Chapter 16

Methods of Persuasion 

-Web survey –www.coms.uconn.edu/dje/374/survey1.asp

-Review Persuasive Speech Requirements

-Possible exercise on evidence/mental dialogue

 

Introduction                

• “Secret Power of Persuasion” - $10,000/day– Love Potion #9?– There is no magical technique– People are still buying—why?

• What makes a speaker persuasive?– High Credibility– Solid Evidence– Logical Reasoning– Emotional Connection

Building Credibility                                                      

   • Ethos/Source Credibility

– The name used by Aristotle for what modern students refer to as credibility

– Babs vs. Colin Powell on Iraq?

• Factors of Credibility– Credibility – the audience’s perception of whether a

speaker is qualified to speak on a given topic

– Many things influence credibility• among them: dynamism, physical attractiveness and perceived

similarity between the speaker and the audience– Discuss speakers in each of these veins?

Building Credibility (cont’d)• Factors of Credibility (cont’d)

– Research by Hovland, Janis and Kelly (1953) proposed two factors:• Competence – how an audience regards a speaker’s intelligence, expertise and

knowledge of the subject– How do others display this?– How can you display this in your speech?

• Character (typically called trustworthiness) – how an audience regards a speaker’s sincerity, trustworthiness, and concern for the well-being of the audience

– How do others display this?– How can you display this in your speech?

• The better these perceptions, the more favorable the response by the audience to the persuasion/message

– Credibility is not a static/universal construct• People judge credibility in different ways• Two different people can hold vastly different perspectives on the source’s

credibility

Types of Credibility• Perceptions of credibility can change during a

speech, therefore the book divides credibility into three stages/types– Initial Credibility – The credibility of a speaker before

they start to speak– Derived Credibility – The credibility of a speaker

produced by everything they do say and do during the speech

– Terminal Credibility – The credibility of a speaker at the end of the speech

• The ultimate goal is to have high terminal credibility.

• CREDIBILITY IS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT PERSUASIVE TOOL

Enhancing your Credibility

• Say and do everything that you can to appear competent and trustworthy– Organization; Professional, vivid language; Dynamic,

fluent delivery; strong evidence; logical reasoning

– Meet the requirements of the instructors eval form

• Explain your competence– Discuss your research

– Mention any personal experience with the topic

Establishing Credibility (cont’d)

• Establish Common Ground with your Audience– A technique in which a speaker connects themselves with

the values, attitudes, or experiences of the audience– “catch more flies with honey than vinegar” – dumb

phrase, but pertinent – DON’T BE RUDE– Respect your listeners– Make the audience see your similarities, focus on those

initially• Then once they feel similar to you, begin your argument

construction.• Nodding bit…

Establishing Credibility (cont’d)

• Deliver your speeches fluently, expressively, and with conviction– Credibility is GREATLY influenced by delivery– Moderately fast speakers are typically seen as more

intelligent and confident than slower speakers– Vocal variety is key; animated and dynamic– “Uh” and other such vocalized pauses make you less

credible

• Have Conviction in your speech/arguments – “sell it”– Truman: “Sincerity, honesty, and a straightforward manner

are more important than special talent or polish.”

Using Evidence• Evidence – Supporting materials used to prove or

disprove something– Logos – Aristotle’s logical appeal- evidence and reason

(next class)– Examples, statistics and testimony– Used to prove/disprove something

• Evidence becomes important for you, because you are not experts– Especially with an opposition audience– CITATIONs are also IMPORTANT!!!

                                                            

Using Evidence(cont’d)

• Evidence can:– Enhance credibility– Increase short and long term persuasiveness of message– Help inoculate against counterpersuasion

• Tips for Using Evidence– Use Specific Evidence– Use Novel Evidence

• Interesting and unexpected are better than something everyone knows

– Use Evidence from Credible Sources– Make Clear the point of your evidence

• Draw the conclusion bluntly for the audience, do not leave it to them… they will not get it.

Reasoning

• The process of drawing a conclusion on the basis of evidence– I like this: Superstitions- a result of faulty reasoning

• Reasoning and Critical thinking go hand in hand– Heroin Town – and number of arrests– Without Critical Thinking you are fodder for unscrupulous

advertisers and glib politicians

• Two goals for reasoning in public speaking– Make sure that your reasoning is

sound—Parking/Helicopters…– Convince your listeners that your reasoning is correct

Four Basic Methods of Reasoning

• Reasoning from Specific Instances– Reasoning that moves from specific facts to a general conclusion– What are some General Conclusions?

