I’ve Got Some Ocean Front
Property in Arizona
Ch. 14: Persuasion
What is Persuasion?

Persuasion is:
–
the process of motivating someone, through communication, to
change a particular belief, attitude, or behavior.
NOT
Coercive
Incremental
Interactive
Persuasion is not coercive:
It does not force change in actions or
belief convince
Incorrect Argument:
“You must do/believe this or else!”
Correct Argument:
You should do/believe this because…
(supported with sound reasoning and logic)
Persuasion is Incremental

Social judgment theory:
–
an audience compares a speech to opinions they already
hold called:
anchors –pre-existing opinions
Abortion
should never
be allowed.

Only if a
mother’s
life is in
danger
Also, in
cases of
rape or
incest
For any
reason if
mother is
1st trimester
Abortion
should always
be allowed.
So, may take several acts of persuasion
to move on this continuum
Persuasion is Interactive:
–
–
Something we do with not to the audience
Audience Analysis:

–
Notice reactions during speech


–
Understand where the audience is coming from;
empathize, Survey before speech
Agreement or disagreement
Boredom or interest
Open-ended questions after speech

Clarify your arguments; refute opposing views
Be on the lookout for
unethical persuasion

Ethical persuasion: communication in the
best interest of the audience that does not
depend on false or misleading information

Unethical:
–
–
–
–
Plagiarism
False information
Suppression of information
Using emotion to hinder truth
Proposition: What is your argument?
Fact
• Argues the truth
or falseness of a
topic
Value
• Upholds the
inherent value of
a topic
• Why the JFK
assassination
was a
conspiracy.
• Why College
degrees are
worth the time
and money.
• True/False
• Very worthwhileNot worthwhile
Policy
• Proposes a
course of action
• Why should
parents be
allowed to use
school vouchers?
Categorizing Persuasion

Desired Outcome:
– Convincing:
–

Directness of Approach
– Direct Persuasion:
change the way the
audience thinks
–
You should wear your
seatbelt
Actuating: cause
–
Indirect Persuasion:
a change in behavior
 Adoption
 Discontinuance
Many deaths occur when
motorists do not wear
seatbelts…
How can you be more Persuasive?
Have a clearly structured
plan of organization

Problem – Solution
–
–

what is the problem and how it affects audience
How to solve the problem/advantages to the audience
Reason-Giving
–
–
Discuss several reasons to support an argument
“You should go to college because…1,2,3.
Monroe’s Motivated Sequence: Follow the five steps:
Attention:
Gain the attention of the audience
Need:
develop an audience need
Satisfaction:
offer a way to meet this need
Visualization:
state the benefits or disadvantages of your solution
Action:
give the audience something to do
Have a clear Persuasive Purpose
Present a clear Proposition


Purpose Statement:
–
After my speech my audience will agree that seatbelts
should be worn.
–
After my speech my audience will begin to wear their
seatbelts.
Proposition:
–
Seatbelts should be worn at all times in order to reduce the
number of deaths caused by automobile accidents.
Use Solid Evidence
Use many types of support:

–
–
Be sure to cite the sources of support

–

Support devices: examples, statistics, analogies, etc.
Visual Aids: PowerPoint, Objects, Models, etc.
Vocal Citations:
should include 1) where you got the
information, 2) who said it, and 3) if pertinent when it was published
or said
Feel free to use ethical emotional evidence
Adapt to your target audience

those most likely to be persuaded

try to establish common ground

organize so that you can start out with
agreement – Would you like to be able to
get a kidney if needed?
Build your credibility
perception of the believability of a speaker
Competence –

–
–
your expertise on topic or at least
preparedness
appearance affects this
Character –

–
honesty and impartiality
Charisma –

–
enthusiasm (dynamism) and likeability
Reason Logically
avoid fallacies-error in logic

Ad hominem –

Argumentum Ad Verecundiam –
–

Falsely presents a person and his/her testimony as
authority on an issue
Bandwagon (Argumentum ad populum) –
–

attacks the person rather than argument
Makes a claim for support because everyone else is
doing it
Slippery Slope
–
Incorrectly argues that one thing will eventually leads to
another without sufficient support
REASON LOGICALLY
AVOID FALLACIES-ERROR IN LOGIC
•Hasty
Generalization
•Uses
insufficient number of examples to support an overall
conclusion
•Either-Or:
False Division
•Contends
that the listener must accept the argument to avoid another
unwanted outcome
•False
Cause
•Incorrect
•Red
reasoning that one thing causes another
Herring
•Diverting
attention from the current issue to another