Persuasive Speech
Presentations that aim to change
others by prompting them to think,
feel or act differently.
The Cornerstones of Persuasion
Ethos
Pathos
Logos
Ethos
The perceived personal character of the speaker
• They have integrity.
• They can be trusted.
• They have goodwill toward us.
• They know what they are talking about.
• They are committed to the topic.

Includes showing enthusiasm and dynamism
Pathos
Emotional Proofs or Reasons to Believe
• We are influenced by our feelings.




Passions
Personal values
Perceptions
Psychology
• Appeal to listeners’ emotions to get them
involved with your speech, not for the
sake of emotional arousal itself.
Logos
Rational or Logical Proofs
• Inductive Reasoning • Deductive reasoning
begins with specific
examples and uses
them to draw a
general conclusion.
begins with a
conclusion and then
shows how it applies
to specific examples.
Toulmin’s Model of Reasoning
Grounds
(Evidence)
Warrant
Claims
Qualifier
Rebuttal
Jaffe, p. 361
Toulmin’s Model of Reasoning
Grounds –
Warrant – reasons
Evidence
that connect claim
offered to
and evidence
support a claim
Claims – disputable
assertions that
require backing
Qualifier – words and
phrases that limit
or narrow the claim
Rebuttal – arguments that
counter or disagree
with a claim
Credibility
Another Word for Ethos
• Willingness of others

Has integrity

Is positively disposed
toward them

Can be trusted
Microsoft Photo
to believe a person:
Credibility
• Initial credibility is the expertise and
trustworthiness listeners recognize before
a presentation begins.
• Derived credibility is the expertise and
trustworthiness that listeners recognize
as a result of how speakers communicate
during presentations.
• Terminal credibility is the cumulative
expertise listeners recognize in a speaker
based on initial and derived credibility.
Initial Credibility
+ or –
Derived Credibility
=
Terminal Credibility
Building Credibility
• State your qualifications for speaking on this
•
•
•
•
•
•
topic.
Show listeners that you care about them.
Appeal to listeners’ emotions.
Reason carefully and avoid reasoning fallacies.
Use effective and ethical supporting materials.
Use verbal and nonverbal to show you are
involved with the topic.
Respond to questions with open-mindedness
and fairness.
Speakers who want to be judged
as credible should establish
goodwill toward listeners.
-McCroskey, J., &Treven, J. (1999)
• Show understanding of listeners’ ideas,
feelings, and needs.
• Demonstrate empathy.
• Be responsive to listeners by being
attentive and by reacting to listeners’
communication.
Organizing Speeches for
Persuasive Impact
• Your introduction should capture listeners’
•
•
•
•
attention, provide a clear thesis statement,
and preview what your speech will cover.
Your conclusion should summarize main
points and end with a strong closing
statement.
You should provide internal summaries.
You should provide smooth transitions.
The body of your speech should be organized
to reinforce your thesis and show listeners
how your ideas cohere.
Should You Present One or Two Sides?
1.
Do listeners expect more than one side of the topic?
•
•
•
What is/are the listeners’ educational level (s)?
Has there been any pre-speech publicity?
Do listeners care about hearing both sides?
What are listeners’ attitudes toward your topic?
2.
•
•
3.
Do they have a position? Is it the same as yours?
How strongly do listeners hold their opinions?
What level of knowledge do your listeners have?
•
•
4.
Do they know more than one side of the issues?
How much information have they already gained?
Are listeners likely to encounter counterarguments after
you speak?
•
Inoculation immunizes listeners in advance against opposing ideas
they may hear in the future.
Lloyd Bennett works for a public relations
firm that wants to convince Casual Cruise
Lines to become a client. Lloyd could use
any of the eight basic organizational
patterns to structure his speech to
persuade the cruise line to hire his firm.
On the following slides you can observe
how his presentation would change
depending on what outline pattern he
selects.
Time Pattern
Chronological
Our firm can move Casual Cruise Lines
into the future.
I. Originally Casual Cruise Lines attracted
customers whose average age was 58.
II. In recent years, that customer base has
shrunk.
III. To thrive in the years ahead, Casual
Cruise Lines needs to appeal to younger
customers.
Spatial Pattern
Left to right, top to bottom, north to south
Our proposal focuses on redesigning the space
on cruise ships to appeal to the 30-40 year old
market.
I.
In the staterooms, we propose replacing the
conventional seafaring motif with abstract,
modernistic art.
II. In the public area of the lower deck, we
propose replacing the current coffee shops
with sushi and expresso bars and adding
fitness work out rooms.
III. On the upper deck, we propose building hot
tubs and Jacuzzis beside the pool.
Topical
Categories or Classes
Our firm has the most experienced
advertising cruise lines and the most
innovative staff.
I. Our firm has increased revenues for
three other cruise lines.
II. Our firm has won more awards for
innovation and creativity than the
others Casual Cruise Lines is
considering for this account.
Star Pattern
Several main points work together to support a theme.
Different points are given more or less attention when
speaking to different audiences.
Let’s consider how younger customers
might be attracted if we revamped ship
décor, activities, and cuisine.
I. Younger customers like modern décor.
II. Younger customers want youthful
activities.
III. Younger customers want trendy foods.
Wave Pattern
Each main idea builds up from evidence
then crests in a main point
The theme we propose is: No shuffle boards
and no kids—Casual Cruise Line
I.
If you’re too young for shuffleboard, you’re
ready for a Casual Cruise.
II. If you’re too old to babysit, you’re ready for
a Casual Cruise.
Problem-solution
Describes a problem and then
proposes a solution
We have a solution to Casual Cruise
Line’s inability to attract younger
customers.
I. Casual Cruise Lines hasn’t been able
to get a substantial share of the
lucrative 30-45 year old market.
II. Our advertising campaign specifically
targets this market.
Cause and Effect
The advertising campaign we propose will
attract young, affluent customers by appealing
to their interests and life style.
I.
Our proposal’s emphasis on luxury features of
the cruise caters to this market’s appreciation
of extravagance.
II. Our proposal to feature adults-only cruises
caters to this market’s demonstrated
preferences.
III. Our proposal to offer 2-4 day cruises meets this
market’s interest in long weekend get-aways.
Comparative
Compares two or more objects, people,
situations, events
Our plan targets younger customers, not older
ones.
I.
Shorter cruises for the busy lifestyle of 30-45
year olds.
II. On board dancing and night clubs, which are
favorite leisure activities of the 30-45 year olds.
III. Adding 24-hour expresso bars and on-board
fitness rooms speaks directly to the interests of
30-45 year olds.
The Motivated Sequence Pattern
1.
Attention—focus listeners’ attention
2.
Need—demonstrate a real problem exists
3.
Satisfaction—propose a solution to solve
the demonstrated problem
4.
Visualization—give listeners a vision of the
impact of the solution
5.
Action—ask listeners to think, feel, or do
something to bring the solution into being
Additional Persuasive Guidelines
• Build common ground with listeners.

