Persuasion
Persuasive Speaking

Is the process of changing or reinforcing
attitudes, beliefs, values, or behavior of your
audience.

The ability to effectively: convince your
audience to believe as you do OR influence
your audience in order to cause some sort of
directed action to take place.
Audience analysis
Supportive / Receptive audience

Audience is friendly and receptive to
what you have to say.
Audience analysis
Neutral / uncommitted audience

Audience is not for or against you.

It is your job to convince effectively.
Audience analysis
Opposed or unreceptive audience

Audience is opposed to you or your
ideas.

Important to establish credibility and be
willing to make compromise on parts of
your topic.
Persuasive Appeals

Ethos

Logos

Pathos
Persuasive Appeals

Ethos(Establishing Credibility)
Speaker wins the audience’s trust
through honesty, competency, and
credibility.
Persuasive Appeals

Ethos(Establishing Credibility)
Your audience should be able to detect the
following:
Are you believable or trustworthy?
 Are you sincere and honest?
 Do your words support your reputation?
 Are you qualified to speak on your topic?
 Do you appear competent?
 Can you show any charisma?

Persuasive Appeals

Logos (Logic or analytical evidence)
Necessary to clearly state claims and
then prove claims to audience.
Use facts, statistics, reasoning, and
examples to prove claims.
Persuasive Appeals

Pathos (Emotional evidence)
Speaker tries to arouse feelings or
emotions in the audience.
Tugs at audience’s heart.
Persuasive Appeals

Pathos (Emotional evidence)
Words and visual images commonly
used.
May appeal to wide variety of emotions
such as love, anger, disgust, fear,
compassion, patriotism, courage, or
pride.
Motivating listeners

What is Cognitive Dissonance

Your thoughts

Lack of harmony and disagreement
Motivating listeners

How do listeners cope with
dissonance?
Discredit the source
 Listeners reinterpret the message
 Listeners seek new information
 Listeners stop listening
 Listeners change values, attitudes or
beliefs

Persuasive Appeals

Fallacies or things to avoid





A. Causal Fallacy
B. Bandwagon Fallacy
C. Either / Or Fallacy
D. Hasty generalization
E. Ad Hominem / Attacking the
person
TED Talks


Michael Norton (10:58) – How to Buy
Happiness
Lisa Kristine (19:21) – Photos that bear
witness to modern slavery