Persuasion Is All Around You!
“Can You Hear Me Now?”
What is persuasion?
A means of convincing people:
 to buy a certain product
 to believe something or act in a certain
way
 to agree with a point of view
Common persuasive techniques
often used in advertising
Slogan
 Repetition
 Bandwagon
 Testimonial
 Emotional Appeal
 Expert Opinion

Purpose?
Slogan: “Can you hear me now?”
A catchy phrase or statement often used to
sell a service or a product
Repetition:
The name of a product is repeated many times
HEAD ON Apply
directly to the
forehead
HEAD ON Apply
directly to the
forehead
HEAD ON Apply
directly to the
forehead
Bandwagon
A statement suggesting that everyone is
using a specific product, so you should
too
Testimonial
A well-known person supports a product
or service
Emotional Appeal
A person is made to have strong feelings
about a situation or product
APPEAL TO PITY
Example: "I know the exam is graded based on performance, but
you should give me an A. My cat has been sick, my car broke
down, and I've had a cold, so it was really hard for me to study!"
The conclusion here is "You should give me an A." But the criteria for
getting an A have to do with learning and applying the material from
the course; the principle the arguer wants us to accept (people who
have a hard week deserve A's) is clearly unacceptable.
Example: "It's wrong to tax corporations--think of all the money
they give to charity, and of the costs they already pay to run their
businesses!"
Definition: The appeal to pity takes place when an arguer tries to
get people to accept a conclusion by making them feel sorry for
someone.
Appeal to Fear
•Makes people feel as if their health,
safety, or security is in danger.
Expert opinion
Experts approve this product, so you
should use it
“Four out of five dentists recommend
sugarless gum for their patients who
chew gum”
What is a fallacy?

A fallacy is an error of reasoning. These
are flawed statements that often sound
true

Logical fallacies are often used to
strengthen an argument, but if the reader
detects them the argument can backfire,
and damage the writer’s credibility
Loaded Terms
are words or phrases with strongly
positive or negative connotations to
stir people’s emotions.

“Most zoos fail to live up to their own
propaganda and vast numbers of zoo
animals continue to endure lives of misery
and deprivation.”
Leading Question
A type of question that implies or
contains its own answer.
 “You saw her punch in her lunch number
in the cafeteria, and then you used it to get into
her account, didn’t you?”
 Questions should be asked in a way which
invites the questioned person to respond
without being influenced by the speaker’s
attitude.

Caricature
•A cartoon or descriptive writing
that greatly exaggerates certain
features of a subject to create a
comic or absurd effect.
•Editorials often contain
caricatures.
•How would a caricature
be persuasive?
• Why is it a fallacy?
False Assumptions
The basis of an argument (assumption or
premise) is incorrect, so the conclusion
drawn may be in error.
If the streets are wet, it has
rained recently. (premise)
The streets are wet.
(conclusion) Therefore, it has rained recently.
• What is wrong with this way of thinking?

Who’s the audience?
Audience?
Audience?
Purpose?
Persuasive
technique?
Audience?
Purpose?
Persuasive
technique?
Audience?
Audience?
Purpose?
Audience?
Purpose?
Audience?
Purpose?
Persuasive
technique?
Audience?
Persuasive
technique?
Relevant facts
Advertisers spend about $200 billion a
year on TV advertising
 The average cost for Super Bowl ads is
$2.6 million per 30 second spot
 The average American watches about
24,000 TV commercials a year

http://television-commercial.net/
Making Connections
What is your favorite jingle?
 What slogan for a product do you find
yourself saying?
 What TV commercial has influenced you
to make a purchase?
 Since Tubby Smith and Billy Gillispie shop
at Kroger, does that mean we should too?

Reflection
“Persuasion is all around you”
In addition to TV commercials, where else
do you see persuasion all around you? Is
that persuasion influencing you or your
family in any way? Explain.
Jennifer Bernhard
Literacy Specialist
Clark County Schools
Jennifer.bernhard@clark.kyschools.us