job seekers must strike a balance between professionalism and creativity,
ensuring that their videos reflect their competence while maintaining conciseness
and adherence to a standardized format.
As technology continues to evolve, the VR is likely to become even more
prevalent, reshaping the way candidates market themselves and how employers
evaluate talent. The VR is not only conceived as a digitized version of the paper-
based CV or resume, but also as an opportunity to present the candidate in a
dynamic, authentic and creative manner, capturing the attention of potential
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employers and standing out among competitors. Even though paper- and video-
based resumes have the same communicative aim (i.e. to persuade the audience to
offer them a job), the two ways in which the two genres pursue this end differs
significantly in the use of added semiotic modes intertwined with linguistic
elements.
1.2. Multimodality and Persuasion in Digital Genres
The integration of digitality in genre studies is inherently connected to the use of
multimodal and persuasive elements. Specifically, present-day professional
communication is regarded by the field as multimodal, meaning that speakers call
on a wide range of semiotic modes, including image, animations, gestures, or even
language (among others) orchestrated by speakers to make meaning (Jewitt and
Kress 2010).
A salient feature of VRs is their multimodal nature, given the fact that speakers
need to employ a variety of semiotic modes to convey meaning. In this context,
modes are understood as semiotic systems with rules and regularities —such as
images, gestures, speech, music, layout, writing, proxemics, and posture (Kress
and van Leeuwen 2001). Norris (2004) categorizes the use of modes as
embodied and disembodied. The former consists of resources produced by the
human body (e.g. facial expressions), and the latter refers to external elements
that cause an impact on the audience (e.g. clothing). This paper considers an
additional mode, called filmic, as a subset of the disembodied mode and one
that is only possible in the digital medium (e.g. music). It refers to significant
elements added in the postproduction process (Valeiras-Jurado and Bernad-
Mechó 2022).
Multimodal studies allow analysts to view communication holistically, since every
single semiotic mode, verbal and non-verbal, is intentional to the same degree
(Jewitt and Kress 2010). In particular, the Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA)
approach conceptualizes language as the result of a combination of semiotic
resources to convey meaning (O’Halloran 2011; Ruiz-Madrid and Fortanet-
Gómez 2016). Within this approach, every verbal and non-verbal mode is
considered on equal footing, aiming at fully understanding any communicative
process. As a result, language becomes part of a multimodal ensemble (Kress and
van Leeuwen 2001). Ruiz-Madrid and Valeiras-Jurado define multimodal
ensemble as “the orchestration of different modes to produce a specific meaning
that is inferred based on the interrelation among them” (2020: 30). Moreover,
this orchestration of modes can be used consistently, although the individual
modes do not always interact logically. This interrelationship among modes is
defined as modal coherence (Valeiras-Jurado 2019).
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The aforementioned multimodal ensembles can be especially decisive in
achieving persuasive oral communication (Valeiras-Jurado et al. 2018).
Persuasion research has typically focused on linguistic aspects; nonetheless,
studies on persuasion are becoming broader, deeper, and more complex since
nonlinguistic elements may also contribute substantially to any persuasive
message (O’Keefe 2004).
Previous studies on persuasion (O’Keefe 2015; Perloff 2020) pointed out that
persuasive messages tend to be more effective when i) speakers have credibility, ii)
the audience can identify with speakers, iii) the message is made memorable, easy
to understand, innovative, and surprising and iv) it is perceived as not imposed,
but inferred. Additionally, particular attention is also paid to the fact that persuasion
has non-verbal realizations, which supports the multimodal connection. Taking
into consideration previous studies on persuasion in digital professional and
academic genres, such as TED talks (Valeiras-Jurado 2019), YouTube videos
(Luzón 2019), research dissemination talks (Ruiz-Garrido and Palmer-Silveira
2023) and research pitches (Ruiz-Madrid 2021), it can be hypothesized that the
combination of modes and persuasive strategies may influence the extent to which
these genres achieve their communicative aims. Therefore, the concept of
persuasion is a defining trait in oral academic and professional genres and the
orchestration of different modes brought together through persuasive strategies
can be decisive in oral communication.
Taking into consideration that persuasion is inherently multimodal, the research
questions (RQs) guiding the present paper are as follows: RQ1. What verbal and
non-verbal realizations of persuasive strategies are identified in VRs? RQ2. How
do multimodal ensembles and persuasive strategies cohere with each other?
