English 11 Persuasive Speech Key Terms and Definitions
persuasive speech a speech whose goal is to influence the beliefs, attitudes,
values, or acts of others.
logos a term used by the Greek rhetorician Aristotle to mean appeals to reason
and logic. Such appeals provide the justification for audience action.
argument a stated position, with support, for or against an idea or issue;
contains the core elements of claim, evidence, and warrants.
pathos a term used by the Greek rhetorician Aristotle to mean appeals to
emotion. Such appeals can get the audience’s attention and stimulate a desire
to act but must be used ethically.
ethos the Greek word for “character.”According to the ancient Greek rhetorician
Aristotle, audiences listen to and trust speakers if they exhibit competence
(as demonstrated by the speaker’s grasp of the subject matter) and good
moral character.
speaker credibility the quality that reveals that a speaker has a good grasp of
the subject, displays sound reasoning skills, is honest and nonmanipulative,
and is genuinely interested in the welfare of audience members; a modern
version of ethos.
hierarchy of needs a model of human action developed by Abraham Maslow
based on the principle that people are motivated to act on the basis of their
needs.
central processing a mode of processing a persuasive message that involves
thinking critically about the contents of the message and the strength and
quality of the speaker’s arguments. People who seriously consider what the
speaker’s message means to them are most likely to experience a relatively enduring
change in thinking.
peripheral processing a mode of processing a persuasive message that does
not consider the quality of the speaker’s message, but is influenced by such
non-content issues as the speaker’s appearance or reputation, certain slogans
or one-liners, and obvious attempts to manipulate emotions. Peripheral
processing of messages occurs when people lack the motivation or the ability
to pay close attention to the issues.
claim the declaration of a state of affairs, often stated as a thesis statement, in
which a speaker attempts to prove something.
evidence supporting material that provides grounds for belief.
claim of fact an argument that focuses on whether something is or is not true
or whether something will or will not happen.
claim of value a claim that addresses issues of judgment.
334 PART 3 Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis
claim of policy a claim that recommends that a specific course of action be
taken or approved by an audience.
logical fallacy a statement that is based on an invalid or deceptive line of
reasoning.
begging the question a logical fallacy in which what is stated cannot help but
be true, even though no evidence has been presented.
bandwagoning a logical fallacy that uses (unsubstantiated) general opinion
as its (false) basis.
either-or fallacy a logical fallacy stated in terms of two alternatives only, even
though there are additional alternatives.
ad hominem argument a logical fallacy that targets the person instead of the
issue at hand in an attempt to discredit an opponent’s argument.
red herring a logical fallacy in which the speaker relies on irrelevant information
for his or her argument.
target audience those individuals within the broader audience who are most
likely to be influenced in the direction the speaker seeks.
problem-solution pattern of arrangement a pattern of organizing speech
points so that they demonstrate the nature and significance of a problem
first, and then provide justification for a proposed solution.
problem-cause-solution pattern of arrangement a pattern of organizing
speech points so that they demonstrate (1) the nature of the problem,
(2) reasons for the problem, (3) unsatisfactory solutions, and (4) proposed
solution(s).
motivated sequence a five-step process of persuasion developed by Alan
Monroe.
refutation organizational pattern a pattern of organizing speech points in
which each main point addresses and then refutes (disproves) an opposing
claim to the speaker’s position.
comparative advantage pattern a pattern of organizing speech points so that
the speaker’s viewpoint or proposal is shown to be superior to one or more
alternative viewpoints or proposals.