Work to find similarities between you and your
listener (identification).
• Adapt to listeners.


A good persuasive speech is crafted with
specific listeners in mind.
Audience analysis should assist you in
understanding what your audience knows,
believes and expects.
Fallacy
• An error in reasoning
• Presents false, or flawed logic
• Detracts from credibility because it
suggests a speaker may not be ethical
Avoid Fallacies in Reasoning
• Ad hominem arguments go to the person not the
idea.
• After this, therefore because of this mistakenly
assumes because one thing follows another that
the first caused the second.
• Bandwagon appeal argues that because most
people believe or act a particular way, you
should too.
• Reduction to absurdity involves pushing an idea
to the point that it becomes ridiculous.
Avoid Fallacies in Reasoning
• Hasty generalization is a broad claim based
on too few examples or too limited evidence.
• Red Herring arguments try to deflect
listeners from relevant issues.
• Either-Or logic suggests that there are two
and only two arguments.
• The Halo Effect occurs when we generalize
an individual’s authority, or expertise, in a
particular area to other areas that are
irrelevant.
Experiencing Communication
in our Lives . . .
Analyze the following speech using
material presented on Public
Speaking in Chapters 13-17. The
complete speech can be found in
your text at the end of Chapter 17.
Wadsworth Thomson: Wood Scenarios
Planning choices:
1. Was this a good topic for a persuasive speech
to college students?
2. Was the topic sufficiently narrow?
3. Did Rebecca announce a clear thesis for her
speech?
Organizational Choices:
1. Was there a strong introduction?
2. Did she provide transitions?
3. Did the conclusion summarize her main
points and end on a strong note?
Choices about Supporting Material:
1. What supporting material can you identify?
2. Are the statistics presented clearly?
3. Are the sources of evidence credible?
4. Did you find any fallacies in reasoning?
5. Did Rebecca’s speech reflect awareness of
ethos, pathos, and logos?
Choices in Adapting to Listeners:
1. How did Rebecca adapt the message to
listeners who were 19-24 year-old students?
2. Did Rebecca show she had thought about
attitudes her listeners were likely to hold.
Choices Affecting Credibility:
1. Did you find Rebecca credible?
2. Can you think of ways Rebecca could have
enhanced her credibility?
3. Compare Rebecca’s initial, derived, and
terminal credibility. What accounts for
changes in her credibility?
Choices about Style:
1. Does the speech follow principles of oral
style discussed in Chapter 15?
2. Identify choices the speaker made to
personalize her message.