Ch. 13 & 14 Informative
Speaking and Persuasive
Speaking
Types of Informative Speaking
• By content or purpose
Content
• Speeches about processes-a series of actions that
leads to a specific result
The process involved in traveling abroad
• Speeches about objects-anything that can be seen
or touched
A speech about your guitar
• Speeches about events-when a topic refers to
anything notable that has happened
A speech about the war in Iraq
Purpose
• Descriptions- describing
Describing the traditions of a particular
culture
• Explanations-explaining
Explaining each of the steps involved in fire
prevention
• Instructions-teaching
Showing students how to protect themselves
Informative Vs. Persuasive
Informative
• you are not presenting info that is
controversial
• You are not trying to change audience
attitudes
• You are trying to make the audience aware
of something
• Usually to improve audience knowledge or
ability
Persuasive
• Usually involves a controversial topic
• You are trying to persuade the audience to
take some sort of action, or change some
sort of behavior
Techniques of Informative
Speaking
1. Define a specific informative purpose
2. Create information hunger
3. Make it easy for audience
to listen and understand
• Limit amount of info you present
-stick to 3-5 main topics
• use familiar information to increase
understanding of the unfamiliar
• Use simple information to build
understanding of complex info
4. Emphasize Important
points
• Use repetition
-with main points
-with material that is difficult to understand
• Use sign posts
Characteristics of persuasion
• Persuasion is the process of motivating
someone, through communication to
change a particular belief, attitude, or
behavior.
Persuasion is interactive
• Can be compared to the transactional
model
• It is an interaction that takes place between
speaker and audience
Categorizing types of persuasion
• By types of proposition or by desired
outcome
By types of Proposition
• Propositions of fact
• Propositions of value
• Propositions of policy
Propositions of fact
• issues in which there are two or more sides
with conflicting evidence
• listeners are required to choose the truth
for themselves
Example: Kobe Bryant did/did not commit
rape
Propositions of value
• go beyond issues of truth to explore the
worth of some idea, person, or object
Examples:
• President Bush is/ is not the best president
• Animal testing is/ is not wrong
Propositions of policy
• Goes a step beyond fact or value in stating
a recommended course of action
Example:
• Animal testing is wrong, and everyone
should not buy products that test on
animals
Persuasive speeches based on desired
outcome
• Convincing- when goal of speech is to
make the audience believe something
-Kobe Bryant did not commit rape
• Actuating- when goal of speech is to get
audience members to take specific actions
-don’t buy make-up that is tested on animals
Persuasion can be categorized by to
approaches:
1. Direct persuasion- state the persuasive message
outright
(speaker’s goals are clear from the beginning)
2. Indirect persuasion- persuasive message is not
clear right away
(may start with a question and continue speech to
prove that question and persuade audience)
Creating the persuasive message
•
•
•
•
•
Set a clear persuasive purpose
Structure the message carefully
Describe the problem
Describe the solution
Describe the desired audience response
Avoid fallacies
Fallacy- Errors in logical thinking
• There are numerous types of fallacies
A few of the most common
fallacies
• AD HOMINEM- attack on the person
instead of the argument
-the speaker attacks the integrity of the
person in order to weaken the argument
REDUCTIO AD ABSURDUM
• Reduction to the absurd
• Unfairly attacks an argument by extending it to
such extreme lengths that it looks ridiculous
Straw man argument- a variation of ad absurdum
fallacy
• Speaker attacks a potentially valid argument by
demolishing a weak example and suggesting that
it represents the entire position
EITHER-OR FALLACY
• Sets up false alternatives
• Suggests that if the inferior one must be
rejected, then the other must be accepted
POST HOC ERGO PROPTER
HOC
• False Cause
• Mistakenly assumes that one event causes
another because they occur after one
another
ARGUMENTUM AD
VERECUNDIAM
• Appeal to authority
• Involves relying on the testimony of
someone who is not an authority in the
case being argued
• Occur often in advertising and politics
ARGUMENTUM AD
POPULUM
• Bandwagon appeal
• Based on idea that many other people like
it or agree with it, so should you
• Wide spread acceptance of an idea is no
guarantee that it is correct
In conclusion
• When constructing your speech be careful
that it does not involve fallacious reasoning