1. Chapter 16
Methods of Persuasion   -Web survey –

2. -Review Persuasive Speech Requirements -Possible exercise on evidence/mental dialogue  

3. 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

4. Building Credibility Ethos/Source Credibility Factors of 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?

5. 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
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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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…

9. 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.”

10. 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!!!                                                             

11. 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.

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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 cause 1.      Maybe you are sleeping now because you accidentally took “drowsy” cold medicine before coming here                                                          

16. 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

17. Fallacies An error in Reasoning
Through critical thinking (listening and reasoning) you can hear these
Logicians consider more than 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)

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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)