2. Methodology
2.1. Dataset
The analysis in the present study is based on a detailed examination of short
excerpts of audiovisuals to understand how semiotic resources and persuasive
strategies are employed coherently to deliver a message. Previous studies (Bernad-
Mechó 2022) have already explored videos which easily deploy multimodal
content.
The dataset consists of a total of 8 VRs, all of them in English, taken from the
online platform YouTube.1 In the initial stage, I established a set of criteria to
collect the data of the study, that is, duration, professional or academic activity,
gender, impact, year of publication, editing, type of camera shots (see Appendix 1
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for a description of the data). The dataset was then restricted to videos that
complied with the following guidelines: limited duration (less than 3 minutes),
impact as expressed by number of views (although the number of views is irrelevant
for the purpose of the present study), year of publication (all between 2010 and
2020), and, to enrich the multimodal analysis, whether or not the videos used
editing strategies as indicated by camera shots.
Once the eight videos were selected, I opted to extract one excerpt from each,
the function of which was to urge the addressee to take action. The combined
length of these clips was 179 seconds. Table 1 shows the exact time intervals and
excerpts in which the speaker emphasizes their strengths and potential aptitudes
as evidence that they are the most suitable candidate for the position. Therefore,
the selection of the segments was made on the basis of their persuasive
communicative aim and their multimodal nature. I hypothesized that these
fragments, interpreted as using pressure tactics, would be modally dense (Norris
2004), since they would use a greater variety of semiotic modes and more
complex interrelations among them.
8 VRs Time
interval
Length in
seconds Excerpts
VR19 from 1’27’’
to 1’56’’
29 sec “Why should you pick me out of seven billion people living on
this planet?
Well, as a strong communicator and negotiator who can build
effective relationships, I specialize in finding creative and
innovative solutions to the toughest problems. I also happen to
speak English, French and Spanish and have been involved in
very exciting stuff for the last few years. I truly believe that I
can bring a real and positive impact to the organization from
day one. I’d love to join a creative agency, working to put my
skills and experience to good use and apply my entrepreneurial
principles to foster social transformation”.
VR20 from 1’46’’
to 2’12’’
66 sec “Why should you pick me?
Well, I’m very interested in digital trends, new ways to sell
products and services and how to build strong marketing
strategies for companies around the world. I’m also able to
speak English, French, Arabic and Spanish. I’m a fully creative,
strong communicator and extremely motivated to build
effective relationships with the ability to fit in with any group,
any service, any company. I’m sure I can bring a really positive
energy to the organization from day one”.
VR21 from 1’18
to 1’32’’
14 sec “As a recent graduate from the Iron Yard, I’m an excellent
candidate for a company or team looking to capitalize a lot and
blow me into what they specifically need. I’m always up for a
challenge, and I’m looking for a place where I can continue to
grow and learn”.
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8 VRs Time
interval
Length in
seconds Excerpts
VR22 from 1’21’’
to 1’29’’
08 sec “I believe I am your perfect candidate for your company and
will become a great future employee”.
VR23 from 2’18’’
to 2’35’’
17 sec “I’m looking for a company that believes in getting stuff done,
low bureaucracy, and empowering the staff to use their skills
and talents for the better at a business. I’d prefer to be used for
my brainpower and skills, but I’m willing to crush whatever is
put in front of me. I hope that this is interesting to you or
someone that you might know”.
VR24 from 2’34’’
to 2’44’’
10 sec “I am convinced that you are looking for a young, creative,
hard-working, reliable and committed employee who will do
their best. I’m one of those!”
VR25 from 1’26’’
to 1’56’’
30 sec “Why should a company employ me?
I have all these skills that I feel are very transferable: soft skills
that are necessary in job roles when I apply for jobs. I feel like
companies are looking for this. Alongside being very good at
communicating, a good problem solver. I find that I’ve learned
from my Project Management how to be very organized, how
to plan better, and I’m just good at time management as well,
and I think this works in the role I’m looking for”.
VR26 from 0’41’’
to 0’46’’
05 sec “If you’re looking to increase sales production, develop your
employees and retain them, I’m the person for the job”.
