CHAPTER 14PERSUASIVE SPEAKINGI. Characteristics of PersuasionA. Def: Is the process of motivating someone, through communication, to change a particular belief, attitude, or behavior.B. Persuasion is not coerciveC. Persuasion is usually incremental1. Attitudes do not change immediately; it is a process (small increments).2. Social judgment theory: When members of an audience hear a persuasive appeal, they compare it to opinions that they already hold.DiagramStrongly Agree Agree Don’t Care Strongly Disagree>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>(Anchor) (Latitude of acceptance) (Latitude of noncommitment) ( Latitude of rejection)D. Persuasion can be ethical1. Ethical persuasion: Communication in the best interest of the audience that does not depend on false or misleading informationto change an audience’s attitude or behavior2. Unethical communication behaviors (p. 422)II. Categorizing Types of Persuasion A. By proposition1. Fact: Issues in which there are 2 or more sides with conflicting evidence, where listeners are required to choose the truth for themselves.a. E.g. “England’s nationalized healthcare is more/is less efficient than the U.S. system of healthcare.”b. Evidence is crucialc. (Candidate X has done more for this community than the opponent)2. Value: Go beyond issues of truth or falsity and explore the worthof some idea, person or object.a. E.g. “The U.S. is/is not justified in going to war with Iraq.”b. Fact before policy (was there enough evidence of nuclear power).c. (Candidate X is a better person than the opponent)3. Policy: Go one step beyond questions of fact or value; they recommend a specific course of action (a “policy”).a. E.g. “High schools should/should not have metal detectors.”b. (We should get out and vote for candidate X)III. Creating the Persuasive MessageA. Monroe’s motivated sequence1. Attention Step: Draws attention to your subject2. Need Step: Establishes the problema. What is the nature of the problem?b. How does the problem affect your audience?3. Satisfaction Step: Proposes a solutiona. Will the solution work?b. What advantages will result from your solution?4. Visualization Step: Describes the results of the solution.a. What can the audience do to put your solution into action?b. What are the direct rewards of this response?5. Action Step: A direct appeal for the audience to do somethingB. Use solid evidence1. Evidence: Your objective here is not to find supporting material that just clarifies your ideas, but rather to find the perfect example, statistic, definition, analogy, or testimony to establish the truth of your claim in the mind of this specific audience.2. Emotional evidence: Supporting material that evokes audience feelings such as fear, anger, sympathy, pride or reverence.3. Cite your sources carefully!C. Avoid fallacies1. Fallacy: Is an error in logic (Latin word for “false”)2. Ad hominem fallacy: The speaker attacks the integrity of a person in order to weaken the argument.3. Straw man argument: Demolish weak examples and suggest thatit represents the entire position.4. Either-or fallacy: Sets up false alternatives, suggests that if the inferior one must be rejected, then the other must be accepted.5. Post hoc fallacy: Mistakenly assumes that one event causes another because they occur sequentially.6. Appeal to authority: Involves relying on the testimony of someone who is not an authority in the case being argued.7. Ad populum fallacy: The notion that, just because many people favor an idea, you should too.IV. Build Credibility (believability of the speaker)A. Credibility is based on perception, not objective.B. The 3 C’s1. Competence: Expertise on the topic2. Character: To be trusted by the audiencea. 2 ingredients1) Honesty2) Impartiality3. Charisma: Special quality (dynamic)a. 2 factors1) Speaker’s enthusiasm2)
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