• CEOs are corrupt• You don’t watch the news

– Can you see how these are formed?

• Guidelines for Reasoning for Specific Instances– Avoid Hasty generalizations: is your sample representative of the population?– Use qualifiers in your wording of generalizations:

• “The CEOs that have been in the news lately appear corrupt”• “Most students in this class don’t follow current events”

– Reinforce your argument with statistics or testimony

Four Basic Methods of Reasoning (cont’d)

• Reasoning from Principle– Reasoning that moves from a general principle to a specific conclusion

• Example:– The CEOs who have been in the news lately, appear corrupt.– Martha Stewart is CEO of Martha Stewart Living– Martha Stewart has been in the news lately– Martha Stewart’s ImClone scandal makes her appear corrupt.

• Guidelines for Reasoning from Principle– Examine your general principle

» Will listeners accept it without evidence?» Do you need to convince them of its validity first?» Add evidence/citations

– Examine your minor propositions» Support them with evidence

– Make sure that no link in the chain is missing

Four Basic Methods of Reasoning (cont’d)• Causal Reasoning

– Reasoning that seeks to establish the relationship between causes and effects

– Examples in your own daily experiences?• If I had slept a full 8 hours last night, I would not be sleeping now?• Because I didn’t have a car, I let my friend drive

– Guidelines for Causal Reasoning• The relationship between Cause and Effect is not always as it seems• Two potential pitfalls to avoid:

– False Cause» Post hoc – after this therefore because of this» Errors based on coincidental temporal ordering» Most superstitions

– Assuming events only have one cause1.      Maybe you are sleeping now because you accidentally took “drowsy” cold medicine before coming here                                                         

Four Basic Methods of Reasoning (cont’d)

• Analogical Reasoning– Reasoning in which a speaker compares two similar cases

and infers that what is true for the first case is also true for the second

• “Pepsi Cola does not taste like bubble gum”• “Then Indian Cola must not taste like bubble gum”• Common connection: Both are Colas

– Guidelines for Analogical Reasoning• Used most often on questions of Policy

– Iraq and Containment?

• Potential Pitfall:– Invalid Analogy – the two cases being compared are not essentially

alike

  Fallacies• An error in Reasoning

– Through critical thinking (listening and reasoning) you can hear these

– Logicians consider more than 125. Among them: Hasty Generalization, false cause, and invalid analogy

– Five other major fallacies to focus on:• Red Herring

– A fallacy that introduces an irrelevant issue to divert attention from the subject under discussion

– The Movie: Clue

• Ad Hominem – A fallacy that attacks the person rather than dealing with the real

issue in dispute– Typically seen in muckraking, and smearing political/editorial

messages» Torricelli (D) – Forrester (R)

Fallacies (cont’d)

– Five other major fallacies to focus on (cont’d):• Either-Or (false dilemma)

– A fallacy that forces listeners to choose between two alternatives when more than two exist

– Either we make parking for students free, or enrollment will go down

• Bandwagon– A fallacy that assumes that because something is popular, it is

therefore good, correct, or desirable– Examples?

• Slippery Slope– A fallacy that assumes that taking a first step will lead to

subsequent steps that cannot be prevented– Unless evidence and reasoning is provided to support these

claims

Appealing to Emotions

• Effective persuasion often requires emotional appeal– ENTHUSIASM

• What are Emotional Appeals?– Aristotle’s Pathos– Examples: Fear, Compassion, Pride, Anger, Guilt,

Reverence– Good for questions of policy and value– Necessary for Motivational – gaining immediate action

Appealing to Emotions (cont’d)

• Generating Emotional Appeal– Use Emotional Language

• CONNOTATIVE (emotion laden words/phrases)• Caveat: Don’t let the cat out of the bag• Too much emotional language can appear deliberate- thereby

becoming less persuasive

– Develop Vivid Examples• Let emotion grow naturally from the content of your speech• Examples must be delivered EXTEMPORANEOUSLY

– Speak with Sincerity and Conviction• This is very influential• Reagan – the clip of the Challenger speech

Ethics and Emotional Appeal

• No doubt that emotional appeals can be abused• Make sure that the particular emotional appeal is

appropriate for your speech• Emotional appeals are not typically ethical when

used for questions of fact• Never substitute emotion for logical reasoning and

evidence• Be honest in what you say, make sure your goals

are ethically sound, and avoid namecalling (chapter 2)