Table 1. Time intervals and excerpts from the dataset
2.2. Annotation and Analysis
The analytic strategy employed in this paper relies on a specialized software
package designed to carry out computer-assisted multimodal analysis
complemented by manual analysis. This application is known as Multimodal
Analysis-Video (MAV) (O’Halloran et al. 2012), and it “provides the necessary
tools for investigating the use of semiotic resources and the ways in which semiotic
choices interact to fulfill particular objectives in a multimodal video” (O’Halloran
et al. 2017: 22). Appendix 2 contains an image of the interface and further
explanation of the tool.
Other linguists have also found the support of the software to be useful, arguing
that “an MDA approach requires the use of different specialized software packages
to look into the data” (Valeiras-Jurado et al. 2018: 99). According to Ruiz-Madrid
and Valeiras-Jurado, “an MDA offers a comprehensive approach for the fully [sic]
understanding of the multimodal nature of genres” (2020: 28). Therefore, to
explore the connection between the semiotic modes and the persuasive strategies,
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following an MDA approach, a fine-grained framework for the multimodal
annotation has been adapted from prior studies on multimodal analysis (Bernad-
Mechó 2022), as Table 2 below shows.
SEMIOTIC MODES
EMBODIED DISEMBODIED FILMIC
1. Gestures 1. Clothing 1. Image
1a. Iconic
1b. Metaphoric
1c. Deictic
1d. Beat
2. Background 2. Music
3. Objects 3. Writing (words)
4. Proxemics (disposition)
4a. Lateral
4b. Frontal
2. Head movements
2a. Iconic
2b. Novel
2c. Deictic
2d. Beat
5. Camera shot
5a. Frontal
5b. Lateral
5c. Close-up
5d. Middle
5e. Foot
3. Facial expressions
3a. Eyebrow-raising
3b. Frowning
3c. Laughter
3d. Smile
3e. Swallowing
3f. Lip-licking
6. Sound effect
7. Moving image
4. Posture
4a. Standing upright
4b. Standing by a table
4c. Sitting on table/chair
(cross-legged)
4d. Sitting on table/chair
(legs stretched)
4e. Swaying
5. Speech (spoken language)
For the purpose of the current study, I built upon preceding investigations into the
use of semiotic modes and persuasion in alternative formats (Valeiras-Jurado
2019), and I focused on five salient persuasive strategies, which are explained in
the following paragraphs and briefly presented in Figure 1. Both the persuasive
strategies and the semiotic modes contribute to achieving the communicative aim
of the VR (Figure 2).
Table 2. Framework for the multimodal analysis of VRs (based on Bernad-Mechó 2022)
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The first strategy, ‘attention-getting’, is employed to establish and maintain
contact with the audience. It is mostly based on attracting the interest of the
audience so as to make them listen and invite the speaker for a job interview.
‘Anticipation and control of responses’ consists of the way the speaker adapts their
speech and the way they deliver the message, taking into consideration the
audience’s anticipated reactions, with the aim of obtaining a desirable response
(Brazil 1997; Carter 1997; Kendon 2004). Additionally, the speaker intentionally
heads off certain responses, redirecting communicative intent according to their
own aims. Valeiras-Jurado and Bernad-Mechó (2022) determined in their study
that certain embodied modes (i.e. speech, intonation, gestures) and filmic modes
can elicit certain reactions in the audience. The third strategy, ‘rapport’, refers to
moments of mutual understanding and empathy with the audience. This strategy
can also be expressed verbally (i.e. use of inclusive pronouns) and non-verbally
(e.g. bodily postures, smiling, nodding). ‘Emphasis’, as the name implies, occurs
when the speaker highlights parts of the message to make them more salient. For
example, rhetorical devices (i.e. three-part lists, parallel structures, among others,
in combination with intonation, gestures, head movements or filmic modes) are
commonly used to cause a long-lasting effect and make the text more memorable.
The last strategy, ‘processing aids’, refers to resources used to facilitate the
Figure 1. Taxonomy of persuasive strategies (Valeiras-Jurado 2019: 92-93)
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understanding of the message in real time. Specific embodied modes, such as
gestures or intonation, are prominent to clarify aspects or structures of a message.
Figure 2. Persuasive strategies and semiotic modes in VRs
The 8 VRs were viewed several times, during which initial observations were made
regarding the sort of embodied, disembodied, and filmic modes employed, and
observing how the nature of multimodal ensembles configured through the use of
persuasive strategies contribute to achieving the communicative aim of the VR.
