Answering Questions
2
The responsibilities of the
Persuasive speaker:
1. To say something worth hearing (sound
information).
2. To say something that can be heard (clear
organization).
3. To say something that will be heard (audience
engagement).
4. To answer all the audience's
reasonable doubts & objections.
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3
The 3 Big Questions your
audience is always going to
ask.
• What's the problem? Why do we need to
change?
• What's the plan? What exactly do we
need to do?
• Is it practical? Will the plan solve the
problem? What other costs & benefits
does it have?
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4
The 3 Basic Answers you can
give in reply.
1. Logos
2. Ethos
3. Pathos
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To answer their questions, your audience can rely...
...on the reasons.
LOGOS
...on you.
ETHOS
...on their feelings.
PATHOS
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5
6
Ethos
Which hat
will you
wear?
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7
Are appeals to emotion
(pathos) ethical?
Studies of brain-damaged
patients show that people
without emotions have severe
deficiencies in social and
practical decision-making.
Dr. Antonio Damasio
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8
School A
• Lower cost
• More active social life
• Better career
counseling
• Better study abroad
• Better foreign
languages
• Nicer campus
• Outstanding research
faculty
• Excellent alumni
network
• More prestigious
• Bigger
• More diverse
• More volunteerism
• Better athletic
facilities
School B
• Closer to home
• Better financial aid
• Better extracurricular
activities
• Good major
• Friends going there
• Outstanding teaching
faculty
• Recommended by
teachers
• Smaller
• Early admission
• Nicer dorms
• Higher graduation
rates
• Better football team
• Fewer required
Lect 9M
courses
Which one feels right?!
9
Basic methods for
establishing logos, ethos, &
pathos.
Type of appeal
Logos (reasoning)
Ethos (credibility)
Pathos (emotion)
Type of evidence
Statistics
Expert testimony
Examples
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10
For example...
In my speech, to demonstrate one
Problem with driving, I used:
Example
Statistics
US Environmental Protection Agency
Expert
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11
Summary of all methods.
Logos
Ethos
Pathos
• Statistics
• Specific
instances
• Principle
• Causal
• Analogical
• Expert testimony
• Personal
competence
• Common ground
• Deliver with
conviction
• Examples
• Emotional
language
• Deliver with
conviction
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12
The Persuasion analysis
Let's try it out
questions.
13. Identify two distinct methods the speaker
uses in the body of the speech to enhance
his/her credibility appeals (ethos).
14. Identify two distinct methods of reasoning
the speaker uses in the body of the speech to
enhance his/her logical appeals (logos).
15. Identify two distinct methods the speaker
uses in the body of the speech to enhance
his/her emotional appeals (pathos).
Lect 9M
[1-8. As for the Informative Speech.]
9. What specific claim(s) does the speaker make on the Problem (Need) Issue? How does the speaker support his/her claim(s)?
10. What specific actions is the speaker calling for in his/her claims on the Plan Issue? How does the speaker support his/her
claim that the Plan will solve the Problem?
11. What specific claim(s) does the speaker make on the Practicality Issue? How does the speaker support his/her claim(s)?
Identify one objection to Practicality that the audience is likely to make, which the speaker has not dealt with in the
speech.
12. What is the least credible Source cited by the speaker? Why isn't it credible?
13. Identify two distinct methods the speaker uses in the body of the speech to enhance his/her credibility appeals (ethos).
14. Identify two distinct methods of reasoning the speaker uses in the body of the speech to enhance his/her logical appeals
(logos).
15. Identify two distinct methods the speaker uses in the body of the speech to enhance his/her emotional appeals (pathos).
16. Identify and evaluate one use of expert testimony in the speech.
17. Identify and evaluate one use of statistics in the speech.
18.
Identify and evaluate one use of an example in the speech.
19. What is the one positive comment about the speech that this speaker most needs to hear now? (Not including delivery.)
20. What is the one negative comment about the speech that this speaker most needs to hear now? (Not including delivery.)
13
How to answer exam
questions.
"13. Identify two distinct
Use course concept!
(two of these)
Ethos
• Expert testimony
• Personal
competence
• Common ground
• Deliver with
conviction
methods the speaker uses in
the body of the speech to
enhance his/her credibility
appeals (ethos)."
Refer to a specific passage!
Explain its relevance!
Lect 9M
Rule of thumb for creating
your policy persuasive
speech.
14
In general, for every claim you make about Problem,
Plan, or Practicality you should use at least
 one set of statistics
 one piece of expert testimony
 one vivid example
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15
Continue to develop your
appeals by imagining your
audience's questions and
answering them in advance.
"Antonio Damasio says emotion is good!"
So what? Who is he, anyhow?
"Dr. Antonio Damasio, Director of the Brain &
Ethos
Creativity Institute at the University of Southern
California, author of three books and numerous articles
on the neurology of emotions, has pointed out that...."
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16
Continuing to answer the
audience's questions...
Ethos: Expert testimony
Logos: Statistics
Pathos: Example
So what? Who is that,
anyhow?
So what? How much is
that, really?
What happened? Fill me
in on the details!
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17
Threes
Three questions
1. What's the problem?
Three answers
2. What's your plan?
1. Logos
2. Ethos
3. Pathos
3. Is it practical?
1. Statistics
2. Experts
3. Examples
Three forms
of support
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18
Midterm reminders
• Required outside speech observation
• Bonus possibilities
– Opportunities to develop course skills outside
the classroom setting
– See WebCT "Regular & Bonus Assignments "
for a complete list
– Most due no later than Friday, 25 April (end of
14th week)
– Note: Classroom plus bonus points capped at
230 (110%).
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19
Coming up
Wednesday: Lab--practice what you've
learned.
Friday: Lecture: Further exam prep; the
presidential campaign
BREAK!
Monday after break: Researching the
Persuasive Speech assignment due
(WebCT)
Wednesday after break: Test #2.
Lect 9M