For the present research, the dataset was constructed to be gender-balanced (4
female and 4 male candidates) and two more scholars in a related research field
were consulted until a consensus was reached regarding which multimodal semiotic
modes were employed to realize persuasive strategies, thus ensuring interrater
reliability.
3. Results and Discussion
The main aim of the present study is to identify the verbal and non-verbal
realizations of persuasive strategies speakers use in VRs (RQ1). Additionally, this
article accounts for the notion of coherence among multimodal ensembles and
persuasive strategies to achieve the persuasive effect in VRs (RQ2).
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Out of the eight excerpts shown in Table 1, 6 figures are supplied below (Figures
3-8) to show a precise explanation of the most noteworthy verbal and non-verbal
realizations of persuasive strategies by the presenters in their videos. Each of these
videos makes use, in most instances, of a coherent multimodal ensemble that
effectively interacts with the most frequent persuasive strategies.
Figure 3. Multimodal and persuasive resources from VR19
Figure 3 provides an example of a coherent multimodal ensemble, enabling the
speaker to capture the audience’s attention and present himself as a strong
candidate for the job. Through a blend of verbal and non-verbal multimodal cues,
he introduces the section interpreted as using pressure tactics with a direct question
aimed at steering the audience’s interpretation toward his desired outcome. For
instance, he poses the direct question, “Why should you pick me out of seven
billion people living on this planet?” [VR19], a persuasive tactic intended to
anticipate and control the audience’s response. This strategy is accompanied by a
metaphoric gesture (i.e. an open hand facing upward) conveying candor and
truthfulness, and seeking rapport. These persuasive strategies are depicted in the
upper images of the ensemble.
Furthermore, the applicant appears to purposefully use different embodied modes
in order to captivate the audience’s attention, employing them as a persuasive
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tactic. For example, he often incorporates head movements, such as bobbing of
the head when shifting his gaze to the left side of the frame, along with a range of
facial expressions to emphasize his points. Particularly notable is the use of an
eyebrow-raising gesture in conjunction with the sentence “I truly believe that I
can bring a real and positive impact to the organization from day one” (lower right
image). These resources, combined with different filmic modes, enhance the
effectiveness of the candidate’s message and the way it is delivered. For instance,
the excerpted footage opens with the speaker in frontal orientation (i.e. proxemics)
and shifts to a lateral orientation to introduce a new topic (lower left image).
Additionally, there is a shift in camera angle, starting with a medium shot of the
speaker and then transitioning to a close-up shot to highlight his message and
establish rapport as a persuasive strategy.
In short, this speaker utilizes semiotic resources such as speech, head movement,
facial expressions, proxemics and camera shots to emphasize, capture attention,
anticipate a response from the audience, and seek rapport with them as persuasive
tactics.
The message delivered by the speaker in Figure 4 is, to some extent, coherent from
a multimodal perspective, and his presentation predominantly relies on embodied
modes to accomplish the communicative aim of the genre. There is a noticeable
variation in the way gestures are performed, for example, when the speaker uses his
fingers to enumerate points: his intention seems to be to emphasize information
he considers significant (persuasive strategy) and at the same time he is making the
message easy to understand (processing aids as a persuasive strategy in the lower
right image) by visually showing with a gesture the number one, since the speaker
later remarks, “I’m sure I can bring a really positive energy to the organization
from day one” [VR20].
Regarding posture, throughout the excerpt, he remains seated in a stretched-out
position, employing the persuasive strategies of attention-getting and rapport to
create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Moreover, the camera captures frontal
shots from a medium distance to build further rapport. However, at some points
his posture, for example, in the upper right image with his arms inward and
directing his body to the side does not project the message in the same way and
rather minimizes his physical presence. Therefore, there is an incoherence between
both embodied modes (speech and posture) in this case.
In sum, this example shows the orchestration of gestures, posture and camera
shots, mainly contributing to developing the following persuasive strategies:
emphasis, processing aids, attention-getting and rapport. However, it should be
noted that they do not act in isolation. Instead, they are interconnected to fulfill
the communicative purpose of the genre.
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Observing the performance of the speaker in VR20 (Figure 4) alongside that of
the speaker in VR23 (Figure 5), certain similarities can be noted, particularly in the
frequent use of embodied modes. Specifically, both speakers employ the iconic
gesture of enumerating with their fingers, along with the eyebrow raise (observed
in the facial expression in the upper left image), enacting the persuasive strategy of
attention-getting (i.e. when the speaker raises his eyebrows, he conveys surprise or
extreme attention and expects the audience to align with this feeling and be
surprised and attentive as well). However, the speaker in Figure 5 closes his eyes
momentarily to pause and consider his next words. This action can be interpreted
as a metaphoric representation of silence and a sign that he is now concentrating
on remembering the message rather than on the audience (lower right image).
In this sense, the embodied mode does not contribute to the persuasive message
he aims to deliver, or, in other words, gaze is not part of the persuasive multimodal
orchestration in this specific example. Nevertheless, the speaker uses the persuasive
strategy of attention-getting, realized through gestures, facial expression and
speech, which act as a whole.
Figure 4. Multimodal and persuasive resources from VR20
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Figure 5. Multimodal and persuasive resources from VR23
Three speakers [VR19, VR20 and VR23] in Figures 3, 4 and 5 are observed wearing
light-colored shirts, interpreted as a disembodied mode to deliberately convey
reliability and politeness. Indeed, in any online performance, the selection of an
appropriate outfit is crucial for making a strong impression and signaling personality
(Ruiz-Garrido and Palmer-Silveira 2023). Nonetheless, a particularly notable
instance of a disembodied mode is the T-shirt of a technology-education company
(i.e. clothing) worn by the speaker in VR21 (Figure 6), seemingly chosen intentionally
to demonstrate pride in the training in technology she received at the institution
(upper right image). This coincides with the statement “As a recent graduate from
the Iron Yard, I’m an excellent candidate for a company”. Moreover, she shows
expressiveness by using facial expressions, with eyebrow raises aimed at capturing
attention (lower left image) and smiles, fostering rapport as a persuasive strategy.
A similar example is found in VR24 (Figure 7), where the speaker opts for a ‘bow
tie’ as a means of setting herself apart from the other candidates (attention-getting
strategy). She maintains an eloquent manner, employing facial expressions
throughout the video, including eyebrow raises and smiles (lower right image), to
establish rapport as a persuasive tactic. Additionally, she strategically emphasizes
certain aspects of her message over others, employing embodied modes through
gestures (iconic and beat) and speech (“I’m one of those”). She employs her
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fingers coherently as well as a persuasive strategy (processing aids in the upper and
lower left images), orchestrating the presentation of concepts in a specific sequence
while listing her strengths (“I am convinced that you are looking for a young,
creative, hard-working, reliable, and committed employee who will do their best”).
It should be highlighted that, despite the fact that both speakers use their fingers
to point to themselves for attention-getting (persuasive strategy), they do so in
different ways and achieve different effects. The first speaker is pointing to herself
with her thumb (upper left image in VR21 in Figure 6), which is a more specific
way of pointing, which makes the gesture more aggressive. With this gesture, the
speaker controls the response of the audience (persuasive strategy) by explicitly
directing their gaze to her. On the other hand, the second speaker touches her
shoulders with her open hands to point to herself in a subtler and more affectionate
way, building rapport (upper left image in VR24 in Figure 7).
To conclude, in both examples, the multimodal ensemble is established by
disembodied modes (i.e. clothing) and embodied modes (i.e. facial expression,
gestures, speech). The verbal and non-verbal realizations of persuasive strategies
that contribute most to both excerpts are attention-getting, rapport, emphasis,
processing aids and controlling the response of the audience.
Figure 6. Multimodal and persuasive resources from VR21
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In VR25 (Figure 8), the speaker makes use of the text overlaid onto video (upper
left image) as filmic modes. In this specific example, the speaker employs the direct
question “Why should a company employ me?” to support her speech (emphasis).
Additionally, she provides the audience with visual support (processing aid) to
anticipate and control responses, since the audience is prompted to interpret her
speech as the answer to her question when they read it. She presents her speech in
a somewhat emotionless way, although certain facial expressions, such as eyebrow
raises (upper right image), a subtle smile (lower right image) and closed eyes
during pauses (lower left image), can also be discerned. Once again, the pause in
her speech while she closes her eyes may suggest that she needs time to think about
her message and, in turn, seems not to contribute to the multimodal coherence.
In sum, the ensemble is orchestrated by the combined use of filmic (i.e. written
words) as well as embodied modes, such as facial expressions, which lead to the
realization of different persuasive strategies (i.e. emphasis, processing aid, control
of responses) but in an apparently insufficient way.
To conclude, all the multimodal ensembles orchestrated by the speakers produce a
suitable and comprehensible message, fostering persuasion through a variety of
embodied, disembodied and filmic modes (e.g. facial expression, gestures, head
movements and clothing as the most salient ones). The eight excerpts use a similar
choice of persuasive strategies (rapport, emphasis and processing aids) realized
Figure 7. Multimodal and persuasive resources from VR24
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through several modes (mainly gestures, facial expressions, head movements and
speech). However, when there is a lack of coherence across modes (i.e. modes do
not cohere with each other), the persuasive effect can be diminished. Three
excerpts (VR20, VR23 and VR25 in Figures 4, 5 and 8) seem incoherent in their
use of modes. Their speech as well as their facial expression is flat at certain points,
showing no emotion, and it may reveal disengagement from the communicative
situation, which is to persuade the audience. As a result, the use of modes becomes
less coherent and, consequently, less effective with regard to the communicative
aim of the genre. The rest of the excerpts (VR19, VR21 and VR24 in Figures 3, 6
and 7) orchestrated the multimodal ensemble in a more coherent way. The
persuasive strategies in the excerpts are deployed through a series of semiotic
modes, which consistently contribute to achieving the communicative intention of
the genre.
In order to visually show the observed features that foster the persuasive nature in
VRs, a summary table (Table 3) is presented as follows:
Figure 8. Multimodal and persuasive resources from VR25
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PERSUASIVE STRATEGIES VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL REALIZATIONS
Attention-getting Head movement (i.e. beat) [VR19]
Gesture (i.e. iconic) [VR20] + [VR23]
Facial expression (i.e. eyebrow-raising) [VR20] + [VR23]
Clothing + speech [VR21]
Clothing [VR24]
Gesture (i.e. iconic) [VR21] + [VR24]
Anticipation and control of response Speech (i.e. direct question) [VR19]
Speech (i.e. direct question) [VR25]
Rapport Gesture (i.e. metaphoric) [VR19]
Proxemics (i.e. lateral and frontal) [VR19]
Camera shot (i.e. middle and close-up) [VR19]
Proxemics (i.e. lateral and frontal) [VR20]
Camera shot (i.e. middle and frontal) [VR20]
Facial expression (i.e. eyebrow-raising) [VR21]
Facial expression (i.e. eyebrow-raising and smile) [VR24]
Emphasis Facial expressions (i.e. eyebrow-raising) + speech [VR19]
Gesture (i.e. iconic and beat) + speech [VR24]
Facial expressions (i.e. eyebrow-raising and smile) [VR25]
Processing aids Gesture (i.e. iconic) + speech [VR20]
Gesture (i.e. iconic) + speech [VR24]
Writing (i.e. visual support) [VR25]
Table 3. Features that foster persuasiveness in VRs
4. Conclusion
This study has explored the presence of persuasive strategies via the interplay of
multimodal realizations in VRs. In professional settings, multimodality has become
essential due to the need to effectively transmit information as well as convince
audiences across a range of digital platforms (Jewitt and Kress 2010). Digitality has
also developed into a pervasive force in professional genres, influencing how
individuals present themselves, connect with others, communicate and conduct
business (Hafner 2018). Embracing digital elements and practices is now
fundamental for professionals to stay competitive in today’s evolving landscape.
To answer the research questions posed, I closely examined the verbal and non-
verbal realizations of persuasive strategies in VRs from a multimodal perspective
using the software MAV. Considering that the fragments selected for analysis are
part of a section that uses pressure tactics to convince the audience to take action,
a wide range of verbal and non-verbal realizations of the five persuasive strategies
identified are explored in the digital genre of the VR. For instance, raising and
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maintaining the interest of the audience, as a persuasive strategy, is mainly realized
by gestures, head movement and facial expressions (e.g. embodied modes), and
clothing is the only element identified as disembodied mode. In addition, in order
to prompt desirable responses from the audience, it is noteworthy how the speaker
poses a direct question (e.g. disembodied mode). The findings of this research
reveal that the attempt to engage with the audience and build a relationship of
empathy and mutual understanding as a persuasive strategy requires a substantial
number of embodied modes (i.e. gestures and facial expressions) and filmic modes
(i.e. lateral, frontal proxemics and middle and close-up camera shots). To highlight
parts of the message so that they become more salient, most of the speakers employ
the eyebrow-raising gesture, smile, gestures and speech. Lastly, speakers process
the message in real time to make it easy to understand by employing a significant
element added in the postproduction process (i.e. text overlaid onto the video for
visual support). This filmic mode is supported by the embodied one, mainly
through gestures and speech.
Interestingly, the embodied modes play a relevant role concerning the
communicative intention of the speaker since they are present in all the fragments
selected. Furthermore, the most prevalent embodied modes are gestures, facial
expressions and speech. Nonetheless, even though the disembodied modes are not
always present in all the excerpts, the most frequent one is clothing. External
elements such as background and objects do not seem decisive to achieve the
communicative aim of the fragments analyzed. The most prominent filmic modes
are proxemics, camera shots and visual support. Likewise, images, music and sound
effects are missing in these fragments.
The findings of the current study indicate that VRs have marked persuasive
function, which is enhanced by the use of multimodal ensembles considering the
excerpts analyzed. Waung et al. (2014) claim that VRs constitute a rich medium
because multiple verbal and non-verbal cues are employed. Nonetheless, in certain
instances (e.g. VR20 and VR25) multimodal ensembles do not cohere with
persuasive strategies and, as a consequence, the communicative intention may be
altered. In both fragments, the pause in their speech while they close their eyes can
be interpreted as time needed to think about their message; as a result, these VRs
may not be fully persuasive. In turn, coherence in the use of semiotic modes and
persuasive realizations is paramount to this purpose.
As a conclusion, the interrelation between the various semiotic modes identified
in the MDA approach presented in this paper along with the persuasive
strategies introduced in the methodology section can pave the ground for
further genre studies. Due to their potential impact on both the professional
community and the general audience, individuals can take advantage of the
María Ángeles Mestre-Segarra
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1. The present article is part of a
wider study approved by the Ethics Committee
of Universitat Jaume I, with the file number
“CD/41/2022”, which allows the use of the
videos and images extracted for academic
purposes.
power of audiovisual communication to convey their professional achievements,
non-verbal communicative skills and overall suitability for a desired position
(Flannery et al. 2014).
As for pedagogical implications, the analysis presented in this paper provides
valuable insights applicable to the creation of teaching materials for English for
Specific Purposes courses. Here, the VR could serve as a teaching resource for
honing multimodal skills and mastering essential persuasive strategies for effective
communication in professional settings. The teaching of VRs appears to be
pedagogically beneficial, as it can help refine the inclusion of oral and digital genres
in higher education curricula (O’Halloran et al. 2017).
Given the limited size of the dataset, further analysis is required to enlarge and
refine the methodological framework of multimodal realizations and persuasive
strategies, especially by including other types of remediated digital genres. In
addition, it should be noted that there has been no real check of the candidates’
effectiveness, that is, no information is provided about whether they were
ultimately hired. However, it is my hope that this paper provides a flexible and
easily adaptable analytical framework for future digital genre studies in video
formats.
Notes
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Received: 02/11/2023
Accepted: 27/05/2024
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
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Appendix . Description of the dataset
VRs Duration
Professional/
academic
activity
Gender Impact
(Views)
Year of
publication
Video type
(Edited video)
Camera
shot
VR19 2’ 10’’ Publicist M 977,826 2012 person + audio face, half,
full body
VR20 2’ 34’’ Salesman M 16,652 2019 image + music +
audio + person half body
VR21 1’ 52’’ Web developer F 124,584 2016 image + music +
audio + person half body
VR22 1’ 38’’ Student M 22,871 2020 image + music +
audio + person half body
VR23 2’ 50’’ Travel
manager M 5,655 2020 image + music +
audio + person half body
VR24 2’ 57’’ Student F 293,152 2014 image + music +
audio + person half body
VR25 2’ 02’’ Project
manager F 865 2019 person + audio half body
VR26 0’ 46’’ Sales manager F 202,454 2010 person + audio half body
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Appendix 2. MAV interface for multimodal and persuasive annotations
The left corner contains a video window where the clips can be played; the right
corner of the interface leaves space for verbal transcriptions as well as a list of strips.
These strips are divided into the sound strip, which displays a waveform of the
audio in the clip, and supplemental strips, created manually with the aim of
annotating all relevant semiotic modes employed in the excerpts selected (Bernad-
Mechó